The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) have confirmed that the Nightjet services from Vienna in Austria and Berlin in Germany to Paris in France will be discontinued from 14 December 2025. The decision follows the announcement by the French Ministry of Transport that it will no longer provide state funding for the operation of international night trains from 2026.

In a statement issued in Vienna on 29 September 2025, ÖBB expressed regret at the withdrawal of its French partners, noting that night trains can only be operated successfully through international cooperation. 

“Following the withdrawal of our French partners, the two night train services can no longer be offered,” the company said. ÖBB added that it would continue operating the Nightjet service from Vienna to Brussels in Belgium three times a week in 2026 and emphasised its ongoing commitment to night train travel, describing itself as Europe’s largest provider of overnight rail connections. 

Among its key routes are Vienna to Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Munich in Bavaria to Rome in Italy, while 24 new-generation Nightjets are being introduced to increase capacity and comfort.

A faltering partnership

When the Paris–Berlin Nightjet was relaunched in December 2023 after a nine-year hiatus, it was celebrated as a symbol of renewed European cooperation. Operated by ÖBB with SNCF providing motive power between Mannheim in Baden-Württemberg and Paris, the train carried both companies’ branding and was presented as proof that state railways working together could offer sustainable alternatives to air travel.

That optimism has since evaporated. As rail analyst Jon Worth reported on 25 September, SNCF is now considering ending its involvement entirely, meaning that both the Paris–Berlin and Paris–Vienna services will cease to exist, leaving France without a single international night train. 

Worth’s sources confirmed that the decision is being taken seriously within SNCF, and the move would effectively dismantle one of Europe’s most symbolic cross-border links.

From the outset, SNCF’s commitment to the Nightjet has appeared half-hearted. The trains operated only three times a week, making them impractical for regular use, and the long-discussed expansion to daily service never materialised. 

In a striking sign of institutional indifference, tickets for the trains have not been available for over a year on SNCF Connect or at SNCF ticket offices, despite SNCF’s official partnership in the venture. Even so, Worth notes that the service has run at an average of 70% occupancy, demonstrating clear passenger demand.

SNCF attributes the potential cancellation to the end of the French government’s subsidy, which was initially granted to support the reintroduction of international night trains. The funding is now threatened by the national budget crisis. Worth, however, argues that a committed operator would be lobbying hard to keep the service alive. “Given SNCF’s half-hearted commitment, I seriously doubt they are doing that. Point the finger at the government – it’s easier,” he observes.

ÖBB, meanwhile, faces technical limitations. Its Siemens Vectron locomotives, which successfully haul the Nightjet between Vienna and Brussels, are not approved to operate in France, making it dependent on SNCF’s cooperation. Alternative arrangements, such as partnering with private companies, would run counter to ÖBB’s long-standing approach of collaborating with other state railways.

“This is just the latest in a series of false dawns for Europe’s night trains,” Worth concludes. “Passengers like them, there is obvious demand, but operators are ambivalent and the European Commission pays only lip service to solving the problems. SNCF’s management seems uninterested in anything that doesn’t go 300 km/h and reach Paris in under three hours – and we, the passengers, are the victims of that narrow-minded approach.”

A fragile opportunity for rescue

While the withdrawal of French support appears decisive, campaigners argue that there is still a narrow window to save the service. The European rail advocacy group Back-on-Track believes the lines could yet be maintained if the French government honours its original three-year commitment to fund their operation.

Writing on 28 September, Patrick Neumann of Back-on-Track noted that Deutsche Bahn has already returned the relevant train paths, making the task more difficult but not impossible. 

According to the NGO, the real barrier lies within SNCF Voyageurs itself, which has so far blocked plans to run daily services, even though ÖBB has proposed a viable timetable with three full trains per week linking Paris directly to Berlin and Vienna without terminating in Mannheim.

Under the slogan “SNCF – So nicht, chère France!” (“Not this way, dear France”), participants in the European Night Train Conference demonstrated at Berlin Main Station, demanding that France fulfil its promises. “The warm words of railway board members and ministers at the reopening in December 2023 have proved worthless,” the organisation said. “A night train that emits 28 times less greenhouse gas than a plane is being scrapped again.”

Back-on-Track has been sharply critical of SNCF’s handling of the partnership. The company’s own website does not list the Nightjet services, despite the carriages bearing the “Team Nightjet – SNCF” logo. Short-notice engineering works repeatedly delayed the trains, and tickets often had to be cancelled due to a lack of alternative routes. 

At Paris-Est Railway Station, the Nightjet remains the only locomotive-hauled train, treated as an anomaly in SNCF’s world of high-speed TGVs.

By the end of September, more than 40,000 people had signed the French petition “Oui au train de nuit”, calling for the services to be preserved. The NGO argues that night trains are not a nostalgic luxury but an essential part of Europe’s climate-friendly transport system.

