Originally Posted by KathyWdrf
The cost of an overnight couchette at the time was less than $20 supplemental, far cheaper than the hotels I normally stayed at, so this was a "bonus" as well. I had about four or five overnight train trips in all on this particular trip; some were in the cheapest couchettes, and others were in more comfortable though somewhat more costly digs.
To my way of thinking, the real value of an overnight train trip in a couchette (or even a sleeper car) is not just the fact that you don't have to pay for a hotel room, but that you can get from one place to another while you'd otherwise be sleeping. Spending good "being-there" time in transit is more expensive than money.