The return of night trains

That's nice to hear! I think they are great for certain segments, especially young adults trying to save money and those that are traveling in a tighter itinerary. It also is a bit of an adventure. We did one from Budapest to Prague about 7 years back. It's a little noisy, maybe the new cars would be quieter. I would want to make sure that I wouldn't be missing some great scenery. Also, for me, I'd want to check to see how many intermediate stops occur. I woke up at each train station.

I like sleeper services and am glad to read about their renaissance. However, I think it would be wrong to sell them on the basis of "romance". Generally they aren't the Orient Express and instead are more functional than flashy. Although obviously better than flying. Also, the Caledonian Sleeper isn't really new - the rolling stock is, but the service itself has been there long before. As well as those in the article, the Renfe Trenhotels are worth using too.

"once considered old fashioned and nostalgic"..... maybe so but the night trains were spartan, often stopped numerous times which awakened passengers and made the trip uncomfortable if not a nightmare. Sharing a berth with complete strangers was another drawback. Hopefully the new purveyors have realized the shortcomings of previous years and made enough changes that a night train overnight journey isn't an endurance test. We love trains across Europe, thanks to www.seat61.com, and hope that night trains have improved substantially. We'd love to try them again.

Thanks for this news...great! More options in my trip planning.

I never believed that night trains were disappearing in spite of some lines having been abolished Night train service will stick around. There are a lot of people taking night trains.

True, I don't see any Americans, except that one family that time going to Paris from Hannover. No more since that night route is gone. Certain cities, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen,.. that part of Europe is in longer served by night trains.

I always believed that night service would still continue even though the night train offering a couchette and sleeper may be gone.

No problem with just night service if it's direct, since I don't use those two other options anyway. NJ picked up the night train routes offer the sleeper and couchette.

I agree that it is probably not a great idea to market them as romantic. Unless you are actually considering the Orient Express, but those tickets are not cheap.

Which leads me to another misconception that seems to be common among Americans. The point of travelling by train is not that it is exotic, romantic, has amazing scenery etc. The reason we Europeans travel by train a lot is because it is a fast, efficient, comfortable and usually cheap way to get from city centre A to city centre B. Sure, it might be exotic to Americans. And the scenery outside the window might be amazing, but it might also be dull with nothing but fields or forests. Or just tens of kms with nothing but sound barriers.

I agree, Badger: comfortable and cheap (mostly). I like that people may choose overnight trains instead of flights for ecological purposes. I would not take an overnight train unless I had a bed. Sitting up all night on the plane is bad enough. The one time we did take an overnight train, it was fun and I would do it again even if I did not get quite enough sleep. We got enough sleep that we could enjoy the next day touring.

Hoping to do the Caledonian Sleeper in the next couple of years.

I have had several overnight train experiences. One was in Egypt, from Cairo to Luxor and it was grand. I loved seeing the porters in the railroad station in Cairo carrying luggage on their heads for their customers. I loved our little "cabin" on the train, with toilet, hand basin et al. Overnight trains in Europe were quite different for us. At stops during the night, the railroad workers at the various stations were noisy, yelling out instructions to one another with no thought for the poor passengers. Also, our 3 passenger cabin (husband, sister and I) was once joined through the night by a fourth, with very stinky feet. I need say no more.

Well ... as long as they don't call them "sleepers".

I would not take an overnight train unless I had a bed.

Wise decision, I've done it a few times when I had no choice and can't recommend it. Another tip is to not book a too short journey, you'll need the trip to be long enough to get a full nights sleep. But personally I love night trains, a great way to travel.

P.S. Ships have cabins, trains have compartments.

You will see "Schlafwagen" on the sleeper coach(es). I've been including 2-3 night train rides since my post-retirement trips...stretches out trip days.