You walk through the train station like in the days of old, wading through pillars of steam as a porter gently wheels your luggage forward. As the image of a train emerges in the mist, you feel like you’re entering into an Agatha Christie mystery, embarking on some long, strange voyage into the past.
Somewhere in the distance, the conductor yells “all aboard!”.
Clutched in your hand is a copy of 1001 Nights. In your breast pocket, a ticket. You’ve booked a night train to Istanbul. You can almost smell the spices of the Grand Bazaar, images of the Bosphorus dancing on the edge of your consciousness.
Soon you realize that it’s just a dream. The romance of the rails truly belongs to a different age. After all, the original Orient express, a symbol of those days, officially closed its doors in 2009. Nowadays, the weary traveler makes due in overcrowded plane cabins and interstate traffic jams, wondering how travel became such a drag.
The Modern Era of Travel
In an era obsessed with efficiency, travel has increasingly become a service that transports you from point A to point B as quickly as possible, squeezing in more bodies in order to reduce cost and increase profits. This idea has reached its pinnacle in modern airline service, which has become the peak of suffering for your mortal body, canned in a metal tube and miraculously thrown around the world like a tightly bound package.
Amidst all this madness for efficiency, the idea that travel can be enjoyed for its own sake has been lost. No sane person looks forward to their 13-hour flight. They just want to GET THERE.
And when you arrive, you don’t really feel like you traveled at all. You simply step out of the airport in a new place, not sure exactly where you belong in time and space.
We can all thank our lucky stars that we’re not stuck in wagons crossing mountain ranges, or crossing deserts on camels. At the same time, though, we also have to recognize that there has been something lost in the manic rush to get somewhere.
Slow Travel and Night Trains
In contrast to the modern model of travel, there has been a slight resurgence in what is called “slow travel”. The term slow travel speaks for itself. Instead of just trying to GET THERE, slow travel values the journey itself.
An integral part of slow travel is the night train, an overnight journey by rail that typically covers longer distances.
These iconic sleeper trains, which were once considered a symbol of classic European travel, fell into decline as budget airlines and high-speed day trains took center stage.
However, concerns over the environment, overcrowded skies, and the allure of slow travel have breathed new life into the night train industry. But the question remains: can these nocturnal journeys reclaim their status and viability in the modern era of travel?
Slow Travel Can Be A Privilege
One side to slow travel is, of course, steeped in privilege. Trains like the Venice-Simplon offer an experience far removed from the travel of the everyman. If you’re rich, you can afford to spend money on exorbitant rooms and fancy dinners, while also being able to spare the time to travel at a snail’s pace. With cabins on a 5-night journey from Istanbul to Paris starting at £17,500, your pockets must indeed be deep to travel this slowly.
As nice as it would be to drink champagne and eat steak on a train rolling through the French countryside, these things aren’t necessary for a nice travel experience. All that most people need is a dining car, an enjoyable view, and a pleasant journey to their destination.
Trains such as the Milan-Palermo line and the OBB Nightjet between Vienna and Rome (and many other destinations) offer a night train experience that fits more budgets, while also operating on a very manageable timescale. Plus, the Nightjet takes 13 hours to arrive in Rome, coming in at 8:45am, offering you ample time to sleep along the way.
And when it comes to cost, the ability to sleep as you travel to a new city offers a distinct advantage. As one internet commenter put it: “The perfect thing about a night train is that you don’t have to book a hotel for the night before.”
A Shift in Thinking
So will the night train and other slower types of travel gain more traction in the modern transportation industry?
It’s always hard to say, though it’s easy to see why these forms of travel could rise in popularity.
One big factor is the environment. As the world grapples with the climate crisis, sustainable transportation such as trains might carve out a new niche, allowing people to still cover large distances without the big carbon footprint.
Another factor is the substantial investments in upgrading Europe’s rail networks, which will in turn allow night trains to compete with day trains and budget airlines. New high-speed rail lines, modernized train stations, and improved track maintenance could all contribute to making night train travel more convenient and reliable.
Above all this, the success of slow travel comes down to a sea change in thinking about how we move around the world. With the popularity of walking routes such as the Appalachian Trail and the Camino de Santiago, it seems more people are embracing the idea of truly experiencing travel without the need to get somewhere as quickly as possible.
If this idea truly takes hold, we could see a renaissance in what it means to move across the world, curating a sense of stillness and wonder in an increasingly fast-paced and complex world.