French's last overnight trains deserves a refurbishement. Intercites de nuit review
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Date: 2024-01-09
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Comments and reviews: 35
-ursuss100
The Corail cars are the oldest passenger rolling stock currently in use by SNCF-they were built between 1975 and 1989.
The car seen at 2: 49 (orange doors with green roof line and white/black body) is still in the original 2nd class livery (1st class had the same exterior but with a yellow roof line iirc)-very rare today as most have been repainted many times.
The BB26000 (-Sybic-, meaning Synchrone Bicourant) are SNCF's fastest and most powerful electric locomotives as of today, together with their sister class, the BB 36000s (-Astride- for Asynchrone Tricourant Drive Engine.
They use a similar (but detuned) engine technology as the TGV Atlantique and can reach 200 kph in passenger service (but not as a freight train, as those are generally limited to 120 kph due to their weight.
By the way, for French locomotives, BB means that they have two axles per bogie. CC locomotives (three axles per bogie) also existed and were more powerful (mainly CC6500/21000 for electrics and CC72000 for diesels, but they have been definitively retired from service in the 2000s/2010s for the last ones, due to expensive running costs, pollution issues (for the diesels) and them being more agressive on the railway due to their third axle per bogie.
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The Corail cars are the oldest passenger rolling stock currently in use by SNCF-they were built between 1975 and 1989.
The car seen at 2: 49 (orange doors with green roof line and white/black body) is still in the original 2nd class livery (1st class had the same exterior but with a yellow roof line iirc)-very rare today as most have been repainted many times.
The BB26000 (-Sybic-, meaning Synchrone Bicourant) are SNCF's fastest and most powerful electric locomotives as of today, together with their sister class, the BB 36000s (-Astride- for Asynchrone Tricourant Drive Engine.
They use a similar (but detuned) engine technology as the TGV Atlantique and can reach 200 kph in passenger service (but not as a freight train, as those are generally limited to 120 kph due to their weight.
By the way, for French locomotives, BB means that they have two axles per bogie. CC locomotives (three axles per bogie) also existed and were more powerful (mainly CC6500/21000 for electrics and CC72000 for diesels, but they have been definitively retired from service in the 2000s/2010s for the last ones, due to expensive running costs, pollution issues (for the diesels) and them being more agressive on the railway due to their third axle per bogie.
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-aliaslisabeth1031
Don't feel so bad about SNCF. HSR also ended overnight trains in Japan. There is only one left and it splits midway to serve different destinations.
Amtrak still runs an overnight train between Boston and Washington, DC, a relatively high speed route, called -The Night Owl. -
Amtrak never makes you share a compartment with strangers. You pay for the compartment and there is slight surcharge for additional passengers. What you experienced is more like a hostel than a hotel. Amtrak goes for the rolling hotel experience. But isn't four star or anything. The staff are always friendly.
Of course all Amtrak sleepers have enough electricity to recharge cellphones and even power a laptop. Many Amtrak coaches also have electricity for coach passengers.
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Don't feel so bad about SNCF. HSR also ended overnight trains in Japan. There is only one left and it splits midway to serve different destinations.
Amtrak still runs an overnight train between Boston and Washington, DC, a relatively high speed route, called -The Night Owl. -
Amtrak never makes you share a compartment with strangers. You pay for the compartment and there is slight surcharge for additional passengers. What you experienced is more like a hostel than a hotel. Amtrak goes for the rolling hotel experience. But isn't four star or anything. The staff are always friendly.
Of course all Amtrak sleepers have enough electricity to recharge cellphones and even power a laptop. Many Amtrak coaches also have electricity for coach passengers.
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-titteryenot4524
All of Europe-s a night-train/And all the men and women merely passengers/They have their Brexits and their Schengen Areas/And one man in his couchette smells many farts/His trips covering different gauges/At first the teenager/Hungover and puking in his best mate-s arms/And then the whining young man, with rucksack/And bleary morning face/And then the husband/Sighing with sternness/And a where-s my passport? /Made to his wife-s eyeball/The Spanish gauge shifts into green and considered Irun/The spectacle of those/With Euros well saved/Last train of all/That bookends this changing, scentful mystery/Is second-class and near-Bolivian/Sans tea, sans pies, sans haste, sans air spring. -
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All of Europe-s a night-train/And all the men and women merely passengers/They have their Brexits and their Schengen Areas/And one man in his couchette smells many farts/His trips covering different gauges/At first the teenager/Hungover and puking in his best mate-s arms/And then the whining young man, with rucksack/And bleary morning face/And then the husband/Sighing with sternness/And a where-s my passport? /Made to his wife-s eyeball/The Spanish gauge shifts into green and considered Irun/The spectacle of those/With Euros well saved/Last train of all/That bookends this changing, scentful mystery/Is second-class and near-Bolivian/Sans tea, sans pies, sans haste, sans air spring. -
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-timor64
This brings b ack memories.
