“Hendaia ta Donibane / Baiona, Austerlitz...” continues to sound to the Eltzegor group in the Green Country: the singer will be able to visit his prisoner in the great city early in the morning, taking a train at night at Hendaia Station. Two nights sleeping on the train, only one day has been enough to fulfill the Paris order. Neighbours who go in bunk beds and contiguous compartments, salespeople, tourists or workers of any kind, also find it easy, convenient and cheap.

Since July 2017, at least, they have to pay the night of the hotel and lose full working days, as the SNCF has interrupted the night train that linked Palombe Bleue [Blue Use] from the public company with Hendaia and Paris, Pau and Tarbes. For now, definitely.

Just as France has withdrawn six of its eight, night trains have also disappeared in many other areas. In the Basque Country, ten years ago RENFE abolished the connections between San Sebastian and Bilbao and Barcelona and other Spanish capitals. But contrary to what has been heard in Hegoalde, user protests have been seen in Baiona, Pau, Tarbe, Perpinya, etc., and in many parts of Europe small movements have been created to demand that they be set in motion again to defend closed night trains.

The collective OTN Oui au Train de Nuit (El Tren de la Noche Yes) has recently presented a rich dossier on the subject, Resuming night trains, analyzing the role of this class in the future on journeys of more than 750 kilometers in the midst of the energy and climate crises.

As aircraft and cars continue to dominate over 750 km journeys, authorities decided to invest in the train in recent decades, but shifting total investment, in impressive numbers, to the new High-Speed Lines. What is happening is that France, which has spent great fortunes, has failed to reduce gas emissions from the means of transport.

During this time, the Intercity intercity railway infrastructure has been damaged, not to mention night trains, investment, commercial strategy, and new sleeping cars. Until the service putrefaction: In 2017, 43% of the night trains on the Hendaia-Paris line were cancelled or arrived very late. Everything is organised to bring the investments and customers from classic trains to the new TAVs, when not to buses or planes.

The new TAVs have also made it clear that not only the intermediate towns, but also many middle-class cities are becoming increasingly isolated; that is when local authorities have decided to keep the medium-distance trains under pressure. But they haven't worked long enough to keep those at night alive, who probably have the night train stuck in their heads as something old-fashioned, romantic perhaps, but on the outdated, outdated background. On the contrary, OTN and other associations are convinced that trams are going to move to night trains, which in the 1960s have become more fashionable after almost completely destroying cities. That is why, they say, it is better not to waste those who are, but to modernise night trains, as in Austria, Finland and elsewhere.

1,000 kilometers in an hour

That is what they are doing in Austria. After analyzing the issue, OBB chief Ferrokarril explained that night train users are there, that it is not a matter of nostalgia, that from a commercial point of view there was a demand that companies did not meet and that since 2018 they will complete the service with new trains and offers.

In recent years it has happened that, having spent all the public money for railways in the TAV, in some countries, it is not requested in Spain, accounts have been made. Thus, they have found that one of the most efficient means of transport is night trains. The key is hidden costs. Toll free roads are cheap because investments are financed by the public authorities. The alleged profitability of aeroplanes is based on the millions of euros donated from fuel taxes and aid from local authorities.

As regards the high-speed train, the SNCF acknowledges that between the 180 French lines there are between 80 and 100 deficient lines. That is what the company says, because in OTN calculations only Paris-Lyon does not lose money. The Tours-Bordeaux lines, recently launched with a big bang, with an investment of almost EUR 9 billion, are starting to talk about a possible annual loss of between EUR 150 and EUR 200 million. The bankruptcy of the TAV Perpinyà-Figueres has cost EUR 450 million to public finances.

Compared to these impressive figures, France’s night trains lost a total of 75 million in 2015. But there were lines that paid for themselves, like the Paris-Hendaia that they just removed, until 2011.

The night train has a great future and if this is not the case today, it will have to come back tomorrow, as the increased energy and policies against the beautification of the climate will require it, but also because it offers travellers the cheapest and most comfortable option on journeys of over 600 kilometres. Neither the aeroplane, nor the bus, nor the TAV can compete against it if accountancy does so orderly.

With the possibility of sleeping at night, circulating at a lower speed allows the client to gain time in addition to the money. As the OTN say, “you have an hour to travel 1,000 kilometers, half an hour to sleep, half an hour to wake up.” It contributes to a better organization of communications in countries and regions. Facilitating mobility at European level. It is the most environmentally friendly means of transport. Of the peaceful. It increases the number of jobs by providing a more varied service to travellers. And it's cheap: citizens are looking more and more at the price of transport than the duration of the journey.

Associations supporting the night train, although very minority, are doing a great deal of work to propose improvements for the future of the service. Better ticket booking systems. Increase of train capacity. Creation of new lines across Europe. Increase of intermediate stops. As the electric car is in force, complement the car transport services with the passengers. Improved shower and other services. Offer different travel options as in the ferries of the islands, on the one hand bedrooms to go down and on the other hand make the seated journey cheaper.

As in many other things, on trains the future may be in the past. The failure of many of the TAV will help you.