Night trains are a great way to travel. You save time and a night’s accommodation. If you plan well, a night train only uses one Travel Day.
How many Travel Days does a night train use?
You only need a Travel Day for the day the train leaves. For example, if your night train leaves on Tuesday at 22:00 and arrives on Wednesday morning, you only use Tuesday as a Travel Day. The app does this automatically when you add the night train to your Pass. Just book a seat reservation if you need one, and you’re ready to go.
If you change trains after midnight, you need a second Travel Day. The app will ask you to use another Travel Day when you add the connecting train to your Pass.
Important: you cannot take a night train on the last day of your Pass. Your Pass must still be valid on the day you arrive.
Taking a night train home?
If your night train goes into your home country, it also uses your inbound journey. How you set up your Pass depends on whether you need to change trains once you’re in your home country.
If the night train takes you all the way home
You use one Travel Day and your inbound journey. Make sure you have a Travel Day for the day the train leaves. Your ticket covers the whole night train journey, right up to your final stop.
If you need to change trains in your home country
You need two Travel Days: one for the night train, and one for your connecting train the next day.
You need to set up your Pass in a special way. If you don’t, the app will use your inbound journey on both days. This is because the app checks the whole night train journey. If any part of it is in your home country, it uses your inbound journey, even on the day you board.
To avoid this, split the night train journey into two parts:
- In the DiscoverEU Travel app, find your night train. Tap the small arrow next to the departure station to see all the stops.
- Choose a stop outside your home country where the train stops after midnight. Note the time the train arrives there.
- Search for the same train again, from your departure station to that stop. Save it to your Trip and add it to your Pass. This uses your first Travel Day.
- Then search for the same train from that stop to your home country, and add your connecting train. Add them to your Pass. This uses your second Travel Day and your inbound journey.
You’ll now have two tickets (QR codes), each covering part of the night train journey.
Your seat reservation should still cover the whole night train journey. You don’t need to split it, so you only pay for one reservation.