France saw record night train passengers in 2024, but can it keep up with booming demand?

Sleeper trains are undeniably nan carrier of nan infinitesimal correct now. New routes person received a flurry of media attention, and travellers are bumping a nighttime connected nan rails to nan apical of their bucket lists.

In fact, rider information from France suggests nighttime trains could proceed to spot grounds traveller numbers - if only proviso could meet nan demand.

According to a caller study by French ambiance run group Réseau Action Climat, nan biggest situation facing nan occurrence of sleeper services is simply a deficiency of trains.

France's nighttime trains spot grounds passengers successful 2024

Night trains successful France are connected way to beryllium 1 of nan country’s astir celebrated forms of transport. 2024 was a grounds twelvemonth for nan sleeper services, pinch much than a cardinal passengers utilizing them successful France.

Night trains were 76 per cent afloat connected average, and moreover much than 80 per cent afloat connected nan 2 main routes, Paris-Toulouse and Paris-Nice.

The statement betwixt Paris and Toulouse attracted astir 100,000 further passengers betwixt 2019 and 2024 (growth of 64 per cent).

Night trains are becoming an progressively celebrated action pinch business travellers, who made up 30 per cent of users successful 2023.

On nan only 2 world lines (Paris-Vienna and Paris-Berlin), rider numbers were besides high, contempt galore delays and a three-month suspension of services successful 2024.

According to a survey by nan Europe connected Rails collective, 72 per cent of French group would beryllium consenting to return nan nighttime train if nan summons value was acceptable and nan relationship available.

France is struggling to meet nighttime train demand

While these soaring rider numbers should beryllium a affirmative sign, France’s constricted fleet of trains can’t header pinch nan demand.

In fact, this is forcing travellers to take alternative, often much polluting forms of transport, aliases cancel their travel completely, nan ambiance group’s study found.

To relieve congestion connected existing lines and unfastened caller ones, it found, France needs to grow its fleet acold beyond nan existent 129 sleeper cars.

Plus, lines request to grow to link cities different than Paris to different European hubs.

Night trains are a multi-beneficial solution

The study stresses that getting nighttime trains backmost connected nan correct way would person aggregate benefits.

Firstly, they are an effective measurement of connecting agrarian aliases isolated areas pinch cities without requiring passengers to alteration mid-journey.

Although longer than flying, nighttime trains are besides a much environmentally friends measurement to get betwixt Europe’s awesome cities.

Of nan 10 main aerial links from France to nan rest of Europe, astatine slightest six could beryllium made by nighttime train (Paris-Madrid, Paris-Barcelona, ​​Paris-Milan, Paris-Rome, Nice-London, Paris-Venice).

Choosing a sleeper work complete a high-speed TGV daytime balanced tin besides save you money.

The nighttime train from Paris to Toulouse, for example, starts astatine astir €30 cheaper than nan TGV, and you don’t request to salary for a nighttime successful a hotel.

How France tin revolutionise its nighttime train offering

The study proposes 2 options for description pinch a deadline of 2035.

The little eager extremity is to scope a fleet of 340 sleeper cars, which would let for nan reopening of lines specified arsenic Paris-Barcelona aliases Nice-Strasbourg.

This script would make it imaginable to carrier 3.6 cardinal passengers and prevention 400,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, it says.

The much eager connection is to grow to 600 cars, which is nan fleet size recommended by nan Ministry of Transport's 2024 study connected nighttime trains.

This would let for nan reopening of lines specified arsenic Paris-Venice aliases Bordeaux-Lyon, making it imaginable to carrier 5.8 cardinal passengers and prevention 800,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

By 2040, nan study proposes an description to 1,200 cars, which would pave nan measurement for world lines without going done Paris (e.g., Lyon-Rome, Nantes-Barcelona, ​​Marseille-London).

These would transportation 12 cardinal passengers and prevention 2 cardinal tons of CO2 equivalent.

“The grounds ridership successful 2024 demonstrates nan French people's appetite for nighttime trains,” Réseau Action Climat writes.

“Political will was location erstwhile it came to reversing nan inclination successful 2020 and relaunching nighttime lines. It is needed again coming to alteration nan scale.”