Interview
‘There is a strong will to improve the conditions for night trains’
Night trains are making a comeback as a more sustainable long-distance transport. There are however quite some challenges, such as high costs and different standards across countries. “The infrastructure is there, so it should be made full use of at night”, says Philippe Lorand, Senior Advisor at the UIC Passenger Department.
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The unreasonable permitting obligations for rolling stocks in each country shall also be named.
“Today, when the plane is late, there is the option of an alternate train on the next leg of the journey”, if it is a regional connection. For long-distance train connections, the ticket will usually be invalid and a new ticket will cost much more, if booked on the same day. The same applies for changing from a (delayed) night train to a connceting train.
He is too defensive: “We need to combine for example high-speed trains and long flights, so part of a journey which usually is by a transfer flight can be easily done by rail.”
The ambition should be to make the longer part of the journey on rail and the shorter part by airplane. For example, travel from Germany to Mallorca may currently involve a train to a German airport and then a flight; the goal should be to use a night train to Barcelone and then make a shorter air hop to the island.
I frequently used couchette services across Europe in the 1970’s, when I was relatively young and was prepared to put up with a disturbed night’s sleep.
Today I would suggest many people would expect more privacy, good private shower facilities, and good food, both in the evening and for breakfast.
If these can be provided on the new European services, at reasonable prices, then hopefully our railways will become busy again at night.
I wish the new services great success.