Travel News
Europe by Night Train
Board in one city. Have dinner. Go to sleep. Wake up somewhere else.
There is something almost old-fashioned about the idea of crossing Europe while you sleep.
No airport security. No boarding gate. No journey out to an airport on the edge of the city. Instead, you arrive at a railway station in the evening, find your compartment, put away your luggage and watch the city disappear outside the window.
By morning, you are somewhere else.
For decades, overnight trains were a familiar way to travel across Europe. As low-cost aviation expanded and high-speed daytime rail improved, many sleeper services gradually disappeared.
Now, night trains are making a comeback in Europe.
Routes are returning, modern sleeper trains are entering service and travellers are reconsidering overnight rail as an alternative to flying on certain European journeys. For companies, the revival also raises a practical question:
Could night trains make sense for business travel?
The answer depends on much more than journey time. Cost, productivity, sleeping accommodation, city-centre access, sustainability and the complete door-to-door journey all matter.
Why are night trains returning to Europe?
Europe’s night trains never completely disappeared. They simply stopped being the obvious choice.
As low-cost airlines expanded and high-speed daytime rail improved, overnight services found themselves competing with faster and increasingly accessible alternatives. Some sleeper routes survived. Others disappeared.
Today, the picture is changing again.
European rail operators are investing in overnight travel, while new and revived sleeper connections are appearing across the network. Modern trains are also changing what passengers can expect from the experience.
New-generation Nightjet trains, for example, offer fixed beds, modern sleeper compartments and individual Mini Cabins designed to provide solo travellers with greater privacy.
The technology has changed.
The basic idea has not.
Travel while you sleep.
And in a world obsessed with saving time, that old idea suddenly feels surprisingly modern.
A one-hour flight is rarely a one-hour journey
This is where the train-versus-plane comparison becomes interesting.
A short European flight may only spend an hour or two in the air. But your journey does not begin when the aircraft leaves the runway.
It begins when you leave for the airport.
There is the airport transfer. Recommended arrival time. Security. Walking to the gate. Boarding. The flight itself. Disembarkation. Perhaps baggage reclaim. Then another transfer from the destination airport into the city.
Suddenly, comparing a flight with a train purely by scheduled travel time does not tell you very much.
A night train changes the calculation even further.
You leave the city in the evening.
You sleep.
You arrive the following morning, often at a station much closer to where the working day will actually take place.
The question is no longer simply:
Which one is faster?
Which one uses my time better?
For some European routes, flying will remain significantly more practical.
For others, the answer is becoming less obvious.
The hotel room that moves
There is another way to think about a sleeper train.
For one night, your transport is also your accommodation.
Finish the working day. Have dinner. Board later that evening. Sleep during the journey. Arrive the following morning.
That can potentially remove both daytime travel and an overnight hotel stay from the itinerary.
Of course, this does not mean night trains are automatically cheaper. Private sleeper compartments can command a premium, and fares vary according to the route, date, demand and type of accommodation.
But comparing only the train ticket with the airfare misses the point.
The more useful comparison may be:
Night train + sleeping accommodation
versus
Flight + airport transfers + hotel + traveller time.
Looking at the total journey rather than the ticket price alone can produce a very different result.
But can you actually sleep?
This is where the romantic image of night-train travel meets reality.
A sleeper train sounds wonderful until you spend the night trying to sleep upright or listening to someone snore two metres away.
Not every night-train experience is the same.
Depending on the service, travellers may choose between ordinary seats, shared couchettes and sleeper compartments. Some modern services offer private rooms, proper beds and even private shower and toilet facilities.
New-generation Nightjets have also introduced individual Mini Cabins, giving solo travellers another option when privacy matters.
For a leisure traveller, a shared couchette may be part of the adventure.
For someone with an important meeting the following morning, the equation is rather different.
The question is not simply:
“Is there a night train?”
It is:
“Will I actually arrive rested?”
Because arriving in the city centre early in the morning sounds impressive.
Arriving after barely sleeping does not.
Why can rail work well for business travellers?
