Popularity soars due to airport queues, sustainability and baggage allowance
European night trains are experiencing an era where travelers are looking to avoid airport queues, travel more sustainably, carry more luggage and avoid accommodation costs.
As a result, an increasing number of routes are emerging, including Paris-Berlin, Paris-Vienna, Brussels-Milan, Amsterdam-Zurich, London-Inverness and Milan-Catania.
Austrian railway company OBB operates the largest fleet of sleeper trains traveling at a maximum speed of 230 km per hour. To get an idea of prices, I looked at the Nightjet fare between Vienna and Berlin on May 20, 2026.
The ticket price is 34.90 euros ($61) per seat including breakfast, 49.90 euros ($83) for a bunkette or 114.90 euros ($190) for a sleeper ticket. The train leaves at 22.10 and arrives at 07.41 the next morning, stopping 13 times along the way.
The price of the cheapest direct flight at that time was $421. But this is an anomaly in Europe, as Vienna is poorly served by budget airlines.
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If you’re prepared to sleep upright, a seat is a good deal, but full sleeper class will certainly be more expensive than flying on most routes. However, the cost depends on a number of factors such as the age of the carriages and the class of travel.
Greenpeace’s research concluded that European trains cost on average twice as much as flights on the same route. Cheaper rail options often involved long connection times; It wasn’t something you wanted to encounter in the middle of the night.
The biggest price difference revealed by the Greenpeace study was between Barcelona and London when booked a week in advance; It was 384 euros by train and only 13 euros by plane.
However, prices are falling and sleeper trips will become even cheaper due to increased competition. A German startup called Nox aims to launch services in 2027 that it claims will rival budget airlines in terms of price. It is stated that the price of the single-berth cabin will be 79 €.
According to travel booking site Omio, the most affordable sleeper train is the Paris-Nice train, where tickets are sometimes sold for as little as €19 per seat. Other affordable routes are Bratislava-Split, Berlin-Brussels, Brussels-Vienna and Munich-La Spezia, north of Pisa.
Needless to say, the comparison is not only between the two types of transport, because the night train saves on accommodation, but sleeper trains are much less comfortable than even budget hotel rooms.
At Berlin’s main station, the price of a Motel One starts from 90 euros, and the price of an Ibis starts from 75 euros, which is not much more than a seat ticket for two people, that is, two nights. You’ll probably have a much better sleep. Therefore, the price savings on night trains are not that obvious, especially if you book a couchette or sleeper class.
However, sleeper travel also has non-monetary advantages. Trains are more environmentally friendly than planes, they usually drop you off in the center of the city and you can spend the whole day sightseeing rather than on public transport; But whether you get the full benefit of it may depend on how well you sleep.
Brian Johnston seemed destined to be a travel writer: an Irish man born in Nigeria, raised in Switzerland, lived in Britain and China, and now calls Australia home.
