One exam part. Marked in seconds.

AFor much of the twentieth century, sleeper trains linked the capitals of Europe. By the early 2000s, however, cheap flights had drawn most travellers away, and operators closed one route after another. Between 2000 and 2016, more than half of the continent’s overnight services disappeared.

BSince then, the trend has reversed. In 2016, Austria’s national railway took over several routes that a German operator had abandoned and relaunched them under a new name. Passenger numbers grew steadily, and new connections to cities such as Brussels and Amsterdam followed within five years.

CSupporters point to the environmental case. A seat on a night train produces a fraction of the carbon of the same journey by air, and travellers arrive in the city centre rather than at an airport outside it. Surveys suggest that many passengers also value saving the cost of a hotel night.