One of rail’s biggest advantages for business travel is usable time.
On a daytime train, once seated, a traveller may have a relatively uninterrupted period to work, read, answer emails or prepare for a meeting.
Research commissioned by American Express Global Business Travel found that 92% of surveyed business travellers in France, Germany and the UK use time on trains to work, while almost half identified improved work efficiency as an advantage of rail.
That changes the way journey time can be evaluated.
A longer journey is not necessarily less productive if more of that journey can actually be used.
Overnight rail applies the same principle differently.
Instead of turning travel time into working time, it attempts to turn it into sleeping time.
For corporate travel, that means comparing air and rail solely by the number of hours shown on a timetable can miss an important part of the traveller experience.
Then there is the sustainability question
The renewed interest in rail is not only coming from travellers.
Companies are looking at it too.
As organisations measure the environmental impact of business travel, some are reconsidering whether short-haul flights should automatically be the default when a practical rail alternative exists.
This shift is already influencing travel policies. The European Central Bank, for example, has expanded the destinations for which employees are expected to use rail, including journeys to Amsterdam, Basel, Brussels and Paris.
But there is an important distinction here.
Choosing rail simply because it looks greener on a corporate report is not enough.
The journey still has to work.
If an alternative involves several changes, an impractical schedule or an exhausted traveller arriving before an important meeting, sustainability alone does not make it a good business itinerary.
A sensible travel decision should balance environmental impact, total cost, time, productivity and traveller experience.
Where the romance ends
Night trains can be wonderful.
They can also be inconvenient.
Popular sleeper cabins can sell out. Some routes operate only on certain days. International rail booking remains fragmented. Different operators have different booking rules and conditions. And sleeper travel is not necessarily cheap, particularly when privacy is important.
There is also a fundamental limitation:
Europe is big.
For many journeys, flying remains considerably more practical. Nobody benefits from turning a straightforward flight into an exhausting rail itinerary purely to satisfy a policy.
The return of the night train is not interesting because trains are about to replace aircraft.
They are not.
It is interesting because, for some journeys, the automatic assumption that flying = better no longer holds.
Why is international rail still complicated to book?
Europe has an extraordinary railway network.
Using it as one network is another matter.
A traveller can cross several countries by rail, but finding and booking the complete journey can still mean dealing with different operators, ticketing systems and conditions.
That friction matters, particularly for business travel.
Companies need visibility over complete itineraries, while travellers need to understand what happens if a connection is missed or a service is disrupted.
The European Commission has recognised the problem and proposed measures in 2026 intended to make multi-operator cross-border journeys easier to book and strengthen passenger protection across complete journeys.
If international rail is going to become a stronger alternative to air travel, improving the trains is only half the job.
Buying and managing the journey needs to become easier too.
When does a night train make sense?
There is no magic number of kilometres or hours that works for every traveller.
Instead, look at the journey as a whole.
If the train leaves from a convenient central station, travels overnight, offers accommodation in which the traveller can genuinely rest and arrives at a useful time the following morning, it may be an excellent alternative to flying.
If it requires multiple changes, provides poor sleeping options or turns a manageable journey into an endurance test, probably not.
For business travel in particular, night rail becomes interesting when it can avoid daytime travel, provide a productive evening departure and potentially remove the need for a hotel night.
The goal should not be to choose rail because rail is fashionable.
Nor should the goal be to choose air because that is what we have always done.
The goal is to choose the journey that makes sense.
Where should you try a night train in Europe?
If you want to experience Europe by night train, some routes make particularly good use of overnight travel. Paris–Berlin is a natural choice, while the Brussels–Amsterdam–Berlin–Prague corridor connects several major European business and cultural centres. From September 2026, the Brussels–Cologne–Zurich–Milan service adds an interesting north–south option, linking Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and northern Italy overnight. For travellers starting in Switzerland, Zurich and Basel also offer overnight connections towards cities such as Hamburg, Berlin and Amsterdam, making sleeper rail particularly attractive between Switzerland and northern Europe.
The best night-train journey, however, is not necessarily the longest or most scenic one.
