For most of the twentieth century, night trains were a normal way to travel across Europe. Passengers boarded in one city in the evening, slept in small beds, and stepped onto the platform of another country in the morning. By the year 2000, however, most of these services had disappeared.

The main reason was price. Low-cost airlines began selling tickets for less than the cost of a train bed, and a flight took two hours instead of twelve. Railway companies found that night trains were ( 21 ) to run: they needed extra staff, the beds had to be cleaned, and the trains sat unused during the day.

In the last few years, the picture has changed again. Several European countries have begun running night trains once more, and some routes are now sold out weeks in advance. ( 22 ) this change is a growing worry about the environment. A night train produces far less carbon dioxide per passenger than a plane on the same route.

Travelers give other reasons as well. A night train leaves from the center of one city and arrives in the center of another, so there is no long trip to and from an airport. Passengers can also ( 23 ) the cost of a hotel room, because they sleep on board.

There are still problems. Old sleeping cars are wearing out, and new ones take years to build. Different countries use different electrical systems, so a single train may need special equipment to cross a border. Ticket systems are also difficult: a passenger may have to buy separate tickets from separate companies for ( 24 ) journey.

Even so, orders for new sleeping cars have been placed in several countries, and more routes are planned. Whether night trains become common again will ( 25 ) on how quickly these practical problems can be solved.

When Aiko Tanaka's son finished junior high school, she found three uniforms in his closet. All of them were in good condition, but none of them fit anyone in her family. She could not throw them away, and there was no shop that would take them.

Tanaka learned that this was a common problem. A school uniform in Japan can cost more than fifty thousand yen, and most students grow out of one within two years. She also heard from teachers that some families struggle to buy uniforms when their children enter a new school.

In 2019, Tanaka opened a small shop in her town that sells used uniforms. Families bring in uniforms they no longer need, and the shop checks them, cleans them, and puts them on the shelves at about one-fifth of the original price. The person who brought the uniform receives a small payment once it is sold.

The shop was slow at first. Only a few families came, and some parents said they did not want their children wearing another child's clothes. Tanaka decided to change how the shop looked. She removed the plastic boxes, hung each uniform on a wooden hanger, and put up bright lighting. After that, the number of customers rose sharply.

The shop now handles about two thousand uniforms a year. Tanaka has been asked to speak at meetings in other towns, and four similar shops have opened since 2022. She says her goal is not to make money but to make sure that no uniform is thrown away while it can still be worn.