When President Emmanuel Macron announced a major renaissance of night trains in 2020, the ambition was clear: by 2030 France should operate a dense network of ten modern night train routes, reconnecting cities domestically and across Europe. Five years later, the vision has collided with fiscal reality, Nico Callens of Duurzaam Mobiel writes.
By the end of 2025, the French state finds itself in the uncomfortable position of wanting to expand night train services but lacking the financial means to do so.
The French night train revival is currently constrained by a severe shortage of rolling stock and a government facing acute budgetary pressure. In the initial phase of the revival programme, the strategy focused on renovating ageing Corail carriages from the 1980s. While this stopgap measure allowed several night services to return to the timetable, it was always clear that a genuine expansion would require a new generation of rolling stock. That step entails a multi-billion-euro investment to both expand the fleet and ultimately replace the refurbished legacy vehicles.
Optimism meets austerity logic
As recently as November 2025, there were signs of optimism. In a hearing before the French Senate, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot confirmed the government’s intention to purchase 180 new passenger carriages and 27 locomotives.
A notable shift in policy is that, unlike in the past, it would be the French state itself, rather than the national railway company SNCF, that would own the new trains.
This strategy is closely linked to the liberalisation of the rail market. By the end of 2028, eight flagship night train routes, such as Paris–Nice, Paris–Toulouse, Paris–Tarbes and Paris–Rodez, must be tendered through public procurement procedures. If the state owns the rolling stock, it can make the fleet available to whichever operator wins the tender, whether SNCF or a new private entrant. This significantly lowers the barrier to entry for new players and creates a more level playing field in an emerging competitive market.
However, fiscal reality quickly undermined these ambitions. By December 2025, it became clear that France’s public finances were in a precarious state, with a budget deficit well above European thresholds. Sources within the government indicated that no financial coverage had been found for the planned rolling stock order in the 2026 budget.
Although the procurement procedure was formally launched in February 2025, the final signature has yet to be delivered. As a result, the actual arrival of new night train vehicles is now pushed back to 2029 or 2030 at the earliest.
This delay has serious implications: the planned tenders for the 2028–2030 period risk being undermined, as new operators could be forced to rely on increasingly outdated refurbished Corail coaches—a temporary solution that risks becoming permanent.
Cutbacks on international services
The consequences of the funding impasse became visible on international routes as well. At the end of 2025, the French government withdrew subsidies for the Paris–Berlin night train, citing the unsustainable cost of annual state support under the new budgetary framework.
Although the private operator European Sleeper takes over the route in March 2026 without subsidies and at its own commercial risk, the withdrawal of state backing sends a clear signal.
The French state appears eager to create a competitive night train market, but increasingly reluctant to provide the financial foundations required for that market to develop. This contradiction risks slowing down the entire revival strategy at a critical moment.
A network at a crossroads
France’s night train sector now stands at a crossroads. The blueprint for a modern, competitive night train network exists, and political rhetoric continues to emphasise the importance of rail as a sustainable alternative to aviation and car travel. Yet the empty public coffers are blocking the path forward.
The next decisive factor will be a long-awaited framework law on rail financing, expected in early 2026. This legislation is supposed to stabilise long-term rail funding and set the direction for French transport policy in the coming decades.
Without it, the promised renaissance risks remaining largely theoretical, confined to policy documents and a small fleet of ageing refurbished carriages rather than a truly modern night train network.
For now, the French night train revival can best be described as a case of political will constrained by financial inability. Whether the ambition can survive the austerity logic of Paris will determine the future of night rail in France; and, by extension, the credibility of Europe’s wider night train revival.
More on night trains and transcontinental train travel
- Deutsche Bahn ICE 1110 and 1111 to connect Cologne and Ostend on weekends from 6 June to end of summer 2026.
- European Sleeper postpones Brussels–Cologne–Zurich–Milan night train to 9 September 2026.
- Brussels Airlines and Deutsche Bahn team up for Antwerp – Brussels Airport – Liège – Cologne ICE codeshare.
- Deutsche Bahn confirms Cologne – Brussels Airport – Antwerp ICE connection from September 2026.
- Trenitalia unveils €2 billion investment plan and orders 74 new Frecciarossa high-speed trains.
- Belgium and the Netherlands work on Brussels to Eindhoven direct train, possibly via Antwerp.
- Belgian Mobility Minister wants to revive direct train service to Switzerland.
- NETHERLANDS | Arriva will not launch the Groningen to Paris service in 2026.