It is the one where you can board in the evening, sleep comfortably and arrive the next morning ready to make the most of your destination.
Perhaps the real luxury is not speed
For years, almost every improvement in travel seemed to promise the same thing:
Get there faster.
Faster aircraft. Faster trains. Faster check-in. Faster connections.
The night train offers something strangely different.
It does not necessarily promise fewer hours of travel.
It asks whether those hours need to feel wasted.
Have dinner.
Close the laptop.
Watch the lights disappear outside the window.
Sleep.
Then open the curtain the following morning somewhere else.
For a leisure traveller, the journey can become part of the experience.
For a business traveller, it may simply be a smarter way to use the night.
And perhaps that is the most interesting part of Europe’s renewed fascination with sleeper trains.
The future of travel may not always be about making the journey shorter.
Sometimes, it may be about making the journey count.
Frequently Asked Questions About Night Trains in Europe
Are night trains really making a comeback in Europe?
Yes, although the revival is not uniform across the continent. New and revived sleeper connections are appearing alongside investment in modern overnight trains, while some other services have been reduced or withdrawn.
What is the difference between a sleeper train and a night train?
A night train is a passenger train that operates overnight. A sleeper train typically provides dedicated sleeping accommodation, such as couchettes or sleeper compartments. The exact terminology and accommodation vary by operator.
Are night trains suitable for business travel?
They can be. Overnight rail can allow a business traveller to depart in the evening, sleep during the journey and arrive the following morning. Whether it makes sense depends on the route, timetable, accommodation and traveller’s schedule.
Can a night train replace a hotel night?
Potentially. On the right itinerary, an overnight sleeper service combines transportation with sleeping accommodation and can remove the need for a separate hotel night.
Are night trains cheaper than flights?
Not necessarily. Private sleeper accommodation can be expensive. A better comparison considers the total trip cost, including airport transfers, accommodation where relevant, baggage and traveller time.
Are night trains more sustainable than flying?
Rail generally offers a lower-emission alternative to air travel on comparable European routes, although the precise environmental impact varies. Sustainability is one reason some organisations are incorporating rail more prominently into corporate travel policies.
Can business travellers work on European trains?
Often, yes. Daytime rail can provide useful periods of working time, although Wi-Fi, mobile connectivity, space and working conditions vary by service and operator.
Are sleeper trains comfortable?
It depends on the accommodation selected. Options range from ordinary seats and shared couchettes to private sleeper compartments with proper beds and, on some modern services, private bathroom facilities.
Is international train travel in Europe easy to book?
Not always. Cross-border journeys can involve multiple rail operators and booking systems. European initiatives are seeking to make multi-operator journeys easier to book and manage.
Should companies replace short-haul flights with rail?
Not automatically. Rail should be considered where it provides a practical alternative. Total journey time, cost, traveller productivity, comfort, connections, disruption risk and environmental impact should all form part of the decision.
A different way to cross Europe
Perhaps the comeback of Europe’s night trains tells us something larger about the way travel is changing.
Not every journey needs to be reduced to the fastest possible connection.
Sometimes convenience means arriving in the city centre rather than at an airport outside it.
Sometimes productivity means several uninterrupted hours on a train.
And sometimes saving time means going to sleep in one country and waking up in another.
At Antaeus Travel Group, we help companies evaluate air and rail as part of the complete business journey considering schedules, connections, traveller requirements and what actually makes sense from departure to arrival.
Because the best itinerary is not necessarily the one with the shortest journey time.
It is the one that makes the journey work.
Planning your next business journey across Europe?
Whether by rail or air, the right itinerary is about more than getting from A to B. Let Antaeus Travel Group help you find the option that works best for your schedule, your travellers and your business.
TRAVEL EUROPE, YOUR WAY
CONTACT OUR CORPORATE TRAVEL EXPERTS
📧 corporate@antaeustravel.com
📞 +30 211 104 2100
Sources: ÖBB Nightjet · European Sleeper · European Commission · European Central Bank · American Express Global Business Travel