00:00Short-haul flights are everywhere.
00:03Airports overflowing.
00:04But maybe the fix isn't up in the air.
00:07It's in the night.
00:08There is a greener and more efficient option out there.
00:11Sleeper trains can be pricey and cramped.
00:14And routes are disappearing.
00:15But there is hope.
00:17It's definitely spacious in here.
00:19We visited a Berlin workshop where engineers are building
00:22what could be the next generation of sleeper trains.
00:25Can this be the future of travel?
00:33A pajama protest with cuddly toys instead of megaphones.
00:38Their dream is, quite literally, to sleep their way across Europe.
00:43At Berlin Central Station, platform 13, the night train to Zurich is about to arrive.
00:48And there she is, with the passengers looking anything but sleepy.
00:54And this wasn't just Berlin.
00:56The same scene played out in 12 European cities.
00:59Helsinki, Amsterdam, Lisbon and more.
01:05It's freezing cold outside.
01:07But that's what woolly hats and blankets are for.
01:09So, why sleeper trains?
01:11And why now?
01:12I really enjoy the atmosphere in the women's compartments.
01:15They have fabulous life stories to tell and it's people from very different generations.
01:19You're laying down and just so nicely sleeping.
01:23And then you wake up like some kind of fever dream vibe and suddenly you're in a totally different place.
01:29For others, it's about their footprint.
01:31It's a much climate-friendly amount of transportation than taking the plane.
01:35The protesters want connections to be expanded.
01:38For example to Spain, Greece and the Balkans.
01:41The reality looks different though.
01:44Europe's sleeper train network is shrinking.
01:46Especially among state rail companies.
01:50The popular routes from Paris to Berlin and Paris to Vienna had just been reopened in 2023.
01:57Only to be cancelled just two years later, after state subsidies were cut.
02:03The connection between Stockholm and Berlin is also shaky.
02:07Private operators are now stepping in.
02:09But only on certain days.
02:11And without subsidies.
02:12With few seats and high costs, it's often not viable.
02:17But someone among the protesters wants to fix that.
02:20Anton Dubrau.
02:23Together with a co-founder of his Berlin startup, he began building mini-cabins back in 2023.
02:30First step, stow away the suitcase.
02:32Then Anton gets comfy.
02:35It's a little private cabin that has a seat that turns into a bed.
02:40But it's also meant to be relatively spacious.
02:43You have a window and you have a nice table.
02:46And so during the day, you can take out the table here, you know, and work.
02:49The idea is that you can do long day trips in this as well because you have a lot of
02:53space to move around.
02:56When you're ready to sleep, the backrest folds down.
02:59With private cabins, there's no need to share a compartment with fellow travelers,
03:03as is common in Europe, as well as in countries like India,
03:07where sleeper trains have long been an essential part of long distance travel.
03:13Well, it is still a bit cramped in here.
03:16There's not a lot of space around the feet, but there's more space around here,
03:19so you don't feel very claustrophobic.
03:21In the corner here, there's a little space for your knees that you can put in if you're a side
03:25sleeper,
03:26which is kind of convenient.
03:29I'll have to put that to the test myself.
03:39Yeah, it's pretty comfy.
03:41I mean, I've slept in these six sleeper trains before,
03:45and this is definitely more spacious and more comfy.
03:48But I'm also a really tiny person.
03:50I can even change the color of the overhead light.
03:55The door is still a bit stubborn.
03:58I'm going to switch off the light now.
04:01Good night.
04:04They're also building a bigger cabin for business travelers
04:07that will be pricier, but also roomier.
04:10The project has been quite a journey.
04:12They're already on the seventh prototype, as the other co-founder, Henrik, explains,
04:16after making meticulous preparations for the interview.
04:20When we started, we built cardboard models and just like to just create the room.
04:25And we sat down and we were like, okay, this doesn't work, this doesn't work, this doesn't work.
04:30And then we did the next one.
04:32And so every iteration was a little better than the one before.
04:37Optimizing space was important so that the trains can run on the highest capacity
04:40and are profitable for operators.
04:43This is what the final train is supposed to look like.
04:45A conventional sleeper train can accommodate an average of 340 passengers,
04:50as opposed to a potential 700 here, upper floor included.
04:55The layout would fit into decommissioned high-speed trains that have been refurbished.
04:59Their capacity could almost match that of normal day trains.
05:04So far, however, it's still a simulation.
05:07More passengers means lower ticket prices.
05:09Anton estimates that a 1,000-kilometer ride from, say, Paris to Berlin could cost around 100 euros.
05:18We want to get to the point where we are in a similar price range as airline tickets,
05:23but we have enough comfort that people will be willing to switch.
05:27Until then, there are many more bumps on the track to overcome.
05:31Bureaucracy, availability of train routes, investment, and the actual construction of new wagons.
05:35But the founders believe this is the only way forward.
05:39Our vision is that we want to provide an alternative for aviation,
05:42so that people, instead of taking flights from a city to another,
05:46can take the night train overnight and be comfortable.
05:48Like, aviation is very useful, but the problem is that it's bad for the climate.
05:54And there isn't really much of an alternative.
05:57The math checks out.
05:59Train travel saves a lot of pollution compared to flying.
06:02On average, a passenger on a train emits 22 grams of CO2 equivalent per kilometer.
06:08In a plane, it's almost six times as much, according to the International Energy Agency.
06:13Only cars are dirtier, especially if they're big and carry few people.
06:18Plus, trains are energy efficient and can even generate electricity when braking.
06:25Night trains, they are in a completely different league, and there is basically no alternative that can reach them, in
06:32terms of energy usage.
06:34So far, the startup has cost several hundred thousand euros, funded partly by Anton himself, as well as investors and
06:40public money.
06:42The two still have a lot of tinkering and timbering to do before the cabins hit the rails.
06:47If all goes well, that could be by 2030.
06:50Right on time!
06:51That's when the EU wants to double the number of rail passengers and even triple it by 2050.
07:00Well, at the beginning, this was a crazy idea on a piece of paper where there was a 3D model.
07:06And I'm proud that after this time we spent as a team, we get to the point where when people
07:11see this thing, they get it.
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