The wider political context

Back-on-Track also draws attention to inconsistencies in German transport policy. While Berlin’s previous city government described the capital as a future “night train hub”, the current administration under Mayor Kai Wegner has shifted its focus towards expanding air traffic. 

The group points out that international airline tickets are exempt from value-added tax, whereas cross-border train journeys are taxed at seven per cent, creating an uneven playing field.

Between Berlin and Paris alone, there are up to fourteen daily flights in each direction, carrying roughly 675,000 passengers a year at an average fare of one hundred euros. Back-on-Track estimates that the lost VAT revenue on this air route alone amounts to about 12.8 million euros, more than twice the subsidy required to maintain the two Nightjet connections.

The organisation accuses politicians in both countries of favouring the aviation industry at the expense of rail and of ignoring the potential of night trains to provide a low-carbon alternative for medium-distance travel within Europe.

Paris joins the protest

Public concern has since spread from Berlin to Paris. By early October, the petition launched by “Oui au train de nuit” had surpassed 60,000 signatures. On 3 October, nearly one hundred citizens, activists and politicians gathered outside Gare de l’Est, accompanied by the sound of cellos, to call for the preservation and expansion of the Franco-German night train.

Among those present was Karima Delli, former Chair of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee, who warned that France risks falling behind the rest of Europe. “We are falling behind in terms of European dynamics, because night trains are currently being expanded everywhere else. The authorities need to understand that night trains are not a niche market but a real alternative,” she said.

David Belliard, Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of transport and a Green Party candidate in next year’s municipal elections, echoed her sentiments. “The night train must be a real alternative to the aeroplane,” he said. “It is a comfortable means of transport that can become affordable. It’s a question of political choice.”

Frédéric Petit, Democratic MP representing French citizens in Germany, Austria and Central Europe, called on the government to maintain its public support for the routes and to develop new, well-connected and properly marketed services. 

Another Paris official, Frédéric Hocquard, argued that the night train represents “a different kind of tourism – slow tourism”, and that genuine European connectivity cannot exist without it.

The demonstrators, united under the collective “Oui au train de nuit”, insisted that the Paris–Berlin and Paris–Vienna services should not merely survive but expand to daily operation. A higher frequency, they argued, would improve the financial sustainability of the routes while strengthening the image of the operators in France, Germany and Austria alike.

In a statement released after the protest, the collective said that France and Germany should seize this moment to reaffirm the importance of their partnership in European rail transport. “We need a policy that facilitates the free movement of people across borders in an exemplary manner,” it declared.

Supporters of the campaign continue to gather signatures online at agir.greenvoice.fr/p/berlin, hoping to persuade the French government to reconsider its decision before the mid-December deadline.

Europe’s night trains in retreat

Just as campaigners intensified their efforts to save the Paris Nightjet, more bad news arrived. 

On 10 October, Back-on-Track Sweden reported that yet another international night train was to be withdrawn — the Swedish state railway SJ’s year-round night train linking Berlin and Hamburg with Malmö in Scania (Skåne) and Stockholm. The service, which operates in partnership with RDC Deutschland, will end in August 2026.

Both the French and Swedish routes received subsidies for their non-German sections. In the case of the Paris Nightjet, the French funding had always been intended as start-up assistance. 

Continued operation would have required the train to run every two days with double-length carriages to achieve better economies of scale, but Paris Gare de l’Est lacks the capacity to handle longer formations. The French government, by contrast, wanted a daily service — something that would demand costly shunting operations impossible to finance without continued subsidies.

For the Stockholm service, the challenge was different. Its year-round operation was known to require permanent public support, especially during the winter months. That support was provided only as long as the private operator Snälltåget did not run its own trains on the same route. As Snälltåget expanded its summer operations to meet rising demand, the subsidy for SJ’s state-run night train was reduced. “The current Swedish government’s decision not to continue the four-year contract signed by the previous government is not due to a lack of economic viability, but for political reasons,” said Ellie Cijvat of Back-on-Track Sweden. “It is not the only rail project that the current centre-right coalition has stopped.”

Juri Maier, Chairman of Back-on-Track Germany, added: “Under current conditions, night trains in Germany operate just below the economic viability threshold and therefore require government subsidies here and there. Only our neighbouring countries are currently paying for this, which is not a sustainable situation. It’s not a good situation for passengers either: as if it wasn’t enough that train operations are dependent on roadworks, political moods can change at any time.”

Back-on-Track Sweden has called on Transport Minister Andreas Carlson to extend winter financing or retender the service independently of seasonal competition. 

Meanwhile, Back-on-Track Germany urges its own transport minister to reduce the country’s exceptionally high track access charges for night trains to marginal cost levels and to abolish VAT on international rail tickets, aligning them with tax-free air travel. Both measures, long encouraged by the European Union, would help safeguard existing services and enable new connections.

