Last call for the Nightjet: on December 14, 2025, the night trains Paris-Berlin and Paris-Vienna will take their final bows, leaving travelers caught between nostalgia and shock. Despite a filling rate close to 70% in 2024, the absence of a new subsidy of about 10 million euros brings these connections, launched in 2021 and 2023, to an end. For many, it is an alternative to flying that disappears, against the backdrop of a question of European cohesion. There remains the promise of more daytime trains, including the ICE Paris-Berlin in 7 hours and 30 minutes, which could become more frequent by 2027.
Iconic trains disappearing from the tracks: travelers in shock at the end of the Paris-Berlin/Vienna route
In the autumn of 2025, the news falls like a “terminus” sign in the middle of the night: the Nightjet between Paris-Berlin and Paris-Vienna will stop on December 14, 2025. Despite a loading rate around 70% in 2024 and a very engaged community of fans, the state will not renew the subsidy that kept these routes afloat. Between memories of sleeper trains and expert opinions, travelers waver between shock, anger, and nostalgia, while daytime alternatives gain ground with the ICE Paris–Berlin in 7 hours and 30 minutes and enhanced routes via Munich to Vienna. A narrative of a railway twilight that questions ecology, European cohesion, and the art of traveling without flying.
Iconic trains disappearing from the tracks: travelers in shock at the end of the Paris-Berlin/Vienna route
The sleepers fold their sheets, the sleeping cars dim the lights: the saga of international night trains departing from Paris meets an abrupt ending. The Paris-Berlin (resumed in 2023) and Paris-Vienna (reestablished in 2021) will make their last departure from the Gare de l’Est in mid-December. The reason is the end in 2026 of a budget of around 10 million euros that, in recent years, has allowed popular routes to be maintained… but not profitable.
On the platforms, the mobilization has shown flair. An action at Paris-Est station at the end of September, spearheaded by the Yes to Night Train collective, and a petition exceeding 52,000 signatures did not change the course of events. Confusion reigns, especially since the abundance of memories is, indeed, quite real.
Iconic trains disappearing from the tracks: travelers in shock at the end of the Paris-Berlin/Vienna route
“We would sleep, and upon waking, Berlin or Vienna would appear behind the glass.” For many, the charm was just as compelling as the ecological logic. In 2024, a 26-year-old traveler headed to Vienna without carbon remorse or cabin baggage. To her surprise, she found herself alone in her cabin for nearly 15 hours, enjoying royal comfort for a ticket around 80 €, with breakfast included and the option of a women-only compartment. The account resembles an enchanted interlude, the kind one tells repeatedly.
Another regular fondly recalls his romantic getaway on the Paris–Vienna: romantic, convenient, admittedly a bit costly for his budget, and only marred by a not-so-smiling steward — the kind of detail that elicits a sigh, not a breakup. For a traveler returning from Slovenia in 2023, the return on the night train was a revelation: more space, a gentle sense of time, and the feeling of having traveled during sleep. An experience at the opposite end of the aerial sprint.
An abrupt stop, echoing a long history
Fans of the old Paris–Berlin have a long memory. The connection had been interrupted in 2011 by Deutsche Bahn before being resurrected in fanfare by the Austrian railway company ÖBB in 2023. Its disappearance again, so soon, awakens a persistent worry: even beloved lines can vanish in a few weeks. In the era of climate change, many wonder what real alternatives remain for traveling other than by air.
Between ecology, budget, and the profitability puzzle
Behind the curtains and breakfast trolleys lies a capricious equation: track costs, trained personnel, specialized equipment, international kilometers… The 70% fill rate in 2024 attests to a present audience, without guaranteeing financial balance. When the subsidy ceases, romance faces the bill. Enthusiasts anticipated this somewhat, but the announcement in early October had the effect of a platform collapsing underfoot.
Earlier in the year, some had already mentioned a temporary suspension for improvements. The prospect of a permanent stop changes the nature of travel: one does not simply pause, one closes the book.
Iconic trains disappearing from the tracks: travelers in shock at the end of the Paris-Berlin/Vienna route
On the professional side, the pill is hard to swallow. The director of an agency specializing in rail travel recalls that these trains created a tangible bridge between capitals: departing from Paris at dusk, arriving — if one could say — in Berlin or Vienna in the early morning, it was to feel Europe within reach at night. Fewer night connections mean a bit of European cohesion is crumbling, beyond the carbon footprint.
Goodbye night, hello day: what alternatives now?
If the night looks gloomy, the daytime is speeding up. The ICE Paris–Berlin now covers the distance in about 7 hours and 30 minutes, with a frequency set to increase by 2027. Towards Vienna, the strategy combines high speed and connections in Munich, and the daytime offer is set to strengthen over the next two years. A specialist from La Vie du Rail highlights that these reinforcements could compensate for part of the demand, even if the unique alchemy of night trains — sleeping while traveling — will remain unmatched.
Remaining curious also allows for broader perspectives. Elsewhere, rail travel is reinventing itself, as evidenced by the revival of certain lines in Tunisia. In terms of traveler trends, the latest tourism news shows a growing appeal for low-carbon itineraries and destinations accessible without a car — like a car-free French village that inspires other areas.
Clever itineraries and new imaginaries
Rail lovers have more than one trick up their sleeves. One can split a Paris–Vienna journey into two acts (Paris–Munich, then Munich–Vienna), turn a Paris–Berlin into an odyssey via Cologne or Frankfurt, and take the opportunity to insert a gourmet stopover. A weekend in authentic Alsace, between vineyards and winstubs, becomes a breathing space before continuing on the odyssey. Imagination here does not wait for night to travel.
Milestones and dates to understand the shift
International night connections from Paris have seen many twists. The historic Paris–Berlin had ceased in 2011 on the German side, before a return orchestrated by ÖBB in 2023. The Paris–Vienna had resumed in 2021, hailed as a strong gesture for low-carbon mobility. In 2024, passenger numbers flirted with 70%. In autumn 2025, the verdict arrives: end of the game on December 14, 2025, as the state has not planned to renew financial support starting in 2026. In the meantime, a citizen action at Paris-Est station and a petition with 52,000 signatures will have reminded that behind the numbers, there are lives, projects, lines drawn on maps, and dreams piled up in sheets.
What travelers remember… and fear
What one remembers is an art of traveling: taking a seat in the evening, unfolding a bed, listening to the swaying, smiling at the morning coffee and to the announcement that almost tenderly proclaims “Berlin Hbf” or “Wien Hbf”. What one dreads is a map of mobility that shrinks at nightfall, even though sobriety and the ecological impact of rail had reached a consensus among users. Between the two lies the stubborn hope that the night train, romantic chameleon of Europe, will one day be able to switch its lights back on.
