European Railroad Discussion > Railjet / Nightjet

Hey everyeone,

I'm going on a trip with my faimly and considering taking the Nightjet from Dusseldorf to Vienna (I believe that is a route). Anyone have experience with it?

We are also heading from Vienna to Switzerland and considering parking ourselves somewhere in CH that is on a lake with trains and biking paths along the lake. Any ideas?

Thanks!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/19 18:26 by zorz.

Regarding Nightjet trains here's some information from the web site "The Man in Seat sixty one" -

https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/nightjet.htm

I have not ridden it, but here is one of the NightJet sleeping cars seen last summer in Vienna.

Gordon

---

While I have not ridden the route you are doing, I have used Nightjet several times since they bought out DB's City Nightline. Sleeping cars are typical European with upper and lower bunk. For a single, you can pay two fares for the  entire room and just use the one bed. Some cars have en-suite bathroom with showers. I have always just booked first class and take whatever is provided. Cars are clean and comfortable. Bedding is provided and you make up the bed yourself.  Allow for a bit of lateness. For some reason, overnight European Trains aren't as punctual as their daytime counterpart. For boarding, you don't have to line up like Amtrak. Just find out what platform your train will depart on (normally posted for the entire day but be aware of last minute changes), go to the platform. Sit, relax, and wait for your train to platform. Once it does, it will be immediately available for boarding. You even open the door yourself!  It's up to you to find your correct carriage. Numbers and destinations are posted in the  door windows.  Note, often the entire train does not end up at the same destination, splitting in route. Unlike Amtrak, this takes about 5 minutes to accomplish so it is critical you are in the correct car when the split occurs. Have a great trip.

We’ll see how long these last. The night trains clearly fall outside the core mission of the Austrian Railways.

We took the Munich/Venice service in October 2018.  It was not our first choice,  but the Munich/Rome and Munich/Milan sleepers were both canceled due to apparent construction work in Austria. I even contacted the Man in Seat 61 who told me not to worry, that all these services operated daily, which of course turned out to be wrong.  I contacted Austrian Railways as well, who did not directly answer my question about what services would operate but instead directed me to their on-line scheduling information (the lazy approach).

When the service became reservable about 60 days in advance, the sleepers with showers/restroom in the room sold out right away, and we had to settle for a conventional room.  Then, the car left Munich with no water.  I mentioned this to the car attendant and water was available the next morning, likely added at a service stop during the night at Salzburg or Villach.  The train operated on time and the breakfast served was good. The train was well-patronized; of course this was during Oktoberfest.

increasingly, overnight services in Western Europe are novelty transportation.  I do ride them whenever I can.

reindeerflame Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We’ll see how long these last. The night trains
> clearly fall outside the core mission of the
> Austrian Railways.
>
> We took the Munich/Venice service in October 2018.
>  It was not our first choice,  but the
> Munich/Rome and Munich/Milan sleepers were both
> canceled due to apparent construction work in
> Austria. I even contacted the Man in Seat 61 who
> told me not to worry, that all these services
> operated daily, which of course turned out to be
> wrong.  I contacted Austrian Railways as well,
> who did not directly answer my question about what
> services would operate but instead directed me to
> their on-line scheduling information (the lazy
> approach).
>
> When the service became reservable about 60 days
> in advance, the sleepers with showers/restroom in
> the room sold out right away, and we had to settle
> for a conventional room.  Then, the car left
> Munich with no water.  I mentioned this to the
> car attendant and water was available the next
> morning, likely added at a service stop during the
> night at Salzburg or Villach.  The train operated
> on time and the breakfast served was good. The
> train was well-patronized; of course this was
> during Oktoberfest.
>
> increasingly, overnight services in Western Europe
> are novelty transportation.  I do ride them
> whenever I can.

I wouldn't be so pessimistic. Unlike many neighboring railways, night trains account for over 15% of ÖBB's business and they have already placed orders for brand new rolling stock from Siemens (including individual "capsule hotel"-style couchette cars for a cheaper, private class of travel). They say the passenger numbers since introduction of the "Nightjet" brand (including partial takeover of the CNL route network) have met or exceeded expectations. They have also announced their intention to reintroduce service to Amsterdam. 

Sorry to hear that your trip was subpar. My experiences on Nightjet trains thus far have been wholly positive. The overall impression (goodies, branding, on-board staff) is of a service that ÖBB stands behind.

Here is the 2018 NightJet Schedule (PM me for additional details if needed)
                                            Departs                         Arrives
Zurich - Hamburg-Altona      20:00,                          08:06
Hamburh - Zurich                 20:45                           09:05

Zurich - Berlin                      20:00                            08:10
Berlin - Zurich                      20:56                            09:05

Zurich - Wien                       21:40                            07:55
Wien - Zurich                       21:27                            08:20

Zurich - Graz                       20:40                             07:00
Graz - Zurich                       22:24                             09:20

Zurich - Zagreb                    20:40                             10:43
Zagreb - Zurich                    18:38                              09:20

Zurich - Budapest                21:40                             09:24
Budapest - Zurich                20:40                             08:20

Zurich - Praha                      21:40                             10:57
Praha - Zurich                      18:01                              08:20

Judging from the times in the schedule, many of the trains are combined/spilt en-route.

Fred Stout
Swiss Railways Society

Sorry this is a little late, but to answer your second question,

Try Thun. Its at the head of Lake Thun and also on the main route to the Lotschberg and Simplon Tunnels Many freight and passenger trains every hour and only 20 minutes from Bern. Lovely town, lots of accomodation, It also has Lake ships including a steam paddle ship and regular services to Interlaken for the mountain railways to Jungfraujoch, Grindelwald and Schynige Platte. Or try Spiez 10 minutes South of Thun still on the lake, with ship services and the same rail traffic, with the addition of the BLS shops (Currently being rebuilt)

Or try the Arth Goldau area on the main Gotthard Route, Lots of small towns along the lakes and again heavy traffic of both types

Hope this helps

Regards
Roger 
Winchester UK