The Nightstar was a proposed overnight sleeper train service from various parts of the United Kingdom to destinations in mainland Europe, via the Channel Tunnel, in the mid 1990s. To run alongside the Eurostar, and north of London day-time Regional Eurostar services which were never operational, the Nightstar was the last part in a proposed round-the-clock passenger train utilisation of the Channel Tunnel.
The Nightstar service was to have been operated by European Night Services, a company mostly owned by European Passenger Services (the then-named operator of the Eurostar service).[1]
After rejection of various British ideas for the service that was to become the British Rail Class 373 Eurostar train—which eventually was created from the existing French TGV scaled for a British loading gauge—the Nightstar concept emerged as an individual locomotive-hauled passenger train. While some carriages were built, the project was cancelled in July 1997 for lack of commercial viability. All of the stock was eventually sold to Via Rail in Canada, forming its Renaissance train fleet.