Launched with great fanfare on 11 December 2023 at Paris-Est station in the presence of then Transport Minister Clément Beaune, the Paris-Berlin night train and its counterpart, the Paris-Vienna, will cease service on 14 December when SNCF launches its winter service. Backed by the French government, which wanted to create ten national and international night routes by 2030, these night trains were praised for their slowness, affordable fares and exemplary carbon footprint.
Unfortunately, in a press release today, SNCF is justifying this 1st class burial by a lack of funding from the State: " SNCF Voyageurs' commitment to operating this link is conditional on public subsidy from the State, which is essential to ensure its economic viability. ". The fault lies with the tens of billions of savings imposed in the 2026 draft budget, which has forced the Department of Transport to make more cuts and give priority to "maintaining domestic routes".
The amount of the subsidy allocated was nearly €8 million per year, i.e. funding of around €120 per ticket, in order to support this service and withstand competition from low-cost airlines. While Jean-Pierre Farandou, the current CEO of the SNCF, insisted at every press conference that " French people's desire for trains "However, the company has not chosen to pay this amount itself, despite making a profit of 1.5 billion euros in 2024. Coincidentally, he will shortly be replaced by Jean Castex who, with his Prime Minister's hat on, was an ardent defender of the revival of night trains, campaigning for the reopening of the Paris-Aurillac line and even spending a night on board the Paris-Nice line when it was reopened in May 2021.
Difficult to operate due to construction work
The Paris-Berlin line is far from deserving of its reputation, with some 66,000 passengers carried per year and a passenger load factor approaching 70% in 2024. This is quite a feat when you consider that this Paris-Berlin/Vienna night train is not distributed on the SNCF Connect website, nor through the other channels of the national company, even though it is a partner in its operation alongside ÖBB, Deutsche Bahn and SNCB (for the night train departing from Brussels). Belonging to the Austrian company, the Nightjet train split in Germany to serve Berlin on one side and Vienna on the other.
However, the line was subject to numerous ups and downs. The daily service planned from October 2024 was never achieved, with the service remaining at a rate of 3 return trips per week and suffering numerous delays and cancellations due to the incessant work being carried out on the tracks, particularly in Germany. These works led to the suspension of the line for two months during the summer of 2024, a crucial period for leisure travellers.
" In view of the major work being carried out on the network in France and Germany, the switch to daily service from 2026, as originally planned, was no longer an option. "SNCF also justified its decision. ÖBB regretted the French decision, but has not given up hope of seeing this important night service restarted one day. With Jean Castex's support tomorrow?
