EU authorities have failed to revive the night rail passenger transport industry in the community due to a lack of funds, a representative of the Austrian railway company Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) said.
„Long delivery times for new rolling stock, high personnel costs and increased night operations: all these are serious problems“, a company representative told the European publication Politico.
Other market participants have also reported that the route is unprofitable, despite high passenger demand. Chris Engelsman, co-founder of the Belgian-Dutch startup European Sleeper, noted that the industry lacks investment. According to him, “those who could act do not want to, and those who do do not have the money“. However, he added that “demand is growing rapidly“.
According to the publication, most night services are unprofitable. Their operation requires additional train staff, as well as expensive rolling stock. In addition, such trains can only make one trip per night, which is not very profitable.
In addition, bureaucratic red tape prevents the creation of a convenient timetable. When European Sleeper launched the Brussels-Milan train, it negotiated with each country separately, which slowed down the process. The Paris-Vienna route, which was BB's flagship, ceased to exist when the French side stopped receiving state subsidies. Also, the service between Basel and Malmö (Sweden) will not be launched due to the Swiss government's refusal to fund the project. According to a BB representative, night trains in the EU are “a niche product that will remain so”.