DJs, disco balls and all-night raves: Inside Europe’s party trains where you dance the journey away

A rail company in the US has announced that a fleet of new trains under construction will feature ‘party cars’. 

The high-speed rail connection linking Los Angeles and Las Vegas will have carriages with strip lighting, a shimmery bar and lounge seating. 

The service run by Brightline West won’t be ready for at least another four years.

But if you want a rave on rails, you can try these journeys in Europe where onboard parties are part of the push to make trains more appealing as travellers seek sustainable alternatives to flying. 

Take a 32-hour party train across Türkiye

The Turistik Doğu Ekspresi (Touristic Eastern Express) crosses Türkiye from the country’s capital, Ankara and travels over 1,300 kilometres to Kars, a historic city in the northeast on the border with Armenia and Georgia.

It has become Türkiye's most coveted and lively train journey with multiple stops in the most beautiful parts of the east of the country. 

In the dining car, revellers can feast through the night under a nightclub-style mirror ball.

It is also tradition to decorate your cabin - most of which are fitted with mini fridges - with lights and garlands and continue the party there. 

Passengers dance the night away, spilling out into the corridors and onto the train platform on arrival at the final stop. 

Dance to DJs on the Sziget Express

Festival Travel organises two dedicated trains each year for ravers to arrive at Sziget Festival in Budapest. 

The Sziget Express runs between Utrecht in the Netherlands to the Hungarian capital. 

Once on board, festival goers can get the party started early in the bar car where DJs spin the decks. 

Fares for a round trip start at €270 and tickets sell out at lightning speed.  

Go clubbing on Germany’s Techno Train

The Techno Train was launched by Nuremberg-based nightclub Haus 33 in 2019 and is now the world’s most renowned rave on rails. 

The service runs twice a year and departs from Nuremberg’s Frankenstadion station at 4pm, travels 100km west to the city of Würzburg and then circles back to arrive at Nuremberg Central Station at 11pm.

Three of the train’s 12 carriages are transformed into mini clubs with DJs, speakers attached to the ceiling, fog machines and a bar. 

Tickets cost €100 and despite there being 700 available, they are snapped up in seconds. 

Join Amsterdam's rave on rails

In mid-October, the Dutch capital celebrated the Amsterdam Dance Event, an annual festival of electronic music, subcultures, clubbing and the arts.

This year, the celebration launched 'raves on rails', where eight trains were transformed into night clubs with onboard DJs and artists.

The services, organised by the 50:HERTZ techno café, departed from Amsterdam Centraal and travelled different four-hour routes.

Organisers have not yet announced if the trains will return next year but they proved popular so it could become a regular fixture.