Night Training in Europe

One of the joys of travelling in Europe is being able to travel from one country to the next in a space of hours courtesy of its extensive and intertwined rail network - often, you could be in three countries in the space of 12 hours, e.g. travelling from Munich to Verona via Switzerland, or Amsterdam to Paris.

It is not surprising then that Europe has a broad service of night trains - some even can transport cars, a popular option for many still keen to use their car at their destination.

In theory, night trains are a boon for travellers with limited time - you get to twin your sleeping hours with the time required to get from A to B and have more time to explore A A and B. Plus couchettes are often as cheap as hostel beds meaning you should be able to save some money on accommodation and travel.

The reality varies though depending on where you are. While night trains operated by Western European nations are generally very good, night trains in Eastern Europe can be quite a hairy experience with question marks over comfort (dodgy and uncomfortable beds) and security (dodgy train conductors, poor locks on cabin doors) resulting in you ending up with not much sleep.

Some trips worth night-training -

Madrid - Lisbon

This is now the only way to travel between the capitals of Spain and Portugal by train with most long-distance Talgo daytime trains in Spain now replaced by the high-speed AVE trains. However, this night train is probably one of the most comfortable - even if the cabins are a bit on the small side. Each cabin has a small sink to brush your teeth with their complimentary toothpaste and brush. The Trenhotel name is quite apt for this beauty of a train.

Please note, unlike most long-distance trains that now stop at Madrid’s Atocha station, this train stops at Madrid Chamartin station which is in the north part of Madrid.

Copenhagen - Amsterdam/Basel/Prague  

Copenhagen and Scandinavia are quite a long way from the rest of Europe so it is worth doing a night train to and fro Copenhagen. This night train ride is one of the longest in EU land - 14-15 hours between Copenhagen and Amsterdam, Basel and Prague while going through a significant part of Germany including cities like Cologne, Hamburg, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin & Dresden. CityNightLine, operators of this service and a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, do a pretty good job of making one of the longest train journeys in Europe pretty comfortable.

   

Venice - Vienna

For those of you pressed with time yet still want to see as much of Europe as they can, this is quite a fine way of seeing two of Europe’s most famous cities. Venice itself is quite a terminus for night trains from all over Europe - not surprising given it is probably one of the most visited cities in the world. The service on this night train by OEBB is pretty decent too - you get a kaiser roll and coffee on the house and the wagons themselves are pretty well equipped and comfortable. The only disadvantage here is that you will end up missing the climb over the Dolomites but that’s small change if you have seen or have plans to see the Alps or Pyrenees on your trip.

Vienna/Prague - Krakow/Warsaw

This train trip often defines the word “adventure”. While the former Eastern bloc nations have made massive strides in rail transport, some practices die hard especially if you get a much older train conductor who can’t speak English and wants to cheat the odd foreigner with some “harder” form of currency like Euros, pounds - or even the mighty old Aussie dollar. Nevertheless, if you’re game and travelling in a group, this is a good way to get between four of Central Europe’s greatest cities as travelling in the day is often long and arduous given that the railways outside Austria are still not up to the standards in the West. Just be mindful of your belongings and be aware you probably won’t be able to charge your phone here.

Moscow - St Petersburg

One of the classic night train rides in Europe. Nowhere else do you have theme music ringing out to you as you depart - nowhere else do you also have a glass of vodka on the house for the road. A fine choice by politicians and dignitaries to travel between Russia’s most important cities but you won’t feel out of place here.