Pre-Eurostar I was on a train from London to Paris, eventual destination Lyon. I would arrive in Paris at 2130 and have no idea where to stay.
I noticed some coaches were sleepers and were going to Toulouse. I asked a conductor if I could just buy a couchette, skipped Paris and ended up in Toulouse at 6am, just like you, then took a train back to Lyon.
A great decision. For the price of a hotel room I woke where I needed to be.
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This brings b ack memories.
Pre-Eurostar I was on a train from London to Paris, eventual destination Lyon. I would arrive in Paris at 2130 and have no idea where to stay.
I noticed some coaches were sleepers and were going to Toulouse. I asked a conductor if I could just buy a couchette, skipped Paris and ended up in Toulouse at 6am, just like you, then took a train back to Lyon.
A great decision. For the price of a hotel room I woke where I needed to be.
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-TheMacValk
I like this video, i work on the international train from amsterdam to germany and we hope to have a sleeper train at the end of this year. I also have to work on that and I cant wait! --- anyway your videos are always fantastic and this one is also great! Offcourse it is not the VR in Finnland but still. also the 1st class, indeed it looks like a hostel- but you had some nice contact and that is also great about train traveling-
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I like this video, i work on the international train from amsterdam to germany and we hope to have a sleeper train at the end of this year. I also have to work on that and I cant wait! --- anyway your videos are always fantastic and this one is also great! Offcourse it is not the VR in Finnland but still. also the 1st class, indeed it looks like a hostel- but you had some nice contact and that is also great about train traveling-
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train
Long train journeys are not to reach a destination, they are a journey in itself. In this age of high speed it has just become about reaching a destination. Sleeper train is one reason i love travelling by them here in India, i don't mind the long hours honestly. Night trains also make total sense, you end your day travel at night and reach your destination in the morning, best utilization of time
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Long train journeys are not to reach a destination, they are a journey in itself. In this age of high speed it has just become about reaching a destination. Sleeper train is one reason i love travelling by them here in India, i don't mind the long hours honestly. Night trains also make total sense, you end your day travel at night and reach your destination in the morning, best utilization of time
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-markdickson3820
I do love sleeper trains but that was in desperate need of tlc, odd because my few experiences on SNCF have always been on new impressive trains. Maybe I misunderstood but really, 3 strangers in an old cabin, if I-m sleeping next to someone I better at least know them first. Honestly the seats were huge with plenty of legroom, think I would have preferred that myself
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I do love sleeper trains but that was in desperate need of tlc, odd because my few experiences on SNCF have always been on new impressive trains. Maybe I misunderstood but really, 3 strangers in an old cabin, if I-m sleeping next to someone I better at least know them first. Honestly the seats were huge with plenty of legroom, think I would have preferred that myself
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-jiaoziii1084
Hello! Thank you very much for your video, I'm planning to take this train to join my family in toulouse for Christmas. Do you know if there is access to hot water? (If I want to eat instant noodles or make myself a tea -) I used to take night trains very often when I was in China, and there is always a spot for very hot water in each carriage.
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Hello! Thank you very much for your video, I'm planning to take this train to join my family in toulouse for Christmas. Do you know if there is access to hot water? (If I want to eat instant noodles or make myself a tea -) I used to take night trains very often when I was in China, and there is always a spot for very hot water in each carriage.
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train
I really enjoyed this trip. Nothing escapes the material and comfort tester. Yes, I too really miss the night trains.
Sometimes I used to talk about the bunks on our French trains as -sleeping boards- and it was true!
Well, thanks to this documentary, I can see that the comfort of the bunks has increased a little bit.
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I really enjoyed this trip. Nothing escapes the material and comfort tester. Yes, I too really miss the night trains.
Sometimes I used to talk about the bunks on our French trains as -sleeping boards- and it was true!
