2024 - Night train: Paris-Berlin line soon to be suspended for works (SNCF)

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The night train between Berlin and Paris at Gare de l’Est, in Paris, on December 12, 2023 (AFP/Alain JOCARD)

The Paris-Berlin night train line, inaugurated last December, will be suspended for two and a half months from August 12, due to necessary work on several sections of the route, in France and Germany, the French railway group SNCF explained on Thursday.

“In order to avoid significant train cancellations, significant delays and other inconveniences for our customers, the partners of the Nightjet offer have decided to implement a temporary interruption” of several night train lines, indicates the company at AFP.

The Paris-Vienna and Brussels-Berlin night train lines are also interrupted. Only the Vienna-Brussels line will operate “three times a week, as planned”, specifies the Austrian company ÖBB.

On the French side, “major works” on the Epernay – Château-Thierry (north-east) section are preventing the proper operation of the line, while in Germany, various works between Halle and Eisenach (south-west) “could lead to diversions and longer journey times”, explains the SNCF.

“Transporters have sought alternative solutions in conjunction with infrastructure managers, but all of them create risks of irregularity or even unexpected deletion,” adds the French railway company, to justify the decision to interrupt the line.

Night trains will resume service on the lines concerned on October 28, 2024, according to SNCF, which specifies that no tickets “have been sold during this period, therefore there are no customers affected by a cancellation of offer”.

The suspension comes just months after the inauguration of the night train line between Paris and Berlin, which was supposed to be a symbol of the revival of night trains across Europe.

“The partners of the Nightjet offer (ÖBB, the German DB, SNCF Voyageurs and the Belgian SNCB), believe in the future of night trains”, reaffirms the SNCF on Thursday, insisting on “a strong demand for travel” on this niche in Europe.

Although the night train is enjoying a certain enthusiasm, it remains an unprofitable product for the railway companies. The French state is heavily subsidising the relaunched lines: around 10 million euros per year for the connection to Berlin.

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