5 ms·

Massively expensive and people weren't willing to pay

hef19898 5y ago
High speed, maybe. The German railway gave up night trains as well, only to have the Austrians step in to take the night lines over. Which are now massively popular, and profitable.
- reacharavindh 5y ago
  I made the trip from Denmark to Austria last year on the train. It was lovely. We drive from our home in DK to Hamburg, loaded our car on the train (8:45 PM after having dinner). Slept comfortably in a cabin for the night. Drove off at Vienna the next morning from the train off to Salzburg. It was a joy to 1. Not worry about packing light to lug around all the stuff in a airport, or to worry about checking in luggages. We have a 2 year-old. So, these things are a source of stress. We just packed everything we wanted in the trunk of our own car. 2. Have our car with us during the trip so that we got the freedom to go wherever we wanted to and not have to rent a car in Austria. 3. Pay less. The cost of the train ticket can be seen also as including what would’ve been a night stay at a hotel. 4. Sleep comfortably. No driving over night or sitting in a cramped airline seat. I will happily pay extra for such car train trips. It’s a pity they very few.
  - mungoman2 5y ago
    I had no idea this was possible. Will definitely do this in the summer. Thanks!
  - hef19898 5y ago
    Same reason why taking ferries over night, and paying for a cabin when traveling with kids, is so nice! Didn't consider car trains yet, there might be a trip coming up next year where this might fit really well. Just the other direction, Munich to Hirtshals. When a train, over night, can cut the German leg to Hamburg out that would be cool!
  - Arrath 5y ago
    Having taken a night train from Moscow to St. Petersburg, I likewise found it to be a really enjoyable experience.
  - inglor_cz 5y ago
    I have taken sleeper trains several times (about 7 times in my life), mostly from Prague to somewhere, but I was never able to sleep comfortably there. The train shakes a lot (possibly only a problem of older cars/rails that is not present in richer Western Europe) and wakes me up. On some stretches of the track my head is lower than my feet, and even if the tilt is slight, it makes falling asleep hard. Whenever we arrive at a station, sharp white-bluish artificial light penetrates the curtains and a loud, long announcement for passengers wakes me up. I can manage about 2-3 hours of tired sleep in such conditions and the next day I zone out regularly until I get into a real bed.
    - cromka 5y ago
      Good, cotton+wax earplugs and a face mask. Both already irreplaceable on long-haul flights, so why not use them on the train?
      - inglor_cz 5y ago
        My longest flight so far was 4,5 hours, to the Canary Islands. Europe is smallish (and Canary Islands are already part of Africa, at least geologically!) But yes, these days I have both, so I might try the next time. I only found a good mask in 2018, though, and I had it imported from the U.S., it had to go through the customs. IDK why, but locally available masks are mediocre.
        cromka 5y ago
        > IDK why, but locally available masks are mediocre. Probably for the same reason you mentioned – they are hardly used by anyone in Europe, whereas overnight flights are very common in the US – think West to East coast, for example. Also, see my other comment just above on the plugs. And mind sharing which mask did you buy?
      - iso1210 5y ago
        I don't use either on a plane, can't sleep with facemasks, and I hate things in my ear. However it's not the noise. A plane rarely has turbulence - you can board a plane at midnight in Singapore, put the bed back after a nightcap about 2am singapore time, get a good 8 hours, and wake for an early breakfast, with no disturbance as everyone else is either asleep or sat in their seat. On a sleeper from say London to Aberdeen you are woken by various stops and the noise on the platform (Crewe, Preston, Carlisle), and then again by shunting and banging at Edinburgh as trains are coupled and decoupled.
  - alistairSH 5y ago
    In the US, there's an overnight train from DC to Orlando (Disney World). It's popular with families for the same reason - pack your car, drive it into the car carriage, and go catch some sleep. No worry about kids in airports, renting and dealing with child seat installations, etc.
- rsj_hn 5y ago
  Am a big fan of night trains when I travel. I've used them in China, a switzerland to belgium route, and also Brussels to Prague. That was a long time ago, but it was very enjoyable for a tourist.

