A location for romance, violence or murder – sleeper trains in film and fiction are always places for drama. But the reality may be somewhat different.

As a sustainable travel option that is enjoying a resurgence in Europe – and, perhaps surprisingly, in China – they link big cities and are evolving to meet modern needs.

Lancaster University Management School Marketing Lecturer Dr Nicole Bulawa may never have taken the midnight train to Georgia, but her work on sleeper trains tells her that Murder on Orient Express and From Russia With Love may not be the most accurate depictions of the medium.

She tells us why sleepers went into decline and how attitudes towards sustainability played a role in why they came back; the importance of speed – and sometimes the lack of it; how services have evolved to include private mini-cabins for individual travellers; and how issues of logistics tend to lead to arrivals that are either really early or too late for some travellers.

We find out that Jan’s knowledge of 1970s and 80s soul and R&B music is sadly lacking, but that she is the only person in the studio to have been a regular sleeper user; that Paul’s James Bond watching may have put him off this particular form of transportation; and that Austria has been a leader in the sector’s resurgence.

Plus, everyone picks out their favourite train journeys – taking in Sweden, Morecambe Bay, Switzerland, and beyond.

Discover more about Nicole and her research here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/nicole-bulawa

Enjoy the drama set on a sleeper train between Glasgow and London that Jan mentions here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002265y/nightsleeper

Episode Transcript