Not just pyjamas
Besides the common night attire, the protesters got creative, planing a variety of activities, including dancing to an internationally synced playlist, singing Christmas carols, sharing food and talking to workers and bystanders. There was even a twin action, which saw protesters setting out from Paris and arriving in Vienna on the following morning, in the last night train doing this route.
More trains, less planes
Night trains are the best alternative to aviation – a sector that drastically needs to shrink as climate collapse accelerates. Yet routes keep being cancelled, like Paris–Vienna, and the Lisbon connection remains shut down for years. These protests highlighted the need to stop greenwashing air traffic with false solutions, and instead put actual, accessible night trains back on track.
Action in Lisbon.
Let’s drive night trains forwards – not backwards
This coordinated action highlighted a growing public demand for real alternatives to fossil-fuelled hypermobility, connecting two urgent needs:
- A rapid and fair reduction in air traffic to meet climate deadlines, and
- Major public investment in rail, especially night trains, which offer an affordable, low-emissions and socially just way to travel across borders.
Night trains embody a different vision of mobility, one that values slowness, connection and communities, and stands in stark contrast to the extractive model of tourism that many cities are struggling with. This is a vision towards a mobility that puts people and planet before profit.
Find more fabulous photos of the actions on Flickr, and visit the Pyjama Party website, to share your dream train route. Let’s get night trains back on track!
