AUSTRIAN Federal Railways (ÖBB) announced on September 29 that it will withdraw overnight services from Paris to Berlin and Vienna on December 15 due to joint operator French National Railways (SNCF) pulling out of the partnership.
The move was prompted by the withdrawal of subsidies which had been paid by the French government for the first two years after the services were reintroduced following the Covid-19 pandemic. Overnight trains restarted from Paris to Vienna in 2021 and to Berlin in December 2023 thanks to this financial assistance, which at the time was seen by the French government as a way of rebooting the economy.
However, the current government is now looking for savings. French sources state that the subsidy amounted to €10m a year for the Berlin service. They explain that traction costs in Germany are higher than average and note that the services receive no support from the German government despite over 60% of the route to Berlin and over 40% of that to Vienna being in Germany and the Vienna service being subsidised by the Austrian government.
The decision comes despite the operators reporting a resurgence of public interest in overnight trains and strong demand which could not be met by the three trains operating each week, which also were limited in capacity due to a shortage of rolling stock. ÖBB said in 2024 that it could fill a daily, full-length train and intended to cascade older coaches to the Vienna service once new Nightjet cars were introduced on other routes.
Before the French government’s decision to withdraw financial support, operators had complained of a lack of coordination in track maintenance work between countries, meaning costly diversions or train cancellations. Last year, both Paris services were temporarily suspended for over two months from August 12 as ÖBB could not offer a reliable service due to major engineering work taking place in France and Germany.
ÖBB, which claims to be the largest operator of overnight trains in Europe, confirmed that the Vienna - Brussels Nightjet will continue to run three times a week in 2026.
“With 24 new-generation Nightjets on order, investment will continue to be made in night train services and more capacity and comfort will be offered on existing routes,” ÖBB says in a statement issued on September 29.
