Although Deutsche Bahn has no longer offered its own night trains since 2016, it has recently expanded its cooperation. Today there is a nighttime train from Berlin to Brussels and Paris. Associations are demanding more connections.
After a break of many years, this evening we are once again traveling in the sleeping car from Berlin to Paris and Brussels: With yesterday’s timetable change, the popular connection is on the Deutsche Bahn noticeboard for the first time since 2014. One half of the train travels overnight to the French capital and the other to the Belgian capital. The train stops in Halle, Erfurt, Frankfurt and Strasbourg – and is said goodbye by, among others, the head of Deutsche Bahn, Richard Lutz, and Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP).
“Celebrate the renaissance of night trains”
“As part of the night train alliance with our European partner railways, we are strengthening rail in Europe and celebrating the renaissance of night trains,” writes the railway tagesschau.de. In concrete terms, this means: In the coming years, the association of state railway companies from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands and France wants to connect 13 European metropolises by rail overnight.
According to the information, there have been some expansions of overnight connections with sleeping, couchette and seated cars in Germany since December of last year. It is possible, for example, to drive from Berlin to Zurich, from Hamburg to Vienna or from Stuttgart to Venice. Rail travelers can also use trains from Stuttgart and Munich to Zagreb or Rijeka and from Munich to Budapest.
With yesterday’s timetable change, 40 cities in Germany are now connected to the European night train network, according to the railway. From today on, the night train from Berlin to Brussels and Paris runs three times a week: every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. From October 2024, the so-called Nightjet will even be on the move every day. The connection is operated by Deutsche Bahn, the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), the French state railway SNCF and the Belgian NMBS/SNCB. The vehicle comes from ÖBB.
Free seats on the night train to Paris will only be available again after Christmas
In addition, there is now also a daily connection with sleeping and seated cars from Munich via Rosenheim and Vienna to Warsaw. According to Deutsche Bahn, demand for night trains is high. “The new connections are very well booked over the holidays.” Only then will there be “sufficient free capacity” again. “Basically, as soon as we start a new night train connection together with our partner railways, there is a real booking boom.”
Since 2016, the railway has no longer offered night trains, but only together with foreign railway companies. There are also ICs and ICEs with seats that regularly travel overnight. “It was right that we exited the night train business at the time as a provider without real cooperation abroad,” said a spokesman. At the time, the reason given was that the business was not profitable. The ÖBB then bought the last German sleeping cars in order to renovate them.
She also had Siemens develop modern sleeping cars that, among other things, offer lockable individual cabins and family compartments. According to DB, the cheapest seats cost just under 30 euros. According to the dpa news agency, the lowest offer for a trip at the beginning of January is currently just under 45 euros per person: for a seat including reservation in second class. In the couchette cars, prices range from around 100 euros to more than 600 euros. A trip in a sleeping car with beds costs between 165 euros and 475 euros.
Demand is significantly greater than supply
In addition to the state railway companies, several private companies now also offer night trains: The Swedish company Snälltåget connects Berlin and Stockholm, and in Great Britain there is the Caledonian Sleeper. The Pro-Rail Alliance is also observing the growing interest in night trains. “Night trains are becoming more and more popular in Germany and throughout Europe – we have seen a trend reversal since around 2016,” reports managing director Dirk Flege tagesschau.de. There are now around 90 night train connections in Europe, and the number is increasing.
“We would need more new connections much more quickly than before – and ideally at attractive prices,” demands Flege. Because the demand is significantly greater than the supply. This means that travelers have to be early when booking. In addition, the process is very time-consuming due to multiple platforms.
However, a renaissance of night trains is “hardly possible in the short term,” said the managing director of the interest group. “Even if DB were to decide today to re-enter the market with new vehicles – which the Pro-Rail Alliance would very much welcome – it would take at least four to five years before the offer would ultimately be on the rails.”
“We could need a lot more,” said Detlef Neuß, federal chairman of the Pro Bahn passenger association, when asked about the need for night trains. For business customers, for example, the trend is currently moving towards nighttime connections because it is more convenient and you arrive rested in the morning – even though it takes longer.
Availability and prices of train paths are a problem
This is also why capacities are well utilized and it is difficult to get a place in a sleeping car, says Neuß. “You have to book well in advance: your plan to take a night train tomorrow is likely to go wrong.” However, it is not necessarily easy to get new night trains on the rails – also because of freight trains that travel in the dark.
First of all, routes – i.e. the authorization to use a specific route in the rail network – would have to be available. “This brings us back to the topic of renovation and expansion of the network, where far too little has happened in recent years,” says Neuß. In addition, the prices for the routes would have to be significantly reduced, as it is particularly expensive in Germany compared to other European countries, adds the spokeswoman for Allianz pro Schiene.
In addition, it is important to “remove VAT on cross-border train tickets,” says Dirk Flege from Allianz pro Schiene. It is seven percent, while none is charged on airline tickets. Speaking of which: There are also changes in the railway’s cross-border long-distance train offering. The ICE route between Berlin and Vienna was extended to Hamburg. In addition, an ICE train will run every day from Berlin via Frankfurt am Main and Stuttgart to Innsbruck.