night trains europe december

There is a night train leaving from nearby Cologne at 22:28 and arrives Prague 9:27 the next day. Cologne is only a half hour away by train. There is a night train from Prague leaving at 23:45 and arriving Budapest at 8:35. You are running into the semiannual European train schedule adjustment which starts Dec 13. So the Cologne-Prague train will be available to book 90 days out, (about Sept 10), you will need to wait a few months until the winter schedules are out for the Prague-Budapest train.

The Dec. 14 schedule change is the most likely time of year for adjustments to night train schedules. For instance, there is discussion of discontinuing Paris-Germany and Copenhagen-Germany City Night Line service, but we have not heard any news for your routes.