Sleeper trains or Night trains: A more sustainable way to experience low-impact travel
Sustainability had become one of the most significant topics in the travel and tourism industry, especially during the pandemic, when travel became stagnated. While the crisis affected the industry at many levels, it also served as an eye-opener for the severity of the negative impacts travel can have on destinations, mostly related to the environment and the local community.
Sustainability had become one of the most significant topics in the travel and tourism industry, especially during the pandemic, when travel became stagnated. While the crisis affected the industry at many levels, it also served as an eye-opener for the severity of the negative impacts travel can have on destinations, mostly related to the environment and the local community.
Sustainability had become one of the most significant topics in the travel and tourism industry, especially during the pandemic, when travel became stagnated. While the crisis affected the industry at many levels, it also served as an eye-opener for the severity of the negative impacts travel can have on destinations, mostly related to the environment and the local community.
In many cases, the improvement in the quality of life of locals, who were able to regain "possession" of their living spaces, and seeing nature flourishing during this low season of travel has changed traveller's mindset to preserve these positive effects of the pandemic. The preservation and conservation of the environment are just some of the top reasons people want to travel more sustainably. According to Booking.com, as a result of the pandemic, over half of the global travellers (53%) intend to travel more sustainably, 63% would prefer to stay away from crowded attractions, 51% will avoid peak season travel and 48% intent to visit alternative destinations to prevent over-tourism.
While sustainable travel involves practices like choosing sustainable destinations, using eco-friendly services and products, and supporting the local community, it is also essential to consider how we move while we travel. If a traveller applies all these sustainable practices but then chooses to travel by plane – one of the least sustainable types of transportation – wouldn't this lessen the initial efforts?
For this reason, there's been a growing interest in train travel, also thanks to the rise of the "slow travel" trend where travellers aim to have mindful, low-impact travel with a slow-paced itinerary that allows them to have deeper connections with the local people and culture. Slow travel also means travelling in its simplest form, which includes using specific modes of transport such as train, boating, biking and walking.
A more sustainable way to experience low-impact travel is to use sleeper trains or night trains, which were already making a comeback to Europe before the pandemic. The rise of the global flight-shaming movement (also known as "Flygskam") also made more people opting to travel by train. Sweden, for example, saw a rise in their rail travel and a decrease of domestic air travel by 80%during the pandemic, and other countries like the UK and Austria started to introduce sleeper routes that could make rail travel more efficient and attractive to tourists.
With sustainable travel being one of the biggest trends for 2020 and 2021, train travel and sleeper trains are highly likely to gain popularity again. However, travellers now value the journey much more than before, especially when travelling by train, and sleeper trains may present some issues that may discourage travellers from using night trains, such as:
Romain Payet and Adrien Aumont, two French entrepreneurs, founded Midnight Trains to solve all these problems. Midnight Trains is a hotel-style rail service that aims to connect Paris to 12 European cities, including Edinburgh, Porto, Rome and Copenhagen. The founders plan to launch the first line in 2024 and expand the network with three to five new lines between 2025 and 2027.
Unlike regular sleeper trains, this "budget Orient Express counterpart" would provide travellers with their private room with bed and bathrooms and trains would have a bar and restaurant with seasonal products, homemade cocktails, craft beers and wines with the possibility of room service just like in a hotel.
Midnight Trains aims to redesign the night train experience by improving both the quality of service and product, proving that the journey is as important as the destination. Travellers will be able to genuinely enjoy an immersive and sustainable experience that wouldn't be otherwise possible with plane travel.
While many would argue that taking flights is simpler and quicker, the reality is that one-hour flights are in many cases a tiring four-hour journey from door-to-door, considering all the steps that people have to go through, including arriving at the airport 2 hours before the flight, security checks, waiting for luggage and have possible delays.
Besides this, airports tend to be located in the city's outskirts while train stations stop right in the city centre, giving more time for travellers to enjoy the rest of the journey and destination. Train travels simply offer the relaxation, comfort and extra time in a trip that flights often can't.
"Travellers are more and more conscious about the ecological impact of air travel, and they need an alternative. Air travel produces high carbon emissions. With Midnight Trains, we want to create a more comfortable, convenient, seamless, and sustainable alternative." – Payet, Co-founder of Midnight Trains.
The growing popularity of sustainable travel, the major shift in passengers to rail, including night trains, as pointed by the European Commission, and many private operators looking to introduce night trains, will make Midnight Trains face fierce competition in this market. However, their new approach to sleeper trains, designed for any traveller, including solo, couples, friends and family, together with their convenient prices, will possibly allow them to be successful once it is launched in 2024.
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