Nox Mobility Raises €2M to Reboot Night Train Travel
Nox plans to introduce private train compartments as a new product in the travel industry. © Nox Mobility
Berlin-based startup Nox Mobility has closed a €2 million pre-seed funding round to build a new generation of night trains with fully private rooms. The round is led by Berlin investor IBB Ventures, with participation from Italian investor Tommaso Lucca and industry experts including HomeToGo co-founder Dr. Patrick Andrae, according to the company's press release.
Night trains are having a moment. But despite record bookings on popular routes, the market has been shrinking for decades. The number of weekly night train connections in Europe dropped from around 1,200 in 2001 to roughly 450 by 2019. Nox Mobility sees a major opportunity in that gap.
The concept flips the traditional sleeper train model. Instead of sharing a compartment with strangers, every passenger gets their own private room. The startup positions itself as a genuine alternative to a short-haul flight plus a hotel stay, at a comparable price point. Trains depart from central stations in the evening and arrive downtown the next morning, skipping airport transfers and security queues entirely.
The founding team brings solid credentials: Thibault Constant built Simply Railway into one of Europe's largest rail communities with 600,000+ subscribers. Janek Smalla brings operational expertise from FlixTrain and Bolt. Artur Hasselbach co-founded payment fintech orderbird, which was acquired by Nexi for over €140 million.
Funding will go toward team building, constructing a full-size mockup, and preparing the first routes set to launch in 2027. Business travelers, already accounting for 30% of night train passengers in France, are a key target alongside leisure travelers looking to skip the hotel bill altogether.
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