Well, thanks to this documentary, I can see that the comfort of the bunks has increased a little bit.
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-thornil2231
France had the best railroad system, the best education system, the best healthcare system in the World. Today, thanks to the right-wing policies, all those are things of the past. Soon, thanks to Macron, the EU, and the insane capitalist privatisation, France will be as bad as the US.
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France had the best railroad system, the best education system, the best healthcare system in the World. Today, thanks to the right-wing policies, all those are things of the past. Soon, thanks to Macron, the EU, and the insane capitalist privatisation, France will be as bad as the US.
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-blubberdignubber
Compared to the RENFE's Trenhotel, the SNCF's first class sleeper cars seems to be really dissappointing: Quadruple compartments, no ensuite bathrooms or wash sinks, less space for tall persons. It is less attractive. It is nothing that deservse the 1st class attribute.
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Compared to the RENFE's Trenhotel, the SNCF's first class sleeper cars seems to be really dissappointing: Quadruple compartments, no ensuite bathrooms or wash sinks, less space for tall persons. It is less attractive. It is nothing that deservse the 1st class attribute.
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-bedcurt
They sadly got rid of the overnight trains to Paris, they were great the bar was like a party. The TGV trains through the day don-t seem. that sensible as the journey is very long so you-re effectively wasting a day, night train are great
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They sadly got rid of the overnight trains to Paris, they were great the bar was like a party. The TGV trains through the day don-t seem. that sensible as the journey is very long so you-re effectively wasting a day, night train are great
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-alexanderk. 3056
Uh wow nice!
But you are very handsome!
Those are couchette cars. when they are in groups of 4 or 6
Other train fans make long vidz, why don't you try!
This could be more interesting if was 1 hour long or more!
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Uh wow nice!
But you are very handsome!
Those are couchette cars. when they are in groups of 4 or 6
Other train fans make long vidz, why don't you try!
This could be more interesting if was 1 hour long or more!
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-SprattyD
I have used sleepers in Norway and Sweden and loved it. When I was a kid there use to be a sleeper service between Adelaide and Melbourne but they only have it as a day service and probably won't exist beyond 3 years now: -(
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I have used sleepers in Norway and Sweden and loved it. When I was a kid there use to be a sleeper service between Adelaide and Melbourne but they only have it as a day service and probably won't exist beyond 3 years now: -(
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-johndonovan7018
reality is people want to go places fast. nobody has time to waste on a train. yes, waste time. i like trains but trust me, i dont care about romance or nostalgia. if tgv gets me there in 3h vs 11, tgv all the way.
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reality is people want to go places fast. nobody has time to waste on a train. yes, waste time. i like trains but trust me, i dont care about romance or nostalgia. if tgv gets me there in 3h vs 11, tgv all the way.
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-markfinn0
Canada used to have night trains between Montreal and Toronto. Normally a four+-hour trip, the night train would park on a siding for 2 or 3 hours to kill time, so you wouldn't be arriving at your destination at 4 am.
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Canada used to have night trains between Montreal and Toronto. Normally a four+-hour trip, the night train would park on a siding for 2 or 3 hours to kill time, so you wouldn't be arriving at your destination at 4 am.
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-mstrbool602
Taking the overnight train from Paris to Andorra next week. Can-t wait! Best way to travel! I did the Night Riviera a few months ago and didn-t sleep too well but sleeper trains are fun! Thanks for the vid.
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Taking the overnight train from Paris to Andorra next week. Can-t wait! Best way to travel! I did the Night Riviera a few months ago and didn-t sleep too well but sleeper trains are fun! Thanks for the vid.
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-fatwalletboy2
Those CoRail coaches seem very similar to the British Mk3 coaches very smooth and quiet at speed unlike modern coaches with the constant noise from poorly sited airconditioning blowers.
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Those CoRail coaches seem very similar to the British Mk3 coaches very smooth and quiet at speed unlike modern coaches with the constant noise from poorly sited airconditioning blowers.
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-christiandyer8566
I can't be dealing with people who cannot be bothered to commentate on their own videos. Use some one else if you don't like your silly voice and DON'T JUST RELY ON SUBTITLES.
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I can't be dealing with people who cannot be bothered to commentate on their own videos. Use some one else if you don't like your silly voice and DON'T JUST RELY ON SUBTITLES.
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-rdrogel
SNCF should spent more on sleepers as an effective way to move people cheaply & environmentally during the pandemic & lessen the cost of short distance air travel & travel by bus/coach.
