EuroNight, abbreviated EN, is a
European train category that denotes many mainline national and international
night train services within the Western and Central
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an
inter-city rail
Inter-city rail services are Express train, express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than Commuter rail, commuter or Regional rail, regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance co ...
network.
Overview
The classification and name were brought into use in May 1993.
["International Services from May 23" (changes taking effect). '' Thomas Cook European Timetable'' (May 1–22, 1993 edition), p. 3. Peterborough, UK: Thomas Cook Publishing.] Unlike the equivalent day-running counterparts
EuroCity
EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...
and
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...
trains, the EuroNight trains tend to run during the
night
Night, or nighttime, is the period of darkness when the Sun is below the horizon. Sunlight illuminates one side of the Earth, leaving the other in darkness. The opposite of nighttime is daytime. Earth's rotation causes the appearance of ...
time and are equipped with various
cars
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
for accommodating sleep services. Nearly all EuroNight trains require reservations and additional fare supplements in addition to the regular cost of a ticket from the destination to the arrival point. These supplements vary in price depending on whether the traveler wishes to sit in a regular seat, a
couchette "lying bed", which offers a padded, felt bed with a blanket and small pillow, or a
sleeping bed, which allows a mattress bed with full bedding (sheets, comforters, pillows).
Nearly all EuroNight services are international and jointly operated by
national rail companies sharing cars on a route. EN trains are the standard night-train service for
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and most
Central European nations. They are distinct from the older D-Nacht services, many of which still operate in Central and
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
. EN trains have criteria that rail companies must match in order to receive EN designation; the numbering format is ''EN 999''; many routes also have accompanying names derived in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Operating carriers
The following carriers currently have designated cars and
train conductors who work the EN lines. Many railway companies share cars on the same train line between routes; for example, EN 235 between
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
share cars of both the
ÖBB and
Trenitalia
Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...
.
* Austria's
ÖBB (introducing in December 2016 its
Nightjet-Services)
* Croatia's
HŽ
* Czech Republic's
ČD
* France's
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...
(as part of their
Intercités de nuit brand)
* Hungary's
MÁV
* Italy's
Trenitalia
Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...
* Netherlands, The
NS Hispeed
* Poland's
PKP Intercity
* Romania's
CFR
* Slovakia's
ZSSK
* Slovenia's
SZ
* Sweden's
SJ
* Switzerland's
SBB
Deutsche Bahn
(, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG).
DB was fou ...
operated the additional
City Night Line hotel-quality night services between
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, and
The Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. Two of those, the ''Kopernikus'' and the ''Canopus'', were designated EuroNight trains as EN 458/459. Deutsche Bahn terminated all of its own night train services by December 2016.
[DB to withdraw all remaining sleeper trains](_blank)
21 December 2015
List of EuroNight trains
See also
*
Train categories in Europe
In Rail transport in Europe, Europe, railway companies assign trains to different categories or train types depending on their role, i.e. based on the used rolling stock, their speed (high-speed rail, high-speed, higher-speed rail, higher-speed, ...
*
EuroCity
EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...
*
Rail transport in Europe
Rail transport in Europe has diverse technological standards, operating concepts, and infrastructures. Common features are the widespread use of Standard-gauge railway, standard-gauge rail, high operational safety and a high proportion of rail ...
Notes
References
{{Reflist
Railway services introduced in 1993
Railteam
Rail transport brands
Rail transport in Europe
Night trains
Passenger rail transport in Germany