ÖBB Axes Nightjet Trains to France
ÖBB has discontinued the Vienna-Paris and Berlin-Paris Nightjet services after France withdrew its support for operating these night trains.
Discontinuation of French Nightjet services
ÖBB, the Austrian Federal Railways, has announced that it will discontinue its Nightjet services to France.
In a press release, ÖBB announced that it will discontinue both its Paris-Vienna and Paris-Berlin night train routes from 14 December 2025 – the date when the new railway timetable comes into effect.
These night train services were partly made possible through the operational support of SNCF, the French National Railways.
However, SNCF has been informed by the French Ministry of Transport that the government service contracts for operating the Vienna-Paris and Berlin-Paris night trains will not be renewed for 2026.
Without the support of the French government, operating international night trains to France is no longer viable for ÖBB, leaving it with no choice but to cancel both Nightjet services.
French problems
According to the citizens’ collective Oui au train de nuit (Yes to the Night Train), the Nightjet services to France are not only a victim of the withdrawal of French government subsidies, but also of the – at best – rather ambivalent support from SNCF.
Their petition calling for the support of the two night train routes gathered well over 40,000 signatures, but ultimately proved to be in vain.
SNCF, which appears primarily interested in running high-speed trains to and from Paris, has never shown genuine enthusiasm for international night train operations.
Although officially a Nightjet partner, SNCF did not even sell tickets for these night trains on its own website, let alone at station ticket offices.
The fact that the Paris-Berlin and Paris-Vienna night train services ran only three times a week was hardly helpful, as it made the trains a viable option primarily for leisure travellers who were flexible enough to plan their itineraries around the limited schedule.
As independent transport policy expert Jon Worth noted in an earlier interview on my website about night train travel, France is “the most complex country in Europe for train approvals and securing train paths” and “access to the Paris railway terminals is eye-wateringly expensive”, which certainly did not make operating these night trains to Paris any easier.
Nightjet future
Although ÖBB will withdraw its Paris-Berlin and Paris-Vienna Nightjets, it will remain the largest night train operator in Europe.
The withdrawal of Nightjet services to France will not affect the Brussels-Vienna and Amsterdam-Vienna night train routes, which will continue to operate as usual in the next railway timetable.
British travellers who previously took Eurostar to Paris to connect with Nightjet are now advised to travel via Brussels or Amsterdam to connect with a night train to Austria.
However, travellers planning to take the Nightjet should be aware that the discontinuation of ÖBB’s French night train routes could lead to higher prices on the Brussels and Amsterdam Nightjet services.
The fact that there are now fewer Nightjet services between Western and Central Europe means that demand will exceed supply even more than in previous months.
With ÖBB having introduced variable pricing for night train tickets – which had already made Nightjet tickets ridiculously expensive even before the routes to France were discontinued – it is safe to say that prices are unlikely to drop anytime soon.
Conclusion
ÖBB has announced that it will discontinue its Nightjet trains to France, bringing an end to the Paris-Berlin and Paris-Vienna night services.
The Austrian night train operator said it was forced to discontinue its Nightjet services to France after the French government withdrew its operating support for the Paris-Berlin and Paris-Vienna night trains.
