A night train connection is back between Paris and Berlin as of tonight (26 March) with the launch of European Sleeper’s new service. The operator jumped into the gap left by ÖBB following its exit from the route in December, which ÖBB said was due to withdrawal from SNCF after the French government stopped its subsidy for the service.
European Sleeper’s Paris-Berlin night train has departures from Paris on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings, arriving in Hamburg early the following morning. Return services from Berlin to Paris will operate on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights.
Starting 13 July, a stop in Hamburg is also added after track works on the Hamburg-Berlin line are finished.
ÖBB cancellation, blamed on France
Austrian state railways ÖBB, operating the largest night train network in Europe, cancelled the Paris-Berlin sleeper train per the timetable change 14 December 2025, despite a widely signed petition to keep running the service. At the same time, the Paris–Vienna night trains also ended.
ÖBB has placed responsibility for the end of the night trains squarely on SNCF and France’s Transport Ministry, saying the flagship services will cease after just two years due to “the withdrawal of our French partners”. For the Paris sleepers, the French government had authorised a one-year start-up subsidy, renewed twice. It was renewed in 2024 but was not extended a second time. Now, the Paris-Berlin night train is the only international night train with a stop in France, after 3 months of none at all.
European Sleeper will inaugurate a third line between Brussels and Milan in September 2026. The night train company also operated a seasonal service between Brussels and Venice in the winter of 2025, but this service was not renewed.
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