THE RETURN OF THE NIGHT TRAIN
Twenty years ago, it seemed that the sleeper train had no future in Europe. Low-cost airlines could fly passengers from Paris to Rome in two hours for the price of a restaurant meal, and one national rail company after another sold its old sleeping cars or sent them to the scrapyard. Today, the picture looks very different. New night routes open almost every year, and many of them are fully booked months in advance, especially during the summer and school holidays.(lines 1–5)
To win travelers back, rail companies have had to rethink the whole experience. Some have replaced the old six-bed compartments with small private cabins that have a real bed, a washbasin and a lock on the door. Others sell basic seats at prices that compete with the cheapest flights. These changes have attracted a new kind of passenger. "Most of the people we interviewed could have flown and saved half a day," says Dr. Clara Jensen, who studies travel habits at a Danish university. "They chose the train because it turns travel time into sleeping time. You get on after dinner, wake up in the center of another city and don't pay for a hotel. For many of them, that more than makes up for the extra hours."(lines 6–13)
Running a night service is not cheap, explains Petr Novak, who manages the night trains of a Central European rail company. "New sleeping cars take years to build, so we bought forty old ones that a neighboring country no longer needed and rebuilt them in our own workshops," he says. "We also kept the dining car, although it rarely makes a profit, because passengers see a warm meal and a chat with strangers as part of the adventure. And nobody is woken at the border at two in the morning anymore: our staff collect everyone's passport when they board."(lines 14–20)
Governments have started to help as well. In some countries, young people under 26 can buy a pass that covers unlimited night travel for a whole month, and the state pays part of its price. Last year, one large rail company asked 3,000 first-time night passengers about their trip. Before setting off, many of them had expected a noisy, sleepless night. Afterwards, more than three quarters said that they had slept well and would book a night train again for their next holiday.(lines 21–26)
Experts warn, however, that tickets are still too expensive for many families. "A private cabin for two can cost more than a hotel room," says Jensen. "Prices will only come down after rail companies order new cars together, in large numbers, instead of each one buying a few. Until then, most travelers will choose the night train for the adventure, not to save money." Even so, she remains hopeful about the future.(lines 27–31)