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Cosy 2-berth sleeper in the Zurich-Prague sleeping-car. |
Zurich or Basel to Prague from €45
Every night, a sleeper train called the Canopus links Zurich and Prague with two sleeping-cars, a couchette car and seats cars. It runs through Germany via Basel, Karlsruhe and Dresden.
The sleeping-cars are excellent Czech Railways Comfortline cars, with 1, 2 & 3 berth compartments with washbasin, and deluxe 1, 2 & 3 berth compartments with en suite shower & toilet. A light breakfast is included. A great way to go!
Incidentally, the second sleeper train between Zurich & Prague - a direct sleeping-car running via Linz & Ceské Budejovice - won't run in 2025 due to trackwork around Linz. It may return in 2026. But in the meantime, the Canopus will get a second sleeping car.
What's the couchette car like?
Trains from Prague to
other cities &
daytime trains Prague-Zurich
Trains from Zurich to
other cities &
daytime trains Zurich-Prague
Train times 2025
Always check times for your specific date of travel at www.cd.cz as times may vary due to trackwork.
Train EN40458/9 is the Canopus, it consists of a Czech Railways sleeping-car with 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments, some with toilet & shower, a couchette car with 4 & 6 berth compartments and ordinary seats. It leaves Zurich combined with the sleeper to Berlin.
Train EN50466/7 Zurich-Linz-České Budejovice-Prague will not run in the 2025 timetable due to trackwork around Linz. It may return in 2026.
Sleeping-cars
The Canopus has two Czech Comfortline sleeping cars, built by Siemens in Germany in 2006-2007. Each car has 9 standard compartments with washbasin & 3 deluxe compartments with toilet & shower, see the photos below. Inside the sleeping-car it's carpeted, air-conditioned, quiet and civilised. Each compartment can be sold as a 1, 2 or 3 bed room. There's clean bedding, soap, towel, bottled water, and a power socket for mobiles & laptops below the head-end of the bed. Morning tea or coffee is included. The compartments have a card-key locks like a hotel and there's a toilet & shower at the end of the corridor for sleeper passengers in the standard compartments (take your key-card, you'll need it to open it). Sleeper berths are sold individually, you can book one bed in a 2 or 3 berth and share with another passenger of the same gender. Compartments are single-sex unless your party occupies the whole compartment. An excellent way to travel.
Beds are 190cm x 75cm (approx 6'3" x 2'6"), but pillow or toes can project into a 2.5cm (1") gap either end between bed & wall, so no problem for anyone up to 6'5".
A Czech sleeping-car at Zurich HB.
Shower compartment at the end of the corridor (above right) for passengers in standard sleepers. It's a good shower, I use it in the evening when it's always free and there's plenty of hot water. It also has a WC. You'll need your room key to unlock the shower room. Larger photo.
Comfortline sleeper layout. All compartments can be sold as a single, double or triple. Last digit of berth number 1 or 2 = lower berth, 3 or 4 = middle berth, 5 or 6 upper berth. Adjacent compartments with berths with the same first digit have an inter-connecting door which can be opened if your party occupies both compartments. Click the image for larger version.
Couchette car
The Canopus has a couchette car leased from RDC as Czech Railways don't have enough 200km/h couchette cars of their own. The couchette car has a side corridor and 9 compartments, each of which can be used as 4-berth or 6-berth. Clean sheets and a pillow are provided, the doors have a normal lock and security lock or chain, there are several European-type 2-pin 240v power outlets in each compartment. Toilets and washrooms at the end of the corridor. Couchette compartments are not segregated by gender, as you do not normally get fully undressed, but women can book a berth in a women-only compartment.
Restaurant car
The sleeping-car attendant can serve snacks & drinks from a limited menu from his small galley and a light breakfast is included in the fare.
However, a Czech restaurant car is attached to train the Canopus between Leipzig & Prague. Travelling eastbound towards Prague you can go to the restaurant car for a cooked breakfast, and when travelling westbound from Prague you can enjoy an inexpensive dinner with wine or excellent Czech draught beer.
On the Canopus the restaurant car is normally 4 seats cars away from the sleeping-cars & couchette car.
Travel tips
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Deluxe or regular sleeper?
It's nice having your own en suite shower & toilet, but remember there are only 6 deluxe sleeper compartments on the entire train. Deluxe sleepers are virtually identical to standard sleepers in every respect, same beds, same decor, same everything, they just have a compact shower/toilet unit instead of a washstand. And there's a shower at the end of the corridor for passengers in the regular sleepers (take your sleeper compartment's card-key to open it). So don't obsess about having a deluxe, standard sleepers are almost as good!
