safety, couchette, night train, Italy

I've spent at least a dozen nights as a solo female traveller in 6-person couchette cars. I've honestly had no problems or concerns about personal safety. One time I was in a car with 5 fairly drunk Norwegians, but once the lights went out they were pretty much out. None of the other times were particularly memorable. I've always kept my valuables on me. I've never been able to sleep on a train, but lying down is more comfortable than sitting up all night. Wear comfortable clothing ... you will just sleep in whatever you wear. I also typically put my bag on my bunk (at the foot).

Thanks for your response, Laura...it's reassuring. We're pretty good sleepers, so I'm actually hoping to get a decent night's rest.

We've taken an overnight train to Italy on a couple of occasions. My suggestion for you and your daughter would be to take the top bunks left and right, or the top and middle bunks on one side. That way if people get up and crawl out of bed during the night to use the restroom, they will not be disturbing you as much as if they had to climb down past your bed. There will be one attendant just for your car. S/he will probably advise you to lock your compartment from the inside during the night once all passengers have entered your compartment. Good advice for an extra stress free sleep. The attendant will probably give you a bottle of water as you leave, and provide a little breakfast for you before you arrive in Vienna.

Practice sleeping with earplugs and a mask now to help you rest when on the train ( I use them all the time now after getting used to them in Europe). Also, get a couple of flashlights for you for the overnight part of the trip in case you have to get up in the night- don't want to step on a leg! Our family of 4 booked a T4 on a city night line( Nancy that means we booked an entire second class compartment which had 6 bunks -could have held 6 people) and I don't know how comfortable we would have been during the time when no one was sleeping as it meant sitting on someone else's bunk.
Hope you have packed the RS way as there is not a lot of room for suitcases except either under the bottom bunk or over the door, and you'll be sharing those spaces with the other travelers. I'm sure it will be memorable! What a nice trip and a nice age, 14!

I know you asked about safety and not the ability to sleep but that's what I will speak about. When I was younger (and smaller) my wife and I took several night trains. We never shared, having a bit more money then, and my wife not liking to have to go down the train to the facilities in her nightdress. We've gone LA-Chicago-Syracuse, LA-Santa Fe-Chicago, Ft Worth - Chicago - Syracuse, Montreal - NYC, Bruges - Munich, and Paris - Nice. I love trains, and usually sleep like a log. We never slept more than fitfully. We woke up every time the train stopped, every time they added or removed carriages, and when people walked down the corridor. We've finished with night trains. I expect it will be a real adventure to your 14 year old, and she will probably fit comfortably on the bunk. Its only about 18 inches to 2 feet wide if my memory is right and if you are worried about your roommates you may be uncomfortable. I wish I could paint it all rosy, but I'd like you to be informed.

Like Laura, I have traveled alone and in couchettes with mixed company. I took a night train from Venice to Rome that left at midnight. I slept the whole way and the person sleeping next to the door lock kept it locked for the whole trip. I would not worry about it.

Nothing to worry about. They are perfectly safe, though not very comfy or restfull. Toliets are down the hall but each cabin has a sink with fresh water provided to brush teeth. Some trains have a shower cabin and I've done that once but don't expect to (I wouldn't do it again myself). Everyone sleeps in either their clothes or something comfy. If it's a mixed gender cabin and you are shy (some Europeans are not), you can change in the toilet.

Not the most experienced train traveler, but I haven't seen any cabins with sinks in second class couchettes- it's all bunks, isn't it? First class cabins have the beds, a sink, WC and a shower.

I would not take night trains in Italy. They are too slow compared to their daytime options, most of them are from the 80s and even 70s, and rather filthy. I'm Italian, and I'd not caught those trains.

Melissa - every couchette I've ever been in has a small sink. Bottled water is provided (the tap is non-potable). Only private cabins have their own wc and shower. Some cars have a shower down the hall and all cars have a wc down the hall.

Douglas, if you are in a couchette set up for potentially 6 people you will not usually have a sink, at least on the Italian trains. None of the trains that we took had a private sink. I looked up some more information to refresh my memory on www.seat61.com and I also cleared up a mystery for me. I never knew why we had the 6 berth couchette compartment completely to ourselves when traveling from Germany/France to Italy (we've done this 3 times) when we were only a party of 3-4 people (different trips). The seat61 website explains that if you have a 1st class rail ticket, the entire berth will be yours and since we were traveling with a 1st class flexpass railpass two of our 3 times, we always had the entire berth to ourselves and I never knew why. We kept waiting for the other people to show up. We thought that we were just very lucky as the train seemed to be pretty full. The third time we were on a night train, Geneva to Rome, was with our group of 48 students with tickets, no railpass, and trust me, we were crammed in 6 to a berth! Also, I'd have to agree with Andrea a little bit here. The Italian night trains are never as posh looking as the newer daytime long distance trains that originate in countries to the north of Italy...

Nancy I don't think anyone had mentioned this here but it is common for your train car's attendant to take your passport and ticket from you and keep it overnight. This was a little disconcerting the first time this happened to us. S/he will return it to you in the morning. Supposedly this is so you will not be disturbed during the night when you cross borders. The last time we took a night train was in 2005 so maybe this isn't true anymore. Fellow travelers, do you know? The seat61 website still states this fact.

Mona: Passports are still typically collected and held overnight. Maybe some older Italian trains do not have sinks in each cabin, but most European trains do. 6 bed couchettes are the same cabin as 4 beds, it just depends on how many beds they lower. And if one or two people book a couchette that can support 4-6, they will rent the other bunks even if you have a 1st class ticket. It may be that no one reserves those berths and you get the cabin to your self.

My daughter & I took a 6-bed couchette from Paris to Milano Centrale in 2009. What a nightmare. We had great travel partners, but the ride was a nightmare and all 6 agreed. You are handed a sort of sheet in the shape of long pillowcase and you slide in - by morning after twisting and turning, the sheet was around my neck. No one slept. You are also handed water. Since there are 3 bunks on a side, you are only able to raise yourself part way up. I tried in the dark to get a drink of water and instead poured it down my neck. All 6 of us agreed, all still friends, but the couchette, NEVER AGAIN !! In 10 days we are traveling again, but flying instead.

Jackie - whenever I read that seat61 guy's website about how overnight trains are like plush hotels on wheels, I think of experiences like yours. I've taken a lot of overnight trains and rarely have ever slept well or been comfy. They are safe, an opportunity to meet people and sometimes convenient, but almost never comfy or restful.

@ Douglas, I've been on CNL in couchettes ( 2nd class), no sinks. The first class cabins were lovely, fully equipped; my younger son talked the conductor into letting him shower in an unoccupied one. The Second Class cars had only the bunks: sinks with running water fro hands or teeth and WCs were down the hall. NO bathing facilities for second class!
Maybe that was just the CNL layout. So, Question: I think "second class" when someone says "couchette", but I could be wrong. (I think I'm basing this notion on poring over DeutscheBahn,all overnighters have been on only German, Czech and Netherlands sleeping cars. )

The Man on Seat61 is partially a travel writer, partially a rail fan. It is less objective in his assessment as, say, Rick Steves. So I'd be a bit cautious about the one-sided opinion of Seat61 website. Sure, it is an amazing information about how to book trains and so, but I'd be wary of its recommendations on 20h journeys like they were "amazing", and let alone a crazy 38h Lisbon-Berlin train journey! Here in Europe, for instance, nobody normal would travel London-Italy by train. Ever. So take Seat61 recommendations and evaluations about how comfort overnight journeys are.