Night trains have been enjoying increasing popularity for years. Deutsche Bahn and the Austrian Federal Railways are therefore announcing new connections – and more cross-border trains.
From December there will be new options for traveling by train from Germany to Austria and back. A new ICE connection will be set up between Hamburg and Vienna via Berlin and Nuremberg with the next timetable change, as announced by Deutsche Bahn and the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) in Berlin. In addition, there will be an ICE train every day from Berlin via Frankfurt am Main and Stuttgart to Innsbruck. This connection is currently only offered on weekends.
With the night train from Berlin to Paris
The range of night trains will also be expanded: from December, DB and ÖBB will be offering Nightjet connections from Berlin and Vienna to Paris and Brussels. These connections will initially run three times a week, and then daily from autumn 2024. So far, ÖBB and DB have not offered night trains on these routes. For a few months, however, the private company European Sleeper has been offering night trips from Berlin to Brussels via Amsterdam.
“By 2030 we want to double the number of passengers in Nightjet traffic,” said Sabine Stock, the ÖBB board member responsible for passenger transport, about the new connections. The new connections from Berlin to Paris and Brussels are “strong signs that DB and ÖBB believe in the night train product and will make more offers available”. “The expansion of the international timetable in close cooperation with the ÖBB is our answer to the growing demand,” said Stefanie Berk, Board Member for Marketing and Sales at DB Fernverkehr.
The other innovations at a glance:
From December, long-distance trains will run hourly between Munich and Salzburg from around 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. On the Frankfurt am Main – Munich – Salzburg – Klagenfurt route, ICE 4 trains will be used after the timetable change gradually drive the new generation of Railjets. DB and ÖBB promise “comfort at ICE level” in these trains. New ÖBB Nightjet trains will be used from next turn of the year. You should first drive on the Hamburg-Vienna and Hamburg-Innsbruck connections. Further connections in Austria, Germany and Italy are to follow in the course of 2024. “These newly developed Nightjets, which can travel at speeds of up to 230 km/h, offer a new level of comfort, including individual cabins (mini cabins) in the couchette car and entry on the same level for people with restricted mobility,” said DB and ÖBB.
Source: Stern
