While multiple mystery novelists have romanticized the idea of the night train, trains with sleeper compartments continue to be a popular tourist activity for train enthusiasts in some countries.
In the U.S., the high cost of cross-country Amtrak routes means that flying or driving is the more affordable choice — and in many cases, a regular means of transportation.
Shortened as ÖBB for Austrian Federal Railways in German, Austria’s national train operator has been running a 10-hour night train between Vienna and Paris since 2021 and added a similar route between Vienna and Berlin two years later in 2023.
But despite the interest among both tourists and locals who need to travel between these cities, these train routes will now be retired by the end of the year.
“We are unfortunately forced to discontinue the night train”: Austrian operator
“Due to the discontinuation of government subsidies in France from 2026 onwards, we are unfortunately forced to discontinue the Vienna/Berlin-Paris (night train) connections from 14 December 2025,” the ÖBB posted on its website in the original German.
The route, dubbed Nightjet, was launched in partnership with French national train operator SNCF and, as the French government pulled funding for the route as part of cost-cutting measures, the Austrian train operator is not able to independently offer the routes.
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“Night trains can only be operated with the participation of international partners,” ÖBB said further in its statement. It added that its nightly routes between Vienna and Brussels, Vienna and Amsterdam, and Munich and Rome would continue to run in 2026.
The last Nightjet train — at least unless there is some kind of last-minute Hail Mary or a change in funding in the coming years — between Vienna and Paris will run on December 14.
At the start of 2025, the ÖBB has also axed its Nightjet line between Brussels and Berlin due to the need for engineering work on the tracks it used.
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The night train has a strong fan base, so why do routes keep getting canceled?
Back in March, the suspension of the Vienna-Berlin-Paris routes was met with disappointment from a niche group of enthusiasts who loved either the particular route or the idea of night trains in general.
“We will continue to invest in night train service with what will be 24 modern next-generation Nightjets, offering greater capacity and comfort on the existing routes,” the ÖBB statement reads.
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Beyond Nightjet, the vast majority of night trains offered in Europe are run by luxury private companies rather than national operators.
Over in Spain, the Trenhotel train service between several Spanish and Portuguese cities shut down operations in 2020; the Covid pandemic helped speed up the need to act upon poor finances and ticket sales that struggled to make up for operating costs.
Due to the higher costs of operating cars equipped with sleeping facilities, night trains are significantly more expensive to run and so are more frequently offered as a luxury experience taken by enthusiasts.
Some of the companies offering luxury night trains include Belmond, the European Sleeper, and the Great Western Railways in the United Kingdom.
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