A new player is entering the European mobility space. Nox (night in Latin), a Berlin-based startup is on a mission to offer a real alternative to short-haul flights. From the end of 2027, Nox plans to operate Europe-wide overnight trains with fully personal rooms for one or two people at the price of a flight. Will they succeed were Midnight Trains and GoVolta failed? 

Late 2027 is ambitious. In railway context, that is next week Friday. 

“Sleeping while a train gets you across Europe is a great concept. But today people have to share their cabins with strangers, beds are tight, and it’s often more expensive than air travel. We want to change that and make night trains an essential part of European travel”, says Thibault Constant from France, co-founder of Nox, in a press release. On YouTube and Instagram, he is known as Simply Railway, with over half a million followers and over 400 night train trips worldwide under his belt.

His experience influenced Nox a lot: All three room types will have 2-meter long beds, separate seats with tables, enough space to stand up and store your luggage. Nox also plans to offer double beds and beds with panoramic window views. 

Standardisation

“Our room design allows us to fit more people into our trains than traditional operators can. This, paired with a strict focus on standardisation and operational excellence will allow us to offer affordable fares on over 35 European routes”, says the founder Janek Smalla from Germany who has co-launched FlixTrain, and until 2024 led the German ridesharing market for Bolt.

The company has already reserved train coaches, is finalising the approval of its interior design and is now preparing the next large financing round for autumn. 

Interested passengers can already explore planned timetables, detailed views of the rooms and prices on noxmobility.com. 

Users can also join the free Nox Early Bird Club to stay updated, enjoy discounted rates, and gain early-access to bookings.

Where and when?

In a map the startup released , connections between major cities like Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Vienna, Warsaw, Budapest and Stockholm are shown.

By 2035, Nox hopes to offer dozens of overnight routes across the continent.

Will it work? 

“I’ve had the chance to speak directly with Janek and Thibault, the two founders of Nox, a newly launched European night train venture. I know them both personally and was able to ask them a few pointed questions about their plans. The concept is bold, the ambition clear — and, refreshingly, these two know what they’re doing”, Jon Worth, our go-to independent railway commentator says on Mastodon. 

“That said, I probably wouldn’t have launched with the sort of high-gloss website they’ve gone for. It leans quite heavily into hype — the kind of overselling that doesn’t quite match the realities of how slowly rail projects move in Europe. But that’s their call. Let’s put the website to one side and get to the real substance.”

“What stands out to me is that Janek and Thibault are intensely aware of the long line of failed or faltering attempts to revive night trains in Europe. And rather than ignore those lessons, they’ve taken them seriously. They want to do things differently — and better.”

Standardisation and scale

Their strategy hinges on two key ideas: standardisation and scale.

“Think of how FlixTrain built its rolling stock strategy — big, uniform fleets, massive capacity, predictable product. It’s not a coincidence: Janek previously worked for FlixTrain, and you can see that thinking carried through to Nox.”

“Will it succeed? I don’t know. But there is a chance that it does – what they are trying to do makes sense, so that’s something.”

More on night trains and transcontinental train travel

• EUROSTAR | London – Frankfurt, London – Geneva and Amsterdam – Antwerp – Brussels – Geneva from 2030?.
• Alstom wants its double-decker trains to ride through Channel Tunnel.
• EUROPEAN SLEEPER | Brussels to Barcelona night train to stop in Avignon, Montpellier, Narbonne, and Girona.
• CHANNEL TUNNEL | Uber Trains-branded Gemini Trains plan London-Brussels and London-Paris route via Stratford.
• Trenitalia, Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB launch Frecciarossa EuroCity trains linking Berlin, Munich, Milan, Rome and Naples.
• London to Switzerland direct train moves a little closer with new bilateral agreement.
• Eurostar calls for UK national strategy and investment to shape future of Channel Tunnel Rail and promises 50 new trains.
• Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) plan to launch a new high-speed link between London and Paris.
• London St. Pancras Highspeed pledges financial support for cross-Channel rail services.
• Competition for Eurostar? Temple Mills International Depot has space for competitor’s trains.
• The end of the Brussels – Berlin ÖBB Nightjet.
• REVIEW | European Sleeper night train.
• European Sleeper now “truly” riding to Venice.
• Dutch budget train GoVolta postponed after not getting funds.
• London St Pancras Highspeed and Getlink aspire to to triple train services to France, Belgium and the Netherlands and add services to Germany and Switzerland.
• Eurostar scraps direct Amsterdam – Brussels – Marseille summer train service.
• European Commission commits to single-ticket train travel, Back-on-Track unconvinced it will happen.
• Switzerland, Czechia and Belgium top railway network density in Europe.
• SNCF Réseau confirms feasibility European Sleeper night train linking the Netherlands, Belgium, France to Barcelona in Spain.
• Arriva surveys customers for Groningen – Amsterdam – Utrecht – Antwerp – Brussels – Paris train.
• 31 MARCH 2025 | Reopening France – Italy Fréjus Rail Tunnel kickstarts Paris to Milan direct train connection.
• OUIGO ‘slow’ train between Brussels and Paris from 19 December 2024.
• Arriva Tri-Country Train between Maastricht, Liège and Aachen will start on Sunday 9 June 2024 without OV-chipkaart.
• European Sleeper night train service from the Netherlands and Belgium to Barcelona now delayed to 2027.
• EU train travel report sees increase in cross-border passenger trains and easier bookings.
• Brussels to Luxembourg by train under 2 hours by 2030?.
• Heuro wants to operate high speeds trains between Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris and London from 2028.
• Eurostar and five more train operators joined the European Agreement on Journey Continuation.
• ÖBB’s new Nightjet sleeper cars accommodate solo travellers with Mini Cabins.
• Trenitalia orders new Hitachi Frecciarossa trains suited for France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
• ÖBB’s Nightjet to connect Berlin to Brussels from December 2023.
• EUROCITY EC-8 | Basel to Cologne in SBB’s Panoramic Car.
• Trenitalia / FS confirms interest in connecting Spain to Brussels, Amsterdam and Berlin.
• Sampling NS’ new train and future Benelux rolling stock ICNG.
• REVIEW | Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000 Paris – Milan in Business Executive.
• RAIL TOUR OF EUROPE | How easy is touring Europe by train?.
• Eight train connections between the Netherlands and Belgium by 2030?.
• REVIEW | ÖBB Nightjet Amsterdam – Zurich night train.
• Nightjet Vienna/Innsbruck to Brussels, or how we got thrown off the train in Aachen.
• Why the expensive ÖBB Nightjet is really not that expensive.
• Reliving the era of the great railway journeys, travelling overnight on Nightjet.
• How we plan a big rail trip.
• Ticket Distribution: the failure of railways to sell themselves.
• To use night trains in Portugal and Spain or not?.
• Night trains in Europe.
• Low-cost, long-haul trains to conquer Europe?.
• Fly now before it’s taxed and consider using the train instead.