Sleeper trains are getting a lot of love as of late. As they should – there's nothing quite like falling asleep in one city and waking up in the next with the gentle hum of a train ticking along the tracks.
If you've been tempted by Europe's sleeper trains, but have found the prices a little scary, or the idea of sharing a cabin with a stranger on one of the more affordable trains slightly less appealing – we have some good news. A new company is promising to redefine short-haul travel.
Berlin start-up Nox Mobility is entering the train game with their first sleeper train service departing tracks from 23 March 2027. The new trains promise “good sleep, private rooms only” and will start with their first route from Hamburg and Munich, with stops in Bremen and Augsburg.
Max Kissler
Starting at 65 euros (approximately £55) for one-way fares, every passenger gets a “Nox Suite”. That means your own private space with sliding doors. In each suite you'll find large lie-flat seats, a table to work or eat at, room for lots of luggage, and power outlets within reach. A later roll-out set for 2029 promises even more space with fully private rooms designed for one or two passengers, though bathrooms are still shared. Travelling with the family? Kids under four years old can travel for free with an adult passenger.
Sliding doors give passengers complete privacy
“Taking a night train in Europe still means sharing a cabin with four strangers and hoping the ride turns out to be bearable. With Nox, every passenger has their own space to work and rest in," says Thibault Constant, Co-Founder of Nox Mobility whose ‘Simply Railway’ YouTube has a 300,000-strong following and who has travelled on more than 400 night trains. "A night on a Nox train should eventually bring together everything that used to take three bookings: getting there, staying the night and the morning at the destination. This is how we put hospitality in motion. The train is the heart of it, but only the beginning.” He founded the company with Janek Smalla, who led the operational launch of FlixTrain – so passengers know they'll be in good hands.
Nox train exterior
Richard LohsTrains depart Hamburg at approximately 9pm and arrive in Munich at around 8am the following morning. A key feature on this route is that the train doesn't stop-start throughout the night too – meaning you'll have a more restful sleep.
The plan is to launch first services by 2027, but by 2035 Nox aims to serve more than 100 European cities including Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome and Barcelona.