It’s Friday evening, and the NightJet bound for Zurich is about to arrive on platform 13 at the main station in the German capital, Berlin.
Anne, Juri and about a dozen other protesters dressed in colorful pajamas stand ready, though not to board the train. Like Berliners, workers are at train stations in 12 European capitals from Lisbon to Helsinki tonight. They call for more night trains connecting cities across the continent.
“I don’t want to fly anymore because I know how much it hurts. But I still want to travel,” says one of the Berlin protesters, clad in a blue and white striped cloak. “You sleep so well because you’re constantly rocked back and forth,” says Anne’s daughter.
And the jury enjoys the simplicity of traveling by train. The hassle of driving to the airport, checking in, waiting, sitting in a cramped plane is gone. “I get on a night train in one city, sleep and get off in another city.”
The fascination with night trains is not new, having been very popular in fact until the mid-20th century. But with the advent of more and more highways connecting locations across the continent, they fell out of favor with travelers. And then came air travel, which began to become more affordable in Europe in the 1980s.
Today, there are very few connections and not many actual sleeper trains to serve travelers looking for a nostalgic experience.
The return of state railroads: Why are connections disappearing?
In 2023, the change was realized when the Austrian State Railways (ÖBB) reopened popular routes from Paris to Berlin and Vienna.
But it was a short-lived dream. After only two years, cuts in state subsidies in France meant operations were discontinued. The route has now been picked up by the European Sleeper, and will also stop in Brussels.
Meanwhile, the Swedish state railroad also recently backed out of a Berlin-Stockholm connection, which was only slated for launch in 2022. Some routes will be taken over by private companies European Sleeper and American group RDC, but they will only operate on certain days.
Felix Bershin pointed out, “The fact that night trains still exist in Europe today is due to idealists like the European sleeper.” The Belgian-Dutch company is financed mainly by large-scale crowdfunding campaigns.
In 2024, Bershin investigated night train traffic in Europe for the German Federal Ministry of Transport and concluded that trains with sleeper cars are generally not profitable for operators due to high costs.
Night surcharges increase staff costs, and sleeping cars can accommodate far fewer passengers than normal train compartments. For example, a Deutsche Bahn high-speed ICE 4 train can carry 918 people. OBB NightJet can only accommodate 254. The capacity of the Finnish counterpart is 500.
A protester on Platform 13 is hoping to change this space issue. Founded by Anton Dubrauhe in 2024 Luna RailStart-up to design personalized cabins that combine comfort and privacy with better utilization of train capacity.
Single cabin for greater privacy and capacity
The prototype is located on the grounds of the Technical University of Berlin.
The cabin looks similar to a normal train seat, with a table, separate storage area, shelves, coat hooks and storage space for hand luggage.
The seat back can be lowered and transformed into a bed at the touch of a button. During the day, this seat can be used as a workstation, which will also be attractive to businessmen.
Until now, sleeper cars have been used mostly at night due to limited seating capacity. Dubru hopes the individual cabins can provide more privacy while also being affordable.
60 such cabins could be placed one inside the other in a railway compartment, on two floors. And there would be no need to build new trains, as discontinued trains could simply be retrofitted.
“We try to get as many people as possible into a small space,” Dubru told DW. He said that a night train with a maximum length of 14 coaches can carry 700 passengers.
Price dictates how people travel
According to a 2023 Swedish study, price is the most important consideration for people considering how to travel.
Until now, night trains have been expensive, with the 1,000-kilometre journey from Paris to Berlin currently costing about €180 ($213) in a 5-berth compartment and €440 ($522) in a private compartment.
Dubru is targeting €100 ($118) for tickets for a second-class private cabin. First class can cost €150 ($178).
“We want to offer similar prices to air travel, but still provide enough comfort so that people are willing to go by train.” According to a transport ministry survey, if the price were comparable, about a third of passengers would be willing to switch.
Why are trains better for the climate?
According to the International Energy Agency, trains emit about six times less greenhouse gases per passenger than trains. They can also use energy efficiently and generate power during braking, for example, by using special technology.
Dubru estimates that its sleeper cabins could be operational by 2030. By then, the EU Commission is hoping to double the percentage of rail passengers in Europe, and even triple it by 2050.
The many construction sites along the way cannot but affect Dubru.
“You can’t calculate with a certain amount of time,” Felix Bershin told DW. He prepares the timetable for the night train on the Prague-Brussels route for the European Sleeper Company. “Train paths and take-off points at stations are not available and have illegal rules.”
But for some travelers, the journey itself is what makes it exciting. Back on Platform 13, Anne says she likes the all-female compartment.
“Actually at first I thought women snored less than men,” she says, smiling. “But I always meet great women of all generations who have great stories to tell.”
This article was originally published in German.