My seven tried-and-tested tricks to make grim sleeper trains more enjoyable

It’s 2.46am in rural Bulgaria. Your sleeper train has drawn to an unexplained halt in a harshly lit goods yard near the border. You stare at the tatty underside of the couchette above you, where a fellow passenger is snoring. Without a breeze from the open window, the temperature is soaring in your six-person cabin. You have eight hours to go. I’ve probably taken more sleeper trains than your average traveller. Since vowing to reduce my dependence on flying a decade ago, I’ve still needed to travel all over Europe for work. From time to time, the best way to meet a tight schedule is by overnight train, which in theory will take you from wherever you are to wherever you need to be tomorrow, without an expensive hotel room in between. But, as I’ve learned, the trade-off isn’t always worth it. Most sleeper train accommodation is designed like a hostel rather than a hotel, meaning that in shared cabins, you and your luggage jostle for limited space with three or even five other people and their luggage. The bunks fill up quickly, creating a chaotic and overcrowded atmosphere, and compartments can quickly become overheated in summer. Shorts It’s fair to point out that most sleeper trains are old. Europe’s night-train heyday ended decades ago due to cheap air fares, passenger preferences and regulations. Investment in rolling stock has slowed, and many of Europe’s sleeper carriages are aged and battered. Carriages on the Belgrade (Serbia) to Bar (Montenegro) line, for example, are handsomely designed and well-preserved in parts, but the decades-old plumbing is past its best and many features simply no longer work correctly. As with a hostel, sleeper passengers can expect some interruptions from their fellow travellers. The trains stop throughout the night, so it’s not uncommon for people to board or disembark at funny times. Your compartment-mates might have different attitudes to playing music or long phone calls home. And the confusing numbering and layout of a sleeper train means you’re likely to be disturbed by strangers trying your door by mistake. Of course, passengers aren’t the only people who will conspire to wake you up. Schengen is (usually) easy to navigate without showing your documents, but as soon as you try to enter or exit the zone, or if you travel between countries in the Balkans or further afield, you’ll need to have your passport ready for a potential 2am inspection by a border guard. I’ve also had to disembark in the middle of the night to physically walk through border posts – a process that almost undermines the benefits of a sleeper service in the first place. Unlike normal passenger trains, which are often given priority on the line, sleeper services go relatively slowly over the same distance, with frequent pauses and a lower top speed. Passengers will be woken by lurching stops and starts, and by the floodlights and strange noises of busy sidings and freight facilities. The novelty of all these disruptions can wear off, and I sometimes find myself longing for the unambiguous comfort of a stationary hotel. But after a decade’s worth of highs and lows, I do still book overnight tickets for both business and leisure trips. Partly because I’ve learned what to expect and, consequently, I’m pleasantly surprised when my cabin is well-proportioned and a comfortable temperature – or when I get more than five hours’ sleep. Mostly, though, I’m still riding sleepers because I’ve learned how to make them a bit less appalling. Here’s how… Prioritise the ‘good’ services On the new generation of Austrian ÖBB Nightjet trains couples can book adjoining cabins with a sliding door between them (Photo: Harald Eisenberger/ÖBB) Not every sleeper in Europe is decrepit. Comfortable single compartments and innovative mini cabins make the new generation of Austrian ÖBB Nightjet rolling stock very easy to recommend to the casual traveller. The mini cabins feel like a pod hotel, offering relative privacy (but almost no luggage space) for very affordable fares. Generally speaking, sleeper trains get worse the further east you are. Book directly Many sleeper services are only available to book directly, so aggregators such as Trainline, while adequate, can offer a reduced range of options. Plus they often charge booking fees. ÖBB (or OEBB) is the biggest player in European sleeper trains, running a network across seven countries, from Hamburg to Rome. Its website and app are both good starting points. France’s SNCF also has a versatile app. Choose a single cabin While couchette compartments offer all the thrills and spills of a youth hostel, many sleeper services offer single cabins – either by design, or rearranged as such by folding up all but one of the bunk beds. You can also book a whole compartment for two on some services. ÖBB’s single sleeper with loo and shower is expensive, but it’s the closest I’ve ever been to arriving genuinely refreshed at my destination. And while single cabins on some of the more adventurous routes in the Balkans don’t have Austrian-level facilities, it’s better to be by yourself than with a crowd of boozy backpackers. Treat sleepers as an extension of the Eurostar In France, SNCF’s Intercités de Nuit trains can be excellent, says Ed Wiseman (Photo: Sébastien Godefroy/SNCF Voyageurs) If you don’t mind sharing, the Intercites de Nuit routes in France can be excellent, especially for British travellers heading south via Paris. They aren’t as comfortable as a hotel followed by a first-class TGV, but they do enable adventurous holidaymakers to leave London after work on Friday and wake up on the Riviera on Saturday morning. Sleeper connections from Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels serve destinations across Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Czechia. Take food and water with you It’s rare for a sleeper service to provide good food, rarer still for it to be affordable. A handful of Nightjet trains have a pleasant cold breakfast for certain cabin classes, but in most other cases, it’s best to purchase meals and drinks ahead of time. Choose carefully though. Mistakes I’ve made in the past include prioritising overly-salty food, taking meat products into a warm room and expecting to eat them 12 hours later, and failing to purchase sufficient water for the journey. No matter how magical your sleeper experience turns out to be, thirst and hunger will soon undermine your wanderlust. Restaurant cars are a novelty on some services, but it’s always worth packing your own provisions (Photo: Dima Berlin/Getty) A shower can make or break your day Many large European terminals will have washing facilities for the equivalent of a few pounds, or staff who can direct you to a gym offering day passes. If you haven’t had a shower on board, this should be a priority in your pre-trip research. Even if you have a hotel booked at your destination, you’re likely to have a substantial wait until you can check in, and feeling clean as you go about your day can make a huge difference. Trust the experts The intrigue surrounding sleeper trains means they’re well-documented, not least by train anoraks on specialist websites. The Man in Seat 61 – a wealth of knowledge for anyone entertaining slow travel for the first time – has a superb section on sleeper services, which spells out in some detail the tricks and tips pertinent to each line. For European routes, Back on Track has a comprehensive map of sleeper services.