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SNCF should spent more on sleepers as an effective way to move people cheaply & environmentally during the pandemic & lessen the cost of short distance air travel & travel by bus/coach.
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-dali9160
What a hypercritical, consum-orientated poor mind, how believes to judge down over all things with prejudice and believes over all this, to charge a cell phone is a human right!
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What a hypercritical, consum-orientated poor mind, how believes to judge down over all things with prejudice and believes over all this, to charge a cell phone is a human right!
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-dalektorgo2973
This makes an Amtrak Roomette (Super- or Viewliner) look like the damn Seven Star in Japan. No en suite AND shared? That is not just apathy, that's actively discouraging.
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This makes an Amtrak Roomette (Super- or Viewliner) look like the damn Seven Star in Japan. No en suite AND shared? That is not just apathy, that's actively discouraging.
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-a. m-j2474
4 beds in a one person sized cabin with strangers that can easely steal you, sounds more like a prison on wheels than a train this is not my opinion this is a reality check.
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4 beds in a one person sized cabin with strangers that can easely steal you, sounds more like a prison on wheels than a train this is not my opinion this is a reality check.
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-mrpeel3239
Thank you for taking us along! Very helpful information. Glad to hear recent news of the return of night trains in France. Ps is the engine electric, until Toulouse?
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Thank you for taking us along! Very helpful information. Glad to hear recent news of the return of night trains in France. Ps is the engine electric, until Toulouse?
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-johnnygomez7063
comparing to the train in this video - even the worst regional Czech train has been much cleaner and way more carred than the train this train in the video.
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comparing to the train in this video - even the worst regional Czech train has been much cleaner and way more carred than the train this train in the video.
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-pavelmracek8538
Nice report, but the text below video disappears very fast. I had to play the video on 0. 75x speed because otherwise I had not enough time to read it.
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Nice report, but the text below video disappears very fast. I had to play the video on 0. 75x speed because otherwise I had not enough time to read it.
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-ericyoung7161
I love how he just bangs on the bathroom door to fix it and that proves that if something is broken bang on it and it will fix it or break it more
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I love how he just bangs on the bathroom door to fix it and that proves that if something is broken bang on it and it will fix it or break it more
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train
Some nice idioms - -prevent fall fence- haha good one. But seriously that was first class? Bro - it looked like a student hostel at best: ) Bon nuit!
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Some nice idioms - -prevent fall fence- haha good one. But seriously that was first class? Bro - it looked like a student hostel at best: ) Bon nuit!
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-asotforever5983
i donypt like to sleep i the train because I love seeing the new places. but yeah I still had no chance of travelling outside my country
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i donypt like to sleep i the train because I love seeing the new places. but yeah I still had no chance of travelling outside my country
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train
The caption I've read was so funny and wholesome.
_-3 roommates were with me; one French couple & one lonely Englishman (He was a funny btw)-_
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The caption I've read was so funny and wholesome.
_-3 roommates were with me; one French couple & one lonely Englishman (He was a funny btw)-_
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-chrisj9700
I-d wish the sleeper services would return for ski trains to the Alps. Until then we have to sleep in a sitting position on the Eurostar.
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I-d wish the sleeper services would return for ski trains to the Alps. Until then we have to sleep in a sitting position on the Eurostar.
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-jonchall71
Always wanted to do the overnight from Paris to Barcelona but it got cancelled. La Tour de Carol only option now or the daytime TGV.
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Always wanted to do the overnight from Paris to Barcelona but it got cancelled. La Tour de Carol only option now or the daytime TGV.
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-abshivkumar2549
Obb night jet and caledonian sleeper
Are. much better even after refburishment sncf should learn a few things from them
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Obb night jet and caledonian sleeper
Are. much better even after refburishment sncf should learn a few things from them
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-that90skid72
-Fewer and fewer trains-. gosh. Dans l'art de se tirer une balle dans le pied, la SNCF en a fait une discipline olympique!
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-Fewer and fewer trains-. gosh. Dans l'art de se tirer une balle dans le pied, la SNCF en a fait une discipline olympique!
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-blanco7726
I sometimes take this train to Biarritz when I drive to Spain, that way I can sleep and make progress at the same time haha
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I sometimes take this train to Biarritz when I drive to Spain, that way I can sleep and make progress at the same time haha
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