A crossroads for European rail

The uncertain future of the Paris Nightjet, together with the loss of the Sweden–Germany service, encapsulates the tension between Europe’s climate ambitions and its fragmented rail policy. 

The Paris train was reintroduced in 2023 with considerable fanfare, seen as part of a broader renaissance in overnight travel after a decade of decline. It offered a tangible alternative to short-haul flights at a time when the European Union is pledging to reduce emissions from transport and promote sustainable mobility.

Yet this latest reversal shows how fragile such progress remains when left to the goodwill of national operators. 

For ÖBB, the end of the Paris routes marks the loss of one of its most prestigious international services and a setback for its strategy of expanding the Nightjet brand across the continent. For France, it is a blow to its credibility as a supporter of green mobility.

Campaigners fear that the decision will have symbolic as well as practical consequences. If France, one of Europe’s leading economies and the home of high-speed rail, cannot sustain even a handful of international night trains, other countries may hesitate to invest in similar projects.

The issue also raises questions for the European Commission, which has repeatedly promised to foster cross-border connections but has limited power to compel national railways to cooperate. Despite numerous pilot projects and political declarations, the night train network remains patchy and dependent on a few committed operators such as ÖBB.

A test of political will

As the countdown to 14 December continues, pressure on both the French government and SNCF is mounting. The petition is growing, and public demonstrations are multiplying. Environmental organisations have joined the call, emphasising that the Nightjet produces a fraction of the emissions of equivalent air routes and that cancelling it runs counter to the EU’s climate objectives.

For now, ÖBB is preparing for withdrawal, but insiders stress that the trains could resume quickly if France reinstated its funding or if an alternative agreement were reached. The infrastructure, rolling stock and expertise all exist; what is missing, campaigners argue, is political will.

Whether the French government will bow to the growing pressure remains uncertain. But the controversy has already become a litmus test for Europe’s commitment to climate-friendly transport. At stake is not only a pair of night trains but the credibility of the continent’s ambition to shift from air to rail.

If the decision stands, the final Nightjets from Paris to Vienna and Berlin will depart in mid-December 2025, closing a route once celebrated as a milestone in the revival of overnight European travel. For many, that would mark not merely the end of a service, but the failure of a shared European vision.

Some tourism statistics

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• Travel in 2024: Spain, France, USA, China, Mexico lose ground and Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, UAE to grow market share.
• France, Spain, USA, China and Italy most visited countries in the world, Belgium 41st.
• France welcomed 100 million international visitors in 2024.
• Turkey welcomed 62 million international tourists who together spent $61 billion in 2024.
• SPAIN | 94 million international visitors and €108.7 billion tourism income in 2024.
• UN WORLD TOURISM BAROMETER | International tourism recovers pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
• Outside the EU, Europeans mostly travel to Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
• Intra-European travel mostly for fun and / or family.
• Europeans visit other European countries over 7 nights on average.

More on night trains and transcontinental train travel

• 2026 | Deutsche Bahn plans 4 ICE’s per day between Cologne and Antwerp and 16 per day between Frankfurt and Brussels.
• France opens rail network up for new domestic night train operator under new EU rules.
• Back-on-Track Europe warns the ‘night train revival’ is a false dawn.
• Iron Rhine gets renewed political attention in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
• Spain’s Renfe sends Talgo VI rolling stock to Leo Express in Czechia and Slovakia.
• Leo Express: Bratislava – Ostend night train not a firm commitment.
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• ÖBB prioritises Railjet over Nightjet: Is the night train revival a False Dawn?.
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• Deutsche Bahn’s Antwerp – Brussels Airport – Leuven – Cologne ICE aims to attract tourists and Port of Antwerp-related business.
• VIDEO | Berlin start-up Nox to launch night trains with entirely private rooms from 2027.
• EUROPEAN SLEEPER | Brussels to Barcelona night train to stop in Avignon, Montpellier, Narbonne, and Girona.
• Trenitalia, Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB launch Frecciarossa EuroCity trains linking Berlin, Munich, Milan, Rome and Naples.
• The end of the Brussels – Berlin ÖBB Nightjet.
• REVIEW | European Sleeper night train.
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• Dutch budget train GoVolta postponed after not getting funds.
• 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.
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• European Sleeper night train service from the Netherlands and Belgium to Barcelona now delayed to 2027.
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• Brussels to Luxembourg by train under 2 hours by 2030?.
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• ÖBB’s Nightjet to connect Berlin to Brussels from December 2023.
• EUROCITY EC-8 | Basel to Cologne in SBB’s Panoramic Car.
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• REVIEW | Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000 Paris – Milan in Business Executive.
• RAIL TOUR OF EUROPE | How easy is touring Europe by train?.
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• 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.

Channel Tunnel updates

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• 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.
• Heuro wants to operate high speeds trains between Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris and London from 2028.