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Berth numbering
This often confuses people! They get berths 21 & 25 and think that they aren't in the same 2-berth sleeper compartment. Of course they are! See how sleepers & couchettes are numbered.
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Is the overnight train safe?
Yes. In the sleeper it's comfortable and safe for families, solo females, for anyone. Look at the sleeper corridor above and see how quiet and civilised it is. Compartments in the Comfortline sleeping-car have a hotel-style card-key lock so the standard carriage keys used by railway staff can't open them from outside, only the sleeper attendant's master key-card can open them. In addition, also like a hotel, there's a security deadbolt which can only be locked and unlocked from inside. An attendant is on duty in the sleeping-car throughout the journey, he has a small galley at the end of the corridor.
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Finding your train
As with virtually all European trains, there's no check-in. Just stroll into the station, find your train and get on, any time before it leaves. And yes, Zurich & Prague stations are safe at night with plenty of people around. The sleeper attendant normally greets you on the platform at the door to the sleeping-car and checks your reservation. He'll come round and see you soon after departure to take your ticket or pass. Zurich HB station guide. Prague Hlavni station guide.
Departing from Zurich HB, train the Canopus to Prague leaves Zurich combined with the Nightjet to Berlin.
Departing from Prague Hlavni on the Canopus, it will be shown on the departure boards as destination Zurich HB. It should be ready for boarding maybe half an hour before departure.
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Luggage
You take your luggage with you into your sleeper compartment and simply stick it on the luggage racks above the window, over the door to the corridor, or on the floor. Nobody weighs it, measures it, or worries about how much you take. More about luggage on European trains.
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Power & WiFi
These Czech sleeping-cars now have free WiFi. Comfortline sleeper compartments have a power socket for laptops & mobiles, standard European 230v 2-pin type. It's located beneath the pillow end of the bed. Mobile data reception should work fine for most of the journey.
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Food & drink
The sleeper attendant can serve a limited selection of food & drink in your compartment from a room service menu which you'll find in your compartment. This includes one or two microwaved hot dishes, as well as tea, coffee, snacks, wine & beer, all at affordable Czech prices.
In the morning, the sleeper fare includes tea or coffee plus a simple breakfast box with rolls or bread, butter, jam & orange juice.
A restaurant car is attached between Leipzig and Prague, serving a cooked breakfast eastbound and dinner westbound. It is marshalled around 4 cars away from the sleeping-car & couchette car. There is no catering car between Zurich and Leipzig, so eat before you board.
You are of course free to bring your own supplies with you, including snacks for a midnight feast and perhaps a bottle of wine - there's a supermarket at Zurich & Prague stations where you can stock up, for location see the Zurich HB station guide or the Prague Hlavni station guide.
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Suggested hotels in Prague old town or near the station. If your budget will stretch, consider the lovely Hotel Carlo IV, 3 minutes stroll from the station, 10 minutes walk from all the city sights. Thanks to Czech prices, it's not as expensive as such a hotel would be further west!
Route map
How much does it cost?
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Zurich to Prague starts at €45 each way with a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, €59 each way with a bed in a cosy 2-bed sleeper, €112 with a bed in a single-bed sleeper. Berths in deluxe sleepers with shower & toilet cost a bit more. Fares vary like air fares, so book ahead.
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Berths are sold individually, one person = 1 ticket = 1 bed. So you don't have to pay for sole occupancy if you're travelling solo on a budget, you can book one ticket and get one bed in a shared 3-bed sleeper with other civilised sleeper passengers of the same sex. But if you book 1 person in a single-berth sleeper or 2 people in a double or 3 people in a triple, you'll get sole occupancy of a whole compartment.
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If you have a Eurail or Interrail pass you just need to pay a sleeper or couchette fee, see how to reserve on the Interrail/Eurail reservations page.
How to buy tickets
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Book this sleeper at www.thetrainline.com or www.raileurope.com.
You'll see the train listed twice, once for the seats cars (marked DB if you're using Trainline) and once for the sleepers & couchettes (marked ÖBB on Thetrainline). Needless to say, you should select the version that offers the couchettes and sleepers.
Booking opens up to several months ahead. You print your own ticket or can show it on your phone.
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If you have any problems, you can also book with Austrian Railways at www.oebb.at (as it's a Nightjet partner route), same prices, in €.