A key sleeper train network connecting Paris to Vienna and Berlin will cease operations in December.
The Nightjet service between Paris and Berlin was brought back in 2023, nine years after it was originally scrapped.
But the French train operator SNCF Voyageurs announced on Monday (29 September) that the service would be discontinued as of 14 December 2025.
The French Ministry of Transport has ceased to support the service with a state subsidy, the operator said.
The train was operated by SNCF, Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the National Railway Company of Belgium (SNCB).
SNCF noted that operating night trains is a “huge economic challenge” as high traffic did not outweigh the production costs.
“While a seat on an airplane can be sold up to five times a day and a seat on a day train up to four times, a seat on a night train can only be sold once a day,” the train operator explained.
“In addition, the personnel costs are higher on night trains (more service staff are needed, more cabin crew due to border crossings, and the cost of night services is higher).
“Long journeys incur costs related to accessing infrastructure in several countries and high energy costs. Finally, border crossings require locomotive and crew changes.”
It added that the Paris to Vienna and Berlin train had an average occupancy rate of 70 per cent in 2024, which was not economically viable without state subsidies.
ÖBB also put out a statement saying that it “regrets” the service being scrapped.
“Night trains can only be operated with the participation of international partners,” it said. “ÖBB regrets that, following the withdrawal of the French partners, both night train connections can no longer be offered as of December 14, 2025.”
ÖBB maintained that its Vienna to Brussels Nightjet will remain in service in 2026 and will continue to operate three times a week.
Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent, was in Paris for the historic arrival of the sleeper train from Berlin in December 2023.
He said of the scrapping: “This is sad news for Europe’s rail travellers – but, bluntly, not enough of us flocked to the train to make it a viable alternative. The day train between the French and German capitals continues, but the budget airlines seem to have captured most of the market.”
A French citizen collective, Oui au train de nuit? (“Yes to the night train?”), has started a petition for Jean-Pierre Farandou, president of the SNCF, and French president Emmanuel Macron to save the service.
It said: “It is unacceptable that the only two international night trains serving France year-round should disappear. Each of the stakeholders has room to act, and each can take a step toward truly reviving international night trains.”
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