From the Guardian:

“Less than a decade after Europe’s night trains appeared to have reached the end of the line, a new French start-up has announced plans for a network of overnight services out of Paris from 2024.

“Midnight Trains is hoping post-Covid interest in cleaner, greener travel will generate interest in its proposed “hotels on rails”, which aims to connect the French capital to 12 other European destinations, including Edinburgh.”

Paris to Edinburgh, holy fuck a duck!

“The founders say the aim is not to match the famous – and expensive – luxury of the Orient Express but offer an alternative to the basic, state-run SNCF sleepers and short-haul flights.

“Key to the service will be “hotel-style” rooms offering privacy and security, and an onboard restaurant and bar.”

Who knows if they’ll get off the ground but they are on the same (correct) track as the Austrians: Better sleeping options including individual rooms if you want them (and want to pay for them).

The restaurant and bar car would be a total bonus.

This might come across as a harebrained scheme but get this: It’s backed by Xavier Niel, a French billionaire who entered the French telecoms market with his company Free and basically made it affordable to have a phone and home internet again in France (some of you in other countries would swallow your tongue if you knew the prices going in France. Sorry about that.)

So this is the real deal.

One of the founders of Midnight Trains—Adrien Aumont—had this to say:

“At the moment there is no alternative for medium-distance travel [other] than flights or a bad night train. And the only way we can rival planes is to reinvent the train experience.”

(Or make flights proper expensive between European countries.)

“People want intimacy,” said Aumont. “They don’t want to be sharing a sleeping space with a stranger. They want privacy, security and a good quality bed. By offering a bar and restaurant we are also offering conviviality and a certain art de vivre.”

Get in there, Froggies!