The experience of flying around Europe is inefficient and marked by stress and discomfort.The speed the airlines offer is an illusion, and a 1-hour flight is actually a grueling 4-hour trip from door to door. Finally–and most importantly–air travel produces high carbon emissions. Midnight Trains was born of these observations. It’s time to choose a more comfortable, efficient, and sustainable alternative.
We believe that the journey is as important as the destination, and that every moment is precious. Seeking to reconnect the beating hearts of our largest European cities, we set ourselves a challenge: create a hotel on rails, thereby reawakening the enchanting experience of the night train.
In 2025 we will launch the first line from our Paris hub. This will lay the foundation for our ambitious plan to create a network of more than 10 destinations, each between 800 and 1,500 km from Paris.
We cannot wait to welcome you aboard. Join us in shaping the future of travel: a combination of modern sustainability and glorious Roaring 20’s charm.
In a previous life I co-founded KissKissBankBank. It took some time for me to find a new venture to which I could bring the same level of passion. I consider entrepreneurship an avenue to fixing enormous problems, and a way to connect emotionally with people. A good product should be like a good song, an excellent film, or an exquisite glass of wine.
The idea of Midnight Trains came to me during a dinner in Athens. From that moment, I knew I had fallen in love.
Midnight: it’s a train, a hotel, a restaurant, and an app which connects Europe and allows us to travel at will. I hope many of you will dream your future dreams aboard a Midnight Train.
Midnight, for an entrepreneur, is a unique and exhilarating adventure–it’s the stuff of dreams. It’s unique because it answers our deep human need to travel and discover the world, but with respect for the planetary crisis which demands our attention. It’s exhilarating because it offers an infinite array of opportunities to transform a 200-year old sector dominated by outmoded forms of travel, one which is begging to be reinvented. And it’s a dream I share with Adrien, a partner with whom I’ve worked in evident complementarity for more than six years.
When Adrien introduced me to the Midnight concept, I knew immediately that this project was going to animate me for the next 20 years. There is a personal irony in this: I grew up on Reunion Island, without trains, and in a family which included pioneers of the aviation industry. I want to share with you all the emotions which this adventure has sparked in me, by delivering a unique, comfortable, and sustainable travel experience.
’God forbid a time when trains no longer have the ability to move us,’ Guillaume Apollinaire once wrote. Midnight Trains is an antidote to monotony on the rails, aiming as it does to reinvent the sleeper train and respond to a growing public awareness that we must change the way we travel in light of the climate catastrophe of today and tomorrow. A engineer who likes to think, a guy inspired by the technical side of the railways and a traveller by nature: I’m convinced that the regulatory world is becoming more open to innovations such as ours, and I’m thrilled to be embarking on this journey. Thanks to us, Europeans will be far better connected by train.
I have always been passionate about travel, from my childhood odysseys in Greece to my urban explorations. Today, I am an artistic director. Whether I’m designing a logo for Ricard or launching the Black Crows brand of skis and the French version of Vanity Fair, I always plunge deeply into my artistic vision, imagining the desires of the consumer, the skier, or the reader. In my work for Midnight, I drew upon memories of night trains, the legacy of logos from the Industrial Revolution, and the creation of Yorgaki, my Greek cafe. Adrien and Romain have created a contagious and powerful vision, and I’m immensely proud to be on board.Adrien’s and Romain’s vision have been contagious and the pride to be onboard is already huge.
It’s been three years since I last took a plane. Before this, I was one of those people who jumped on a flight without a second thought. That was before I measured the impact of these trips. My enlightenment was shaped by my actions within the C40 network and the Communauté Écotable. Looking back on the last two years, I can say that giving up flying has reconnected me with the essence of travel. On a train, time is suspended. Landscapes roll past, inspiration comes freely, and discussions are sparked until, suddenly and almost without warning, you reach your destination. I can’t wait for Midnight to carry you everywhere.
I have been hiking for 13 years, and I have six good reasons to do so: traveling, enjoying simple pleasures, achieving the goal, leaving my comfort zone, a feeling of wellbeing, and the serenity of a clear mind. I like to go further, to reach higher, toward new, different, and fulfilling heights, just as I did when I created the French Intercités train network. This is what unites me to the powerful project we call Midnight.
Improving the travel experience has always been my ambition. After working with theFrench Transport Ministry, I contributed to the renewal of the railway sector at both SNCF and Thalys. From there it was a direct path to Accor and Pierre et Vacances-Center Parcs, where I continued to address the needs of travel enthusiasts. By combining transportation with hospitality, Midnight promises to resurrect the golden age of night trains. All aboard!
Two great loves explain my accord with Midnight: the presence of Adrien, who is a light of rational intelligence, and my fascination with new paradigms in sustainable travel. A troublemaker in hospitality and design, I work on urban renewal issues. My projects include the revival of La Cité de la Mode et du Design and the creation of both Mama Shelter and MOB Hotel.
As an entrepreneur and investor committed to positive social and environmental impact, I have always loved taking on challenges, cracking the codes, and playing the breaks. It’s what I’ve done in every venture I’ve created or initiated, from Promovacances and Club-Internet to 9 Telecom and Direct Energie. When Adrien and Romain shared their adventure with me, I had to get on board and join them in redeveloping a more comfortable and sustainable form of travel.