The government has earmarked €5.3 billion for the rail sector as part of its recovery plan,
A night train service from Paris to Nice will resume on Thursday after three years, it was canceled over lack of customers, with the French government keen to promote a “virtuous mode of transport”.
The train will depart the Paris Austerlitz station at 20:52 and arrive at 09:11 in the coastal city of Nice. Prime Minister Jean Castex will be onboard the inaugural 12-hour journey.
The service was canceled in December 2017 due to a lack of profitability but the government has earmarked €5.3 billion for the rail sector as part of its recovery plan, including €100 million for night trains.
It has also demanded that Air France reduce domestic flights for journeys that can be done in fewer than two and a half hours by train as a condition for its €7 billion bailouts.
There are currently only two-night trains circulating around France. Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said earlier this year that the government’s ambition “is to have ten or so night trains by 2030.”
A night service between Paris and Tarbes, in southwestern France, is expected to start at the end of the year.
