EUROPE: Ambitions to launch a European network of overnight trains with private rooms at the price of a flight have been announced by Berlin-based start-up Nox.
Nox — Latin for night — was founded by Thibault Constant, better known as railway video blogger Simply Railway, and Janek Smalla, who was the first employee to join the launch team for German open company Flixtrain in 2017 and led the German ridesharing market for Bolt until 2024 when he left to focus on Nox.
The founders say their mission is ‘to reinvent night trains from the ground up’, as they believe ‘night trains shouldn’t be left in a nostalgic niche — but become an integral part of sustainable long-distance travel in Europe’.
Nox says it has already reserved rolling stock, is finalising the approval of its interior design and is preparing a large financing round for autumn. It hopes to start services in 2027.
The plans are built around three principles:
- Privacy: compartments for one or two passengers, with no shared compartments, so ‘you lock the door, sleep well, and feel safe’;
- Affordability: smart coach layouts and efficient operations enabling fares from €79 for a single and €149 for a double room, competitive with air and without hidden costs;
- Reliability: simple operations with no shunting, no overnight stops and straightforward routes to ensure on-time arrivals.
‘Our room design allows us to fit more people into our trains than traditional operators can’, Smalla said when the company unveiled its plans on June 10. ‘This, paired with a strict focus on standardisation and operational excellence will allow us to offer affordable fares on over 35 European routes.’
Nox plans to offer three room types, with 2 m long beds, separate seats with tables and enough space to stand up and store luggage. It also plans to offer double beds and beds with panoramic window views.
‘Sleeping while a train gets you across Europe is a great concept’, said Constant, who won the Best Mobility Channel award at the first Railway Influencer Festival held at InnoTrans 2024 and worked as an engineer at Alstom and SNCF until 2021. ‘But today people have to share their cabins with strangers, beds are tight and it’s often more expensive than air travel. We want to change that and make night trains an essential part of European travel.’
