Not Exactly the Orient Express, But Europe’s Sleepers Are Back

Romanticized by movies like “Murder on the Orient Express” and “From Russia With Love,” sleeper trains had all but disappeared in Europe. Now, some of their magic is being revived -- with a modern twist.

In the last century, nocturnal trains with their wood-paneled cabins and plush lounges were the stuff of adventure, chugging along through the night from Paris to Istanbul or London to Venice. But as high-speed rail connections shrank distances, low-budget airlines emerged and European Union regulations made night trains economically untenable, sleepers lost their allure. One by one, Europe’s great rail lines terminated or dramatically cut international night-train services.