Overnight train services from Paris to Berlin and Vienna will end in December, after France’s Ministry of Transport chose to withdraw subsidies for the route.
These Nightjet routes will end on 14 December, according to French state-owned rail company SNCF Voyageurs, as the EU€5-10 million annual subsidy will be discontinued from 2026. The routes are operated by SNCF in partnership with Austrian Federal Railways and Germany’s Deutsche Bahn.
“The Paris-Vienna/Berlin night train has an occupancy rate of 70% on average over 2024. This offer is not economically viable without state subsidies,” wrote SNCF.
“Even in the context of very high traffic assumptions, the economic balance is not achievable,” it said, due to higher operating costs for night train services and because seats can only be sold for one journey per night.
All domestic overnight trains in France also operate based on state subsidies, according to SNCF.
Other Nightjet routes outside France, including Vienna-Brussels and Munich-Rome, will continue.
A petition to restore France’s Nightjet routes has gathered more than 51,250 signatures. Organising group Yes to the Night Train has argued SNCF did not deliver on its promise of daily Nightjet services and failed to promote the routes.
France’s transport ministry chose to cut a number of subsidies earlier in 2025 after receiving directions on its maximum spending from the prime minister’s office, Le Monde reported. The country’s government has sought to reduce its public spending amid its ongoing debt crisis.
Its public debt reached a record €3.42 trillion last quarter, according to France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. This is equivalent to 115.6% of France’s gross domestic product.
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