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There's plenty of creaking, groaning on this train tonight.

I'm Jack Butcher, and this is the documentary from the BBC World Service.

Nothing quite represents the ideal of European travel, quite like the night train.

The promise of going to sleep in one country and waking up, fully rested, in another.

Oh, wow.

That must be the Danube.

The river is flowing gracefully alongside us.

A milky sun is just trying to poke through the fog as it rises behind the hills on the far bank.

The water is so still, it looks like glass.

At their best, night trains offer a journey like no other.

Romantic, green, serene.

But for the European night train industry, it's been anything but a smooth ride.

Just a decade ago, the continent's night train network looked to be reaching the end of the line.

Or on the point where this whole thing may die out, that was really the absolute lowest of the low end. Since then, nitranses have been undergoing something of a renaissance.

This is an opportunity to make a real international business.

With new operators, restored route, cabin design innovation.

Once you get in, the adventure starts.

And you can't get tickets because they're sold out immediately.

But while passengers continue to flock on to sleeper services,

an array of obstacles for operators means the revival could be under threat before it's even left the station.

About 10% of our nitrans in 2024 could not operate.

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