The decline of international night trains across Europe is facing growing scrutiny – as activists opt to protest in comfort.
Disruption is expected to hit almost a dozen major railway stations tomorrow (12 December) as activists demand better investment in Europe’s night-train network.
A trio of climate advocacy groups has unveiled a continent-wide demonstration in response to the “drastic” reduction of international rail travel. They say travellers today have far fewer options than in the 1970s due to long-standing routes being axed, pushing more people to fly.
It comes as Austrian national rail operator ÖBB confirmed the Paris-Vienna night train, which only launched in December 2021, will be discontinued this month after the French government withdrew funding.
Activists also warn that other key connections, like the Lisbon-Madrid train and routes between southern and northern Europe, have been “missing or under threat” for years.
‘Pyjama parties’ thrown in European train stations
Organised by Back-on-Track Europe, Stay Grounded Network and Aterra, the demonstration will see activists rock up to busy train stations dressed in their pyjamas.
Participants are being asked to bring banners while dancing along to music curated by DJs for Climate Action in the form of a silent disco. They’re also encouraged to speak with members of the public at the station to ask them where they would like to travel via night train.
In a ‘party kit’ document viewed by Euronews Travel, pyjama party hosts are warned that they may be confronted by police, security or rail station staff. Activists have been told to explain that the demonstration is a “brief artistic event” and that no damage will occur.
“If need be, there is always the option to direct the dancing mob, forming a human train, to outside the entrance of the train station,” the document reads.
Night trains are ‘the best alternative to aviation’
The coordinated action aims to highlight a “growing public demand” for alternatives to aviation.
Activists argue this connects two urgent needs: reducingair traffic to meet climate deadlines and major public investment in rail to offer affordable, low-emissions and “socially just” ways of border-crossing.
“Night trains are the best alternative to aviation, a sector that drastically needs to shrink as climate collapse accelerates,” Inês Teles, a Stay Grounded campaigner, told Euronews Travel.
“Yet we keep hearing about routes being cancelled. Instead of greenwashing air traffic with false solutions, we need to put actual, accessible night trains back on track.”
At the time of writing, confirmed ‘pyjama parties’ will take place at Amsterdam Central, Basel SBB, Berlin Hauptbahnhof, København H, Helsinki Central, Lisboa - Santa Apolónia, Malmö Central, Paris Gare de l'Est, Stockholm Central and Strasbourg-Ville.
Organisers have also been in touch with activists from Southampton in the UK, but a pyjama part has not yet been confirmed.
The demonstration in Wien Hauptbahnhof, Vienna, has been scheduled for 13 December.
