Despite averaging 70% occupancy since its 2023 relaunch—hitting 90% during summer months—the popular Paris-Berlin and Vienna night train service is facing the axe. France decided to pull state subsidies from 2026. Now over 60,000 people have signed a petition demanding the government reverse course.
High demand and packed summer carriages weren’t enough to save the route from France’s budget cuts.
The trains came back after a nine-year pause, riding a wave of post-pandemic travel and growing climate anxiety. Passengers loved them. Rail enthusiasts championed them. Environmental groups saw them as a significant low-carbon alternative to flights. None of that matters, apparently, when the money runs out.
Here’s the thing: night trains are expensive to run. You can only sell each seat once per night, unlike day trains or flights that cycle through passengers four or five times daily. On top of that, there’s service staff, cabin crew, infrastructure fees, and border-crossing expenses. The math gets ugly fast.
Even at 70% occupancy, operators like ÖBB and Deutsche Bahn say the routes aren’t viable without public funding. Neither company plans to absorb losses after French subsidies disappear. France granted “launch aid” for 2024–2025 but won’t extend it. Budget cuts and frustration with SNCF’s unfulfilled expansion promises appear to have sealed the decision.
It’s a punch in the gut for EU climate ambitions and anyone who thinks cross-border rail should get the same support as highways or airports. Train travel produces 13 times less carbon emissions per passenger than flying, making this decision particularly damaging for climate goals.
The citizen collective Oui au train de nuit? isn’t backing down. They launched the petition immediately after the announcement, appealing directly to SNCF leadership and the French Presidency. Local and European media picked up the story, highlighting how frustrated passengers are—and how lousy the alternatives look.
ÖBB still runs other profitable night routes, like Vienna–Brussels, using different funding models. ÖBB has become the largest provider of sleeper trains in Europe, demonstrating that the business model can work with the right support structures. The NightJet services initiated in 2023 with SNCF, Deutsche Bahn, and SNCB as partners. That said, this shutdown shows how fragile the night train market remains. Without multilateral cooperation or a pan-European funding mechanism, these services stay vulnerable to single-country budget whims.
If the trains disappear, travelers will likely shift to airlines or daytime trains. That undercuts emissions goals and reverses what appeared to be real progress on sustainable travel. The petition signatories get it. The question is whether France does.
