Draft:Night train

A night train is long-distance rail service that departs in the evening, and arrives in the morning. Overnight passenger night trains specifically include reconfigurable couchette carriages or dedicated sleeping car accomodation.[1] Some trains include motorail transport for cars and motorbikes, while passengers sleep overnight.[2]

During the 2000s, overnight night trains have remained popular, but have faced difficulties from bureaucracy, railway engineering works, and availability of sufficient overnight rolling stock.[3] Motorail transport in Great Britain ended in 2005.[4]

In January 2026, the Caledonian Sleeper route network was expanded with a stop of Birmingham International airport station.[5]

References

  1. ^ Steer Davies Gleave supported by TRASPOL - Politecnico di Milano (2017). Research for TRAN Committee - Passenger night trains in Europe: the end of the line? (Study). Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies (Report). Brussels: European Parliament. doi:10.2861/414087. ISBN 978-92-846-0020-5. Retrieved 2026-01-27. For this research study on passenger night trains we have used the following definition: "A passenger night train is any train consisting partly or wholly of rolling stock dedicated to, or reconfigured for, overnight travel".
  2. ^ Kvarnefalk, Albin (2023-06-30). Biltåg i Sverige: Förutsättningar för inrikes biltågstrafik [Motorail in Sweden: Conditions for domestic motorail traffic] (PDF) (Thesis) (in Swedish). Examiner: Oskar Fröidh; Supervisors: Anders Lindahl (KTH), Emil Jansson (KTH), Erik Haster (Sweco) & Pär Winberg (Sweco). Stockholm: KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2026-01-28 – via DiVA open archive. Biltåg där passagerarna åker med i vanliga passagerarvagnar och bilar medföljer på särskilda transportvagnar i samma tåg kan vara ett sätt att hantera säsongsbaserade extremflöden av bilresor,
  3. ^ Sapio, Martina (2025-12-29). "Why Europe's night-train renaissance derailed". Politico Europe. Retrieved 2026-01-27. Europe's night trains were hailed as a pillar of the EU's green-mobility future, … "The demand is there," said Chris Engelsman, co‑founder of startup operator European Sleeper. "People like night trains. They think they're better for the environment or more efficient — that's not the issue. The problem is the limitations and bureaucracy of the railway system." … proposed overnight service by the Swiss Federal Railways from Basel to Malmö will not go ahead as planned after Swiss lawmakers scrapped the funding
  4. ^ Elvery, Martin (2022-03-13). "Londoners remember the lost train service that you could take your car on and go on holiday". MyLondon. Retrieved 2026-01-28. Londoners over the years had literally driven cars onto the back of trains, curled up in comfy overnight sleeper cars and headed off on holiday to Cornwall, Wales or Scotland. … Kensington Olympia - one of the main London bases for Motorail … cars were driven onto an open carriage - unlike the covered ones on EuroTunnel - although some motorail services did have double-decker carriages that looked like proper car transporters you see on the roads. … "We just left our car at the reception and took our overnight bag onto the train, it was easy," … Motorail began in 1955 between King's Cross and Perth. The service between London and Scotland was withdrawn in 1988, and the London‒Penzance service ran until 2005. … First Great Western relaunched a service from London Paddington to Penzance as part of its grandly titled Night Riviera overnight sleeper service, in September 1999. This ran with eight converted General Utility Vans. It ran for six years but was withdrawn at the end of summer 2005.
  5. ^ "Anglo-Scottish sleeper trains set to call at city". BBC News Online. 2026-01-15. Retrieved 2026-01-28. Caledonian Sleeper described the move as the most significant change to its network in more than three decades. … direct services between Birmingham International … and Aberdeen, Fort William and Inverness. … travelling north from Birmingham International will be able to board a train at 22:42 GMT on weeknights or 22:35 on Sundays. … Southbound trains will also run through the night, arriving at Birmingham International at 06:20. …

Further reading

  • "The 1980s time-warp of the London-Scotland sleeper train". Magazine. BBC website. 2014-06-01. Retrieved 2026-01-27. Britain's sleepers with their narrow bunks … have one benefit over their European counterparts. Most berths are either solo or with twin beds. … In France, the basic sleeping … couchettes, … where six strangers stretch out in very close proximity.


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