It was announced with great fanfare, but will have to wait. The night train connection between Barcelona and Zurich, planned by Austrian operator ÖBB under its Nightjet brand, has been postponed without a start date.
This situation will leave the Catalan capital without international rail services in the early hours of the morning, and will place its hopes in the future European high-speed line planned for 2040.
The reasons why NightJet does not operate in Barcelona
The project, which should have started in December 2024, has run into infrastructural and financing obstacles that have forced its indefinite halt.
The “de facto” cancellation of this route confirms that Barcelona and Spain have been left out of the night train renaissance that the rest of Europe is experiencing.
The main cause of the blockage lies in the difficulties in crossing France. According to industry sources to media such as El País, the lack of a stable framework for operating at night on the French network due to frequent closures for maintenance and the difficulty in securing night “paths” (timetables), makes it unfeasible to plan a reliable international line to Barcelona.
This problem is not unique to the Spanish route. Nightjet has confirmed that, as of December 14, 2025, it will also stop operating the Vienna-Paris and Berlin-Paris routes. The withdrawal of subsidies by France and economic viability problems have forced these cuts, which will take the Gallic country out of the central European night network.
While Barcelona loses its connection, Nightjet continues to strengthen its presence in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands. The company is rolling out a new generation of trains with greater comfort, including free wifi, “mini cabins” for greater privacy and accessible compartments.
These new convoys will start running in December 2025 on corridors such as Cologne-Hamburg-Switzerland.