hef19898 5y ago

High speed, maybe. The German railway gave up night trains as well, only to have the Austrians step in to take the night lines over. Which are now massively popular, and profitable.

reacharavindh 5y ago
I made the trip from Denmark to Austria last year on the train. It was lovely. We drive from our home in DK to Hamburg, loaded our car on the train (8:45 PM after having dinner). Slept comfortably in a cabin for the night. Drove off at Vienna the next morning from the train off to Salzburg. It was a joy to 1. Not worry about packing light to lug around all the stuff in a airport, or to worry about checking in luggages. We have a 2 year-old. So, these things are a source of stress. We just packed everything we wanted in the trunk of our own car. 2. Have our car with us during the trip so that we got the freedom to go wherever we wanted to and not have to rent a car in Austria. 3. Pay less. The cost of the train ticket can be seen also as including what would’ve been a night stay at a hotel. 4. Sleep comfortably. No driving over night or sitting in a cramped airline seat. I will happily pay extra for such car train trips. It’s a pity they very few.
- mungoman2 5y ago
  I had no idea this was possible. Will definitely do this in the summer. Thanks!
- hef19898 5y ago
  Same reason why taking ferries over night, and paying for a cabin when traveling with kids, is so nice! Didn't consider car trains yet, there might be a trip coming up next year where this might fit really well. Just the other direction, Munich to Hirtshals. When a train, over night, can cut the German leg to Hamburg out that would be cool!
- Arrath 5y ago
  Having taken a night train from Moscow to St. Petersburg, I likewise found it to be a really enjoyable experience.
- inglor_cz 5y ago
  I have taken sleeper trains several times (about 7 times in my life), mostly from Prague to somewhere, but I was never able to sleep comfortably there. The train shakes a lot (possibly only a problem of older cars/rails that is not present in richer Western Europe) and wakes me up. On some stretches of the track my head is lower than my feet, and even if the tilt is slight, it makes falling asleep hard. Whenever we arrive at a station, sharp white-bluish artificial light penetrates the curtains and a loud, long announcement for passengers wakes me up. I can manage about 2-3 hours of tired sleep in such conditions and the next day I zone out regularly until I get into a real bed.
  - cromka 5y ago
    Good, cotton+wax earplugs and a face mask. Both already irreplaceable on long-haul flights, so why not use them on the train?
    - inglor_cz 5y ago
      My longest flight so far was 4,5 hours, to the Canary Islands. Europe is smallish (and Canary Islands are already part of Africa, at least geologically!) But yes, these days I have both, so I might try the next time. I only found a good mask in 2018, though, and I had it imported from the U.S., it had to go through the customs. IDK why, but locally available masks are mediocre.
      - cromka 5y ago
        > IDK why, but locally available masks are mediocre. Probably for the same reason you mentioned – they are hardly used by anyone in Europe, whereas overnight flights are very common in the US – think West to East coast, for example. Also, see my other comment just above on the plugs. And mind sharing which mask did you buy?
    - iso1210 5y ago
      I don't use either on a plane, can't sleep with facemasks, and I hate things in my ear. However it's not the noise. A plane rarely has turbulence - you can board a plane at midnight in Singapore, put the bed back after a nightcap about 2am singapore time, get a good 8 hours, and wake for an early breakfast, with no disturbance as everyone else is either asleep or sat in their seat. On a sleeper from say London to Aberdeen you are woken by various stops and the noise on the platform (Crewe, Preston, Carlisle), and then again by shunting and banging at Edinburgh as trains are coupled and decoupled.
- alistairSH 5y ago
  In the US, there's an overnight train from DC to Orlando (Disney World). It's popular with families for the same reason - pack your car, drive it into the car carriage, and go catch some sleep. No worry about kids in airports, renting and dealing with child seat installations, etc.
rsj_hn 5y ago
Am a big fan of night trains when I travel. I've used them in China, a switzerland to belgium route, and also Brussels to Prague. That was a long time ago, but it was very enjoyable for a tourist.