Overnight trains are available on many of Europe’s national and international city-to-cityroutes. Night trains effectively let you add an extra vacation day to your trip, since you can spend the night getting there and have the daytime free for being there.
Most overnight trains also offer sleeping accommodations, which vary quite a bit in type and price. Sleeping accommodations always require an additional fee if you are using a railpass, and they always require reservations. You can avoid the extra cost & complication if you’re willing to sleep in your seat, but it’s important to note that not all overnight trains carry seating cars — in these cases you must reserve accommodations in order to use the train at all. (Some trains carry seating cars only in Second Class, though you can always use these with a First Class pass.)
Types of Accommodations
Although railway modernization is bringing an increasing amount of variety to the subject, with new specialty trainsbeing introduced on some routes, for the majority of traditional night trains there are two types of sleeping compartments: Couchettes and Sleepers.
Couchette compartments consist of four to six narrow bunks and are public — you will share the compartment with other travelers without regard to gender. Travelers are supplied with a pillow and blanket, but are expected to sleep in their street clothes. Although couchette compartments have traditionally come in both First and Second Class — with the First Class version hosting fewer travelers per compartment — the trend is towards offering couchettes in Second Class only. Holders of a ticket or railpass in either class are elegible for Couchette travel with payment of the required supplement.
Sleeper compartments contain one to three more comfortable beds and are usually private — typically travelers select a compartment size to match the number of their traveling companions. (On some trains, two Sleepers with an adjoining door can be requested to create a family-sized room.) Sleepers have locking doors and for the most part offer the same level of privacy as ahotel room. They usually feature a washbasin with hot and cold water, and some of the more deluxe versions include their own toilet and even a shower. (WCs are found at each end of the car in the more typical configuration.) Some Double Sleepers include a very small third bunk suitable for a small child. Only holders of a FirstClass ticket or railpass are elegible to reserve a First Class Sleeper. Second Class Sleepers, where available, are open to holders of either class.
A fairly recent development is the introduction of Sleeperette cars, which replace or augment the Second Class Sleepers and Couchettes. These are configured like regular seating cars but offer special seats which recline for a more comfortable overnight journey. They are presently found only on the new specialty trains, but as the Sleeperette car is much less expensive to operate, it is likely that we will see more of this type of thing in the future.
In general, the trend in on-board accommodationis towards a greater degree of luxury and personal service for the First Class traveler –with corollary price hikes — while leaning towards simpler and more economical provisions for Second Class. This reflects a broader trend of the railways, who increasingly appear to be taking a page from the airlines in positioning First Class as a premium product, aimed mainly at well-heeled business travelers.
Cost
The cost of sleeping accommodations varies by class (First or Second), by type of compartment, and by length of journey. A couchette reservation can cost as little as $12 or as much as $60; sleepers run from about $75 upwards to $250 or more. (In the case of luxury Hotel Trains, quite a lot more.) Supplements are always levied on a per-person basis, so two people sharing acompartment will each pay a Double supplement.
Although most trains do carry some 1-bedFirst Class compartments, "Single" and "Double" really refer to theamount of supplement you’re willing to pay. Ponying up the more expensive Single supplement guarantees you a compartment to yourself; whether it has one bed or two depends on what the railway has available. If you are on your own and choose to pay only a Double supplement, you’re offering to be paired with another (same gender) traveler. Solo passengers may be able to save a bit by requesting a Single "S" (Special) compartment — a somewhat smaller & less expensive version of the First Class Single. "S" compartments are not available on all trains, however.
Using Overnight Trains With a Pass
The supplement that you pay for a couchetteor sleeper is separate from the cost of transportion, so if you’re using a pass it must bev alid for the entire route (including any countries you will pass through). For Flexipasses — where you’re allowed a certain number of travel days over a given period — an overnight train counts the departure day against your allowance unless the train leaves later than 19:00 (7:00pm), in which case the following day is counted. Since passes expire at midnight, in such cases you must be sure that the arrival day is within the valid time frame of your pass.
Boarding & Riding An Overnight Train
Sleepers on Traditional Night Trains
If you have reserved a sleeper compartment,the procedure for boarding is a bit different from ordinary seating or public couchette cars. Instead of climbing aboard and finding your assigned place on your own, you are expected to locate the correct car from the station platform — the car number will beon your reservation document — and present yourself to the agent or steward stationed at the car’s entrance. (Because sleeper compartments are expensive, the railways guard zealously against unauthorized "squatters." Don’t try it — you will be caught.)