- Booking headache deters almost two in three long-distance rail travellers, poll finds.
- Snälltåget to run Stockholm – Malmö – Copenhagen – Hamburg day trains from May 2026.
- Nox night trains: a smart new cabin concept or just an unachievable dream?.
- How firm are Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn’s “2030s” Germany to London train link plans?.
- Leo Express files plans for extraordinary 2026 Bratislava–Ostend and Venice–Northern Germany services.
- GoVolta re-emerges to offer train services from Amsterdam to Hamburg and to Berlin using Belgian I10 carriages.
- Rail should be functional, not fine art: EU leaders call for standardisation and lower costs.
- Subsidies for night trains? “You cannot fix this until someone builds more sleeper and couchette carriages”.
- European Sleeper to operate Paris – Brussels – Berlin night train route from March 2026.
- Leo Express and Arenaways plan direct train between Prague and Venice.
- Italo targets the German high-speed rail market.
- Trenitalia eyes expansion into Germany’s high-speed trains market.
- European Commission wants to link all EU capitals by high-speed train by 2040… and that’s not going to happen.
- Travellers in Europe increasingly open to choosing trains over planes for short-haul journeys.
- REVIEW | European Sleeper night train.
- Paris Nightjet axed: France’s withdrawal threatens Europe’s night train revival.
- 2026 | Deutsche Bahn plans 4 ICE’s per day between Cologne and Antwerp and 16 per day between Frankfurt and Brussels.
- Iron Rhine gets renewed political attention in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
- ÖBB prioritises Railjet over Nightjet: Is the night train revival a False Dawn?.
- EUROPEAN SLEEPER | Brussels to Barcelona night train to stop in Avignon, Montpellier, Narbonne, and Girona.
- Trenitalia, Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB launch Frecciarossa EuroCity trains linking Berlin, Munich, Milan, Rome and Naples.
- European Commission commits to single-ticket train travel, Back-on-Track unconvinced it will happen.
- EU train travel report sees increase in cross-border passenger trains and easier bookings.
- Brussels to Luxembourg by train under 2 hours by 2030?.
- Eurostar and five more train operators joined the European Agreement on Journey Continuation.
- ÖBB’s new Nightjet sleeper cars accommodate solo travellers with Mini Cabins.
- Trenitalia orders new Hitachi Frecciarossa trains suited for France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
- EUROCITY EC-8 | Basel to Cologne in SBB’s Panoramic Car.
- REVIEW | Trenitalia Frecciarossa 1000 Paris – Milan in Business Executive.
- RAIL TOUR OF EUROPE | How easy is touring Europe by train?.
- Eight train connections between the Netherlands and Belgium by 2030?.
- REVIEW | ÖBB Nightjet Amsterdam – Zurich night train.
- Nightjet Vienna/Innsbruck to Brussels, or how we got thrown off the train in Aachen.
- Why the expensive ÖBB Nightjet is really not that expensive.
- Ticket Distribution: the failure of railways to sell themselves.
- To use night trains in Portugal and Spain or not?.
- Night trains in Europe.
- Low-cost, long-haul trains to conquer Europe?.
- Fly now before it’s taxed and consider using the train instead.
Channel Tunnel updates
- A London-bound Eurostar terminal at Antwerp-Central? Highly unlikely!.
- Trenitalia (FS Group) and Certares agree strategic partnership to expand international high-speed rail operations.
- #CROSSCHANNELRAIL | Expanding UK-Europe train links most realistically leading to Switzerland.
- CHANNEL TUNNEL | Virgin Trains gains access to Temple Mills, ORR snubs links to Germany and Switzerland.
- Eurostar unveils €2 billion Alstom ‘Celestia’ fleet of double-decker sustainable trains.
- Gemini Trains partners with Uber for Stratford to France Channel Tunnel route.
- Eurostar and St. Pancras Highspeed back major station expansion to double capacity amid growing international demand.
- EUROSTAR | London – Frankfurt, London – Geneva and Amsterdam – Antwerp – Brussels – Geneva from 2030?.
- Alstom wants its double-decker trains to ride through Channel Tunnel.
- Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) plan to launch a new high-speed link between London and Paris.
- London St. Pancras Highspeed pledges financial support for cross-Channel rail services.
- London St Pancras Highspeed and Getlink aspire to to triple train services to France, Belgium and the Netherlands and add services to Germany and Switzerland.
- Heuro wants to operate high speeds trains between Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris and London from 2028.
3 thoughts on “FRANCE | Government delays purchase of new night train coaches”