Photo: Remko de Waal/EPA
The first night train between Berlin and Paris will depart on Monday evening after a nine-year hiatus, closing a significant gap in Europe's increasingly extensive night timetable and giving a boost to travelers looking for a realistic alternative to flying.
The service is widely regarded as a jewel in the crown of European rail transport and was canceled in 2014 despite angry protests.
Nicky Gardner, the Berlin-based co-author of Europe by Rail: The Definitive Guide, said the new Nightjet service was an inspiring and essential contribution to European infrastructure and integration.
"It strengthens the ties between two European capitals that do so much business with each other, and it's also just a fun way to travel. "You can leave Berlin in the evening and be in Paris around 10am the next morning, then hop on a Eurostar service mid-morning and be in London around lunchtime," she said.
The fully booked train, equipped with regular to luxury sleeping compartments with individual or shared spaces, some with special showers and toilets, will depart Berlin on Monday evening at 8:18 pm and arrive in Paris at 10:24 am, stopping en route in Halle, Erfurt, Mannheim and Strasbourg.
ÖBB, the Austrian national railway company, will initially operate the service three times a week. The service is expected to run daily from autumn next year.
Gardner said the time saved by traveling at night was one factor that made the train journey attractive, but in addition, night trains, which have been revived in recent years, would also have the effect of opening up mainland Europe.
"It reshapes the geography of Europe a bit, because time on the night train actually saves time. You can use the train and take advantage of the sleep time, which really makes traveling through Europe worthwhile."
But she said that despite the comeback, the night train would not come into its own until the next two to three years, once orders for new rolling stock were filled, allowing operators to have sufficient carriages.
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"ÖBB has created a very imaginative network of new night trains, cleverly utilizing Vienna's position at the heart of it, and depending on supply constraints I really think the future of night trains is very bright indeed," she says. said.
Interactive
Demand for tickets is high, with many tickets on the most popular routes selling out within minutes of going online.
Gardner said the crowds and demand were so high that "it is now as difficult to get a seat in the compartment of a luxury sleeping car on the night train from Paris to Berlin as it is to reserve a table at the best restaurants in Paris".
Under the new service, the western German city of Mannheim will become an ÖBB hub for the night train, with the Brussels-Vienna and Paris-Vienna trains also stopping there.
Passengers traveling from Brussels and Paris to Berlin and Vienna will board separate carriages on the same train, which will be reorganized in Mannheim, before continuing to their destination.
The service is the result of cooperation between Austrian, French and German railway companies that was made public three years ago, but ÖBB is mainly seen as the driving force behind the resurrection.
Cat Jones, the founder of Byway, a flight-free holiday company with an emphasis on 'the joy of travel', which combines hi-tech and human knowledge to find optimal routes, said it would give a 'tremendous boost' to the European economy. train passengers.
Ultra cheap
France's expanding night train network offers great basement prices with reclining seats from €19 and couchettes from €29 one-way. Snooze your way from Paris to the Riviera or the Pyrenees. New overnight destinations from Paris starting this month include Aurillac, Béziers and Montpellier.
Ultra long
For marathon night train journeys, look east to Turkey. Closer to home, the longest regular night train all year round in one country is the 12.58 hours from Palermo to Milan. The 21 hour and 12 minute journey includes the oddity of the entire train being shunted onto a ferry across the Strait of Messina.
Best amenities
Try the excellent Caledonian Sleeper trains from London to destinations across Scotland, where you can enjoy double beds with private bathrooms. Enjoy priority access to the club car for dinner and late-night drinks. Another foodie favorite is the Euronight service from Prague to Basel and Zurich, where dinner is served in the Czech dining car as you sail through the Elbe Valley towards Dresden.
Most romantic
It's hard to beat the sheer joy of arriving in Venice by train and leaving Santa Lucia station to see the Grand Canal. Arrival is all the more magical after the overnight journey on the Nightjet, which departs Stuttgart every evening at 8:29 PM for the 12-hour journey. For some winter romance, leave the hustle and bustle of Stockholm commuters behind and head to Riksgränsen at 6:08 PM, arriving at Sweden's northernmost ski resort at 11:49 AM the next morning. Dress warmly, because the snow will linger until midsummer.
One for the future
There is a growing demand for a quality overnight train from France to Italy, so I'm happy to see that start-up Midnight Trains has chosen Paris to Venice as their debut route. But you have to wait until 2025 for that.
Nicky Gardner
"There's been a huge buzz because there are such crucial routes and really important connection points that make it so quick and easy to go to sleep in Paris and wake up in Berlin. Moreover, and especially if you are planning a family trip, you can now more easily extend it to other places and have a rich and enjoyable overland journey with multiple stops," she said.
"The sleeper trains are new, romantic and exciting for many people, especially for those who want to behave more sustainably: they are a way to attract people who might never have thought about going overland, but are suddenly impressed of the idea and rediscovering the richness of the journey as we used to experience it. Once they tell their friends, the idea spreads."
As the trend expands, the hope is that it will become more affordable. Right now, rail is still struggling to compete on price with budget airlines, Jones said, adding that Byway was involved in political lobbying to change that.
"There is a very strong push for rail reform, ticketing reform, accessibility and moving subsidies from air to rail, and we hope that over time this will make rail travel increasingly accessible to the budget traveler," she said.