Once the steward has shown you to your compartment, he or she will make sure the beds are folded down and ready for sleeping, and will usually offer to take a snack order (expensive) and a breakfast order (also expensive). If the route crosses international borders, the steward may request your passport so that it may be shown to border authorities without waking you.
Smoking is not allowed in sleeper or couchette compartments when they are in the nighttime configuration. When they’re in daytime configuration — with the beds folded up into seats — smoking is permitted if the car is designated for it. (Although smoking is technically prohibited in the car landings as well, in practice you will often find an insomniac puffer or two lurking there in the middle of the night. So long as nobody complains, the steward is likely to turn a blind eye to it — particularly if he’s one of them.)
In the morning, the steward will knock atthe door to wake you — usually around 7:00am. Shortly afterwards he will return with your passport and any breakfast that you have ordered. If the train’s journey continues into the morning, the steward will also convert your beds back into seats for the remainder of the trip. For trains with very early arrivals, prior to 7:00am,passengers are generally not woken until arrival and are allowed to remain in their compartments until a reasonable hour.
It’s considered polite to tip the steward theequivilant of a dollar or two, particularly if he has helped with any special requests. Tips may be left in the compartment when you leave.
Couchettes on Traditional Night Trains
Couchette cars are considerably less formal. It’s still a good idea to locate your car before you board the train — hauling luggage down those narrow aisles is no treat — but you are usually on your own to find your assigned compartment, and will show your reservation document when the ticket agent comes along. There is generally no snack or breakfast delivery to couchette cars, though the train may have a separate snack car or trolley available during the evening and morning.
Depending on the ensemble of passengers –and also on the destination and time of year — the social ambience of a Couchette compartment can resemble anything from a dorm party to six silent faces in an elevator. The best compartment-mates are usually Europeans who travel overnight frequently; they understand both the official and unofficial rules of conduct for this mode of travel, and have mastered the art of maintaining a polite and friendly distance while sharing rather close quarters with strangers. Emulate their behavior and you will best understand the Couchette compartment etiquette. (Including the fact that Europeans who find themselves in a single-gender compartment will often disregard the street-clothing mandate, and discretely emerge from the washroom in robe and pajamas. For the visitor a good rule of thumb is not to do this unless someone elsedoes; but a workable compromise, if you really hate sleeping in your clothes, is to bring along a neat & clean set of sweats, which are commonly enough worn as "street clothes" that nobody is likely to object.)
If, however, you happen to find yourself in a packed Couchette compartment on a ski-train heading for St-Moritz during a school break — well, stay cheerful and try to have fun. You may not get much sleep!
Get There On Time!
Both Sleeper and Couchette reservations can be released by the railway if you haven’t arrived within fifteen minutes of departure — and as these services are commonly sold-out by the end of the day, the conductor is quite likely to peddle your spot to someone else if you haven’t shown up. In these cases you may be able to put in for a refund of your supplement, but if the train doesn’t have any seating cars (as many don’t), you won’t be allowed to travel with it.
The flip-side to this is that if you weren’t able to reserve a compartment, and dread the prospect of spending the night propped up in a seat — which by some mysterious alchemy will be made of solid lead by morning — don’t hesitate to track down the conductor and make your wishes known. No-shows arecommon, and like hotels the trains have no interest in leaving beds empty if a paying customer is at hand. Keep in mind that conductor has a good deal of discretion as to who gets the vacancy — find him early and treat him as you would a gate agent you’re trying to sweet-talk into an upgrade on your flight. Make a friend and you’ll increase your odds of getting a horizontal position for the trip.
SpecialtyTrains
As noted above, the traditional night train is increasingly sharing the tracks with more modern specialty trains. These offer First Class travel with larger and more elaborate accommodations, including hotel-like amenities such as fax and copy machines, room service, private bathroom facilities, and a concierge and reception desk. Some are double-deckers, with the fancier First Classrooms atop and smaller, but still quite comfortable, Second Class rooms below. Although private compartments on these trains are priced higher than on traditional night trains, many of the specialty trains also have the Sleeperette option available at a lower ost. Some specialty trains have arrangements with hotels in the destination city that will let you check in immdedately upon arrival, even if it’s very early in the morning. (And as these trains are largely geared to the schedules of business travelers, it usually is.)
Specialty trains include the EuroNightbrand (found on some of the most popular long-distance international routes), the InterCityNighttrains (Germany only), the CityNightLine (international routes between cities in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), and the Talgo Hotel Trains of Spain, the latter being by far the most luxurious and expensive.
