The economy of night travel is tremendous. Sleeping while rolling down the tracks saves time and money, both of which, for most travelers, are limited resources. The first concern about night travel is usually, "Aren’t you missing a lot of beautiful scenery? You just slept though half of Sweden!" The real question should be, "Did the missed scenery matter, since you gained an extra day for hiking the Alps, biking through tulips, or island-hopping in the Greek seas?" The answer: No. Maximize night trips.
Couchettes
To assure a safer and uninterrupted night’s sleep, you can usually reserve a sleeping berth known as a couchette (koo-SHETT) at least a day in advance from a travel agency, at the station ticket counter, or, if there are any available, from the conductor on the train. For about the cost of a cheap hotel bed ($20), you’ll get sheets, a pillow, blankets, a fold-out bunk bed in a compartment with three to five other people, and, hopefully, a good night’s sleep.
As you board, you’ll give the attendant your couchette voucher, railpass or ticket, and passport. He deals with the conductors and customs officials and keeps the thieves out so you can sleep soundly and safely. While some trains (especially in France) have cushier first-class couchettes (double rather than triple bunks for the same cost if you have a first-class ticket), most couchettes are the same for both classes. While the top bunk gives you more privacy and luggage space, it can be hotter and stuffier than lower bunks and a couple of inches shorter (a concern if you’re 6′2" or taller). You can request smoking or nonsmoking, and top, middle, or bottom berths.
Sleeping Free in Compartments
Shoestring travelers avoid the $20 cost of a couchette and just sack out for free, draping their tired bodies over as many unoccupied seats as possible. But trying to sleep on an overnight train ride without a bed can be a waking nightmare.
One night of endless headbobbing, swollen toes, and a screaming tailbone, sitting up straight in a dark eternity of steel wheels crashing along rails, trying doggedly�yet hopelessly�to get comfortable, will teach you the importance of finding a spot to stretch out for the night. This is an art that vagabond night travelers cultivate. Those with the greatest skill at this game sleep. Those not so talented will spend the night gnashing their teeth and squirming for relief.
A traditional train car has about 10 compartments, each with six or eight seats (three or four facing three or four). Most have seats that pull out and armrests that lift, turning your compartment into a bed on wheels. But this is possible only if you have more seats than people in your compartment.
A compartment that seats six can sleep three. So if between 30 and 60 people choose your car, some will sleep and some will sit. Your fate depends on how good you are at encouraging people to sit elsewhere. There are many ways to play this game (which has few rules and encourages creativity). Here are my favorite techniques.
The Big Sleep: Arrive 30 minutes before your train leaves. Walk most of the length of the train but not to the last car. Choose a car that is going where you want to go, and find an empty compartment. Pull two seats out to make a bed, close the curtains, turn out the lights, and pretend you are sound asleep. It’s amazing. At 9:00 p.m. everyone on that train is snoring away! The first 30 people to get on that car have room to sleep. Number 31 will go into any car with the lights on and people sitting up. The most convincing "sleepers" will be the last to be "woken up." (The real champs put a hand down their pants and smile peacefully.)
The Hare Krishna Approach: A more interesting way that works equally well and is more fun is to sit cross-legged on the floor and chant religious-sounding, exotically discordant harmonies, with a faraway look on your face. People will open the door, stare in for a few seconds, and leave, determined to sit in the aisle rather than share a compartment with the likes of you. You’ll probably sleep alone, or end up chanting the night away with five other religious fanatics.
Using reservation cards to your advantage: Each compartment will have a reservation board outside the door. Never sit in a seat that is reserved because you’ll be "bumped out" just before the train leaves. Few people realize that you can determine how far the people on a train will travel by reading their reservation tags. Each tag explains which segment of the journey that seat is reserved for. Find a compartment with three or four people traveling for just an hour or two, and for the rest of the night you will probably have that compartment to yourself.
Remember that trains add and lose cars throughout the night. A train could be packed with tourists heading for Milan, and at 1:00 a.m. an empty Milan-bound car could be added. The difference between being packed like sardines and stretching out in your own fishbowl could be as little as one car away.
These tricks work not to take advantage of others but to equal out the train load. When all the compartments are lightly loaded and people continue to load in, let the air out of your inflatable travel partner and make room for your new roommates. To minimize the misery on a full train, sit opposite your partner, pull out the seats, and share a single bed (and the smell of your feet).
