ADAC analysis
How good are the night trains in Europe really?
Many travellers are taking advantage of the growing night train service in Europe – the ADAC has taken a closer look
© GIUSEPPE LAMI / Action Press
Night trains are back in fashion. But how good is the service? The ADAC has tested it.
Overnight by train from Italy to northern Germany – for many travellers this is an attractive alternative to train and flight. No wonder that Night trains are back in fashion. But how well are the European metropolises really connected to each other? And which country has the best offer for night owls? The General German Automobile Club (ADAC) wanted to find out exactly this in a specially conducted study – and drew a somewhat sobering conclusion about the renaissance of night trains in Europe.
But let’s start from the beginning: The ADAC took a closer look at a total of 21 connections across Europe for the study. The starting point was always a German city, including Hanover, Hamburg, Dresden, Berlin, Munich, Cologne and Stuttgart. From there, the fictitious journey was to go to a popular metropolis; the experts chose the following destinations: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Budapest, Florence, Rome, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Stockholm and Vienna. The focus of the study was on the best price-performance ratio. Therefore, only the outbound journey and the cheapest connection with the option of lying down were considered, with a booking period of four to six weeks before departure.
Night train in Europe: Many connections only with transfer
According to the study, a good half of the connections involve at least one change, some even up to four, sometimes in the middle of the night. However, this does not necessarily have to be unattractive, at least if the change is planned for the morning rather than at night. This is the case with the route from Berlin to London, for example. According to the study, passengers only need one change and the total journey time is 13 hours. However, it is much more uncomfortable with seven connections, as passengers have to wait for short transfers in the middle of the night, sometimes several times. The experts say that there is room for improvement.
But there are also connections where you can relax in a couchette until you reach your destination. On the routes Berlin – Stockholm, Berlin – Vienna, Munich – Rome, Munich – Amsterdam, Stuttgart – Budapest, Dresden – Brussels and Hanover – Vienna you can travel through on the night train and arrive within 13 hours at the latest.
ADAC calls for improvements to night trains
There are significant differences not only in the connections themselves, but also in the price. These are so flexible that you should always compare. And not just several providers, but also time periods. In general, early bookers also save on night trains, but there are still always savings offers from individual night train operators. The ADAC found most of the cheapest offers with Deutsche Bahn. The booking platform Rail Europa is also recommended.
Overall, the ADAC is therefore calling for a broader range of services and a uniform booking platform to make booking easier for passengers. The option to book more than six months in advance would also be desirable. So there is still a lot to be done on the rails at night.
source: ADAC