By Lydia Swinscoe and Jessica Hamilton
14:25 12 Dec 2023, updated 14:29 12 Dec 2023
Austria’s new generation of Nightjet sleeper trains that feature quirky ‘pod’-style cabins for single travellers have launched for the paying public.
And the reviews are in, with one YouTuber declaring that he is a ‘huge fan of this new innovation’.
Austria’s national railway company, ÖBB, unveiled the revamped and redesigned Nightjet in October, as we reported, with the new trains entering service on Sunday, December 10.
The ‘ultra-modern’ solo cabins include a movable folding table with an integrated mirror, coat hooks, a reading lamp, and adjacent lockers for hand luggage and shoes.
YouTuber and travel expert Nonstop Eurotrip travelled over 1,000km (621 miles) from Vienna to Hamburg, Germany in one of the new ‘pods’, declaring it the ‘most innovative idea in sleeper trains for 100-plus years’.
The YouTuber went on to say of the journey: ‘I’m a huge fan of this new innovation. I was more than happy to spend the night in one of these pods with their excellent comfort and privacy.
‘It feels really spacious as long as you’re not too tall.
‘The mattress and pillow are both very comfortable.’
Joining the train’s inaugural journey, the Youtuber could only find one small downside, musing that the ‘doors don’t have a locked open position’, meaning that once inside you can’t easily keep the door at the open position.
As well as the innovative solo pods, the new-generation formations, totalling 33 sets, comprise extensively redesigned sleeping cars that accommodate one to two people and couchettes that sleep up to four.
The sleeping cars boast private bathrooms – complete with a shower – and a ‘comfortable’ seating area so travellers can work, read or eat during the journey.
Each new Nightjet is also fitted with a ‘modern’ accessible couchette compartment, for use by up to two wheelchair users and an accompanying person. A barrier-free toilet is also accessible via a low-floor entrance.
There are more storage options, too, with six bicycle parking spaces for cycling enthusiasts as well as more space for luggage, strollers and sports equipment.
The new generation trains have capacity for 254 passengers in seven-carriage formations made up of two seating cars, three couchette cars and two sleeping cars.
One of the Nightjet’s most thrilling journeys connects Vienna’s Hauptbahnhof station with Paris’s Gare de l’Est, a 14-hour ride.
Leonore Gewessler, Austria’s Minister for Climate Action, said: ‘Traveling by train means protecting the climate. This is especially true for the night train.’
She said that passengers can ‘board in Vienna in the evening and wake up refreshed the next morning in another European metropolis’.
ÖBB CEO Andreas Matthä commented: ‘We are consistently continuing to