There’s a startup that’s looking to revolutionize the way that people travel between cities in Europe, while offering a high level of comfort (thanks to JonNYC for flagging this). Will this catch on, or does this sound better in theory than in practice?
In this post:
The basics of Twiliner’s overnight luxury bus service
Twiliner will be launching operations in November 2025, and the idea is that the company will be offering Europe’s first overnight bus service with lie flat beds. Much of Europe already has great connectivity between cities, in the form of existing rail, air, and bus service.
As Twiliner sees it, what doesn’t exist is a comfortable way to travel between European cities overnight, given that most rail connections operate during the day, and most existing bus services are quite uncomfortable.
So Twiliner will operate special buses with just 21 seats each, in a 1-2 configuration. There will be 18 seats on the upper deck and three seats on the lower deck.
All seats convert into fully flat beds, and feature USB power ports, a reading light, and a tray table for working or dining. The bus also offers complimentary high speed Wi-Fi.
There’s also a toilet, a changing room, and a snack bar onboard. Coffee and water are free, while other items are available for purchase.
The company highlights the benefits of traveling by bus rather than by air, including traveling from city center to city center, avoiding the cost of overnight accommodation, and saving on emissions. The company claims it saves around 85% emissions compared to flying, as the bus service runs on HVO diesel, a renewal fuel from waste fats and vegetable oils.
Seats are currently on sale as of mid-November 2025, with the first route being from Zurich to Amsterdam. The service departs at 9:30PM, with stops in Basel, Luxembourg, Brussels, and Rotterdam, prior to arriving in Amsterdam at 9:45AM. Fares start at CHF 169 (211 USD), and include one checked bag and one carry-on.
The company hopes to grow to 25 routes by 2028, so it has quite the ambitions. The aim seems to be to mostly operate in markets of up to 1,000 kilometers. Each bus has two drivers, who switch throughout the night for safety. The only stops are brief stops at each of the destinations along the way, plus any stops required for the drivers to rotate.
I like the concept of Twiliner’s bus service, in theory…
What’s innovative about Twiliner is the level of comfort that it’s offering on bus service within Europe. For example, FlixBus is already a major bus operator in Europe, and the company serves plenty of routes (including Zurich to Amsterdam) with a similar schedule. It’s a fraction of the cost, but also a fraction as comfortable.
I like the concept of Twiliner. I mean, spending the night in a flat bed on a bus sounds sort of charming, in a way. But here’s the thing — I think it sounds better in theory than in practice, at least for those of us who are light sleepers.
I think I’d book this envisioning “oh great, I’m going to get eight hours of sleep.” But then I’d probably end up waking up every 15 minutes, between the movement, the stops, other people snoring, etc. If you’re a deep sleeper, then maybe this is the perfect solution for you. But we’re all different in that sense.
The challenge here is that Twiliner is going after fairly price insensitive customers who value comfort, but who don’t want to fly.
If I were a business traveler and had an important meeting the next day, I’d realistically rather take the last flight of the night to my destination and spend a night in a proper bed at a hotel, rather than chancing on it being able to get sleep on a bus.
Bottom line
Twiliner is launching an innovative luxury bus service, which will initially operate as of November 2025 between Zurich and Amsterdam. While Europe already offers good air and rail connectivity, Twiliner thinks there’s a need for comfortable overnight transportation between cities, since that’s not currently offered.
I have to give Twiliner credit for coming up with a unique concept. It just seems to me like a fairly niche offering, given the price point. I hope this works out, though as someone who is a light sleeper when not in my bed at home, this concept probably isn’t for me…
What do you make of the Twiliner concept? Would you book this bus service?
Given how attractive this will be to the premium leisure market - I think this stands a good chance of being a commercial success - a bit like the Caledonian Sleeper trains from London to Scotland.
In Chile, Turbus has for over a decade offered an overnight Salón Premium service on certain high-demand routes. Here is a 360° seat tour Turbus provides on their website:
https://landing-premium.turbus.cl/360.html
The last time I took it was eight years ago, and it’s a great option for traveling to Pucón, since the nearest airport with commercial flights is about 1.5 hours away. I had no more trouble sleeping than I would on a lie-flat business class seat.
I love this idea! Don’t forget that a Y one-way AMS - ZRH is exactly €180 one-way with checked luggage on Swiss, the same price as this bus. You barely get any legroom, but you do get a pretty shitty experience. You get a lot more value with this bus since you’ll actually see some awesome scenery. Lot’s of Europeans are not necessarily looking for “the fastest way” + it’s more eco friendly as well.
Very tempted to book this experience..
Seems cool but I'm not trusting a business driver at this time of night to operate a bus, stay awake or not be distracted.
Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it folks!
Like any new venture, there are those who are only too willing to dismiss it out of hand. Those who can see some advantages for themselves depending upon their needs. Finally those who will take a longer term approach to wait and see.
From some of the comments it is clear that there are those who have probably not travelled long distances across Europe by...
Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it folks!
Like any new venture, there are those who are only too willing to dismiss it out of hand. Those who can see some advantages for themselves depending upon their needs. Finally those who will take a longer term approach to wait and see.
From some of the comments it is clear that there are those who have probably not travelled long distances across Europe by road. The motorway, autobahn, interstate or turnpike roads (which ever term one is accustomed to) are very much suited to coach travel. Boring for a driver, however, smooth and devoid of the stop/start impression some might like to portray.
Having experienced train travel though out Europe, north into Scandinavia, south into North Africa, east to the Syrian border and many places between, the idea of this proposed mode of transportation certainly has legs.
Thank you Ben, for this to our attention …. every day is a school day!
This isn't a 'unique concept', there are lots of similar services available in places like Brazil, Mexico, Thailand etc.
It's not even the first service of its type in Europe. Megabus Gold used to offer some kind of flat bed coach between Scotland and London, while ALSA also have some luxury services with big seats but no flat beds.
I don't think that the economics work at that sort of pricing, but it could...
This isn't a 'unique concept', there are lots of similar services available in places like Brazil, Mexico, Thailand etc.
It's not even the first service of its type in Europe. Megabus Gold used to offer some kind of flat bed coach between Scotland and London, while ALSA also have some luxury services with big seats but no flat beds.
I don't think that the economics work at that sort of pricing, but it could be a compelling alternative to other means of transport if they managed to find a way to break even at around €100 each way and sell tickets for €120 or so.
Are you serious??? With dodgy 'back-of-the-envelope' math like that, Twiliner must be breathing a sigh of relief you DON'T work for them. FFS!
There's no 'math' in my comment, only an educated guess that they won't be able to sell many tickets at €200ish apiece and that the service would likely sell a lot better with a price tag nearer €100- basic price elasticity stuff.
I have no view as to whether their operating costs are, or can be, contained to a level that would allow them to operate sustainably while selling tickets at a price that people are prepared to pay.
As someone already mentioned there’s a nightjet service for a far lower price and equally I just don’t know who this serves. In Central Europe they’ll have to compete against Nighjet’s pretty extensive network and equally FlixBus.
Geographically the only place I see this working is connections between Central Europe and Spain and Portugal but the pricing would need to be far more attractive. There’s a case maybe for Eastern Europe and the Balkans...
As someone already mentioned there’s a nightjet service for a far lower price and equally I just don’t know who this serves. In Central Europe they’ll have to compete against Nighjet’s pretty extensive network and equally FlixBus.
Geographically the only place I see this working is connections between Central Europe and Spain and Portugal but the pricing would need to be far more attractive. There’s a case maybe for Eastern Europe and the Balkans particularly to secondary cities with no rail connections and limited air travel but again there will be plenty of local operators who will do the same route at a fraction of the cost.
Not something I would use, but I know a fair number of people with flight fear, who this would be well suited for, as an alternative for trains. Even my parents in law could go for this, since they are from a generation with fond memories of bus-vacations, but have gotten too old and comfortable to sit in a regular bus for 20 hours.
I very much like this concept, but I don't think it will ever happen, if only for EU safety regulations that probably do not allow bus travel in such a configuration. My best guess is that Twiliner is trying to solicit interest for their upcoming investment round.
Ben, with your European reader potentially moving away from air, smart move to start covering the euro lux bus market… :P
Lots of Europeans travel by bus, and for long distances. The rail network hasn’t been the most reliable, especially in Germany, and rail lines don’t go everywhere quickly. Try getting from Zurich to Madrid… don’t think so.
Night trains are only on very limited routes too, and they are not the best...
Ben, with your European reader potentially moving away from air, smart move to start covering the euro lux bus market… :P
Lots of Europeans travel by bus, and for long distances. The rail network hasn’t been the most reliable, especially in Germany, and rail lines don’t go everywhere quickly. Try getting from Zurich to Madrid… don’t think so.
Night trains are only on very limited routes too, and they are not the best sleep either due to stops and the tracks.
Overall I think this is a smart idea for the market. And Adrian is right, Europeans are very proactive about reducing their carbon footprint at the moment so travel by plane is being shunned. And I can only imagine how much the pressure to not pick Air must be on government workers and politicians…. Well now they have a potential solution.
Are they aware of the invention of the train
Quaint idea but it will never work. The people who claim not to fly for ecological reason do not have the money for this. Or if they do, they will fly and not tell anyone about it.
It's funny cause it's true :D
I dunno. There's very few seats per bus, so it will get quite expensive, but it's still a bus so it won't be as comfortable as trains. It won't be a budget option, nor will it be a premium option. I don't see the market.
Sure, there are some niche routes where railway infrastructure doesn't work, and relatively low capacity of the bus allows this to be deployed on routes with fairly low demand too....
I dunno. There's very few seats per bus, so it will get quite expensive, but it's still a bus so it won't be as comfortable as trains. It won't be a budget option, nor will it be a premium option. I don't see the market.
Sure, there are some niche routes where railway infrastructure doesn't work, and relatively low capacity of the bus allows this to be deployed on routes with fairly low demand too. But will people take this over flying? Selling point of trains is that they're more comfortable and you can get a proper sleep. With this I'm less sure.
But I'll definitely give it a try once.
Also, seems to me they really didn't optimize the space and therefore will have to charge more than they could otherwise. Why would you need to set aside a changing room when you have a bathroom? Waste of space they could've put 1 more seat in. Extra large luggage room, more waste of space for 2 potential additional seats.
Doesn't seem to have been designed for cost performance and creating an opportunity for a better ticket price.
No matter what, at least for me, a bus will never be a preferred option or that I would pay for "luxury" level on, or want to be on for more than 1-2 hours at most. The road jostling, starting/stopping in traffic to get in/out of cities, etc. makes it a constant unrestful experience. I will go out of my way to take a train, or just fly to not have to endure bus experiences.
Best of luck to them.
This is a somewhat simplistic approach. A high end coach offers a completely different level of passenger experience compared to an urban bus. I've had great experiences on 'luxury' coach journeys around 3-4 hours in places like Malaysia and Mexico.
@ThrewAwayBrain
I think you're the one being overly simplistic by extrapolating your small data sample, limited to just a few hours in two random locations which have different conditions to travel in Europe...Like, nobody cares what you did. So stop sharing your random stories with strangers. Unless your family is tired of hearing you crap on and on and on...
There's no 'data sample' here and, uf anything, motorways in Europe are generally better than in Mexico, so the suspension and NVH insulation will almost certainly have less work to do on such a service.
You just keep reading random things into my comments, it's amusing and concerning at the same time.
The pricing just doesn't make sense. There is a daily Nightjet from Zurich to Amsterdam (which is then a decent enough change for Rotterdam and Brussels) and for that same date in November, a flat bed in a couhette (shared) is €99, €135 flexible. A sleeper (shared but comfier and with more services) starts at €155, so still cheaper than the cheapest ticket for the bus
On that route I agree with you. However, Barcelona to Zurich one way for 176 Franc is a good offer IMO
This reminds me of the "coche cama" class in long distance busses in Argentina. They were quite comfortable for long rides taking 20-ish hours. I'm a little less sold on the idea in Europe, at least for the shorter distance. They might be useful for trips from say Germany to Spain without many stops as the night trains are really lacking for those lanes.
"If I were a business traveler and had an important meeting the next day, I’d realistically rather take the last flight of the night to my destination and spend a night in a proper bed at a hotel, rather than chancing on it being able to get sleep on a bus."
But as a European, I don't think that's who they're targeting. Many Europeans want to travel in a more eco-friendly way internationally and don't...
"If I were a business traveler and had an important meeting the next day, I’d realistically rather take the last flight of the night to my destination and spend a night in a proper bed at a hotel, rather than chancing on it being able to get sleep on a bus."
But as a European, I don't think that's who they're targeting. Many Europeans want to travel in a more eco-friendly way internationally and don't want to fly. This explains the night train boom. For people who want to do this, but also want comfort, companies like FlixBus are not an option - this would be. Personally, I think this could be very successful if they can scale it properly.