France’s state rail operator SNCF will terminate its Paris–Berlin and Paris–Vienna night train services in December 2025, blaming the French government’s withdrawal of financial support for making the routes economically unviable.
The decision will end two of Europe’s most high-profile sleeper routes, operated under the NightJet brand in partnership with Austria’s ÖBB, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, and Belgium’s SNCB.
SNCF confirmed that the services — launched in 2023 as part of a wider European rail revival — will cease operations on 14 December 2025.
In a statement, SNCF said that operating night trains remained “a huge economic challenge”, and that its continued participation in the NightJet consortium had always been conditional on government support.
Even with an average occupancy rate of 70%, the company said the services were not financially sustainable without subsidies.
“Even with very high traffic assumptions, economic equilibrium is not achievable,” SNCF said. “A seat on an airplane can be sold up to five times a day, and a seat on a day train up to four times — but a seat on a night train can only be sold once.”
The operator cited high labour and energy costs, cross-border staffing requirements, and multi-country infrastructure access fees as key factors eroding profitability.
The decision marks a setback for the European Union’s push to expand night train services as a low-carbon alternative to short-haul air travel.
SNCF’s withdrawal comes just two years after the Paris–Vienna route was celebrated as a symbol of Europe’s green mobility agenda — a partnership between national railways designed to reconnect major cities by rail overnight.
Without French participation, the future of several cross-border night train initiatives is now uncertain, particularly those requiring cooperation on subsidies, track access and border staff between multiple operators.
Austria’s national operator ÖBB, which leads the NightJet network, expressed “regret” over SNCF’s decision but confirmed that its Vienna–Brussels sleeper service will continue three times a week through 2026.
ÖBB has been one of Europe’s strongest advocates for reviving sleeper train travel, having invested heavily in new rolling stock and expanded services linking Vienna, Rome, Zurich, and Berlin.
However, analysts say France’s withdrawal underscores the financial fragility of international night rail operations without long-term state backing.
The termination of SNCF’s Paris night trains highlights the economic limits of Europe’s green transport ambitions.
While sleeper trains enjoy political and public support as a sustainable alternative to aviation, high fixed costs, limited seat turnover, and cross-border complexity continue to challenge operators’ ability to break even.
Unless new funding mechanisms emerge, experts warn that Europe’s night train renaissance could struggle to sustain its momentum — especially on routes dependent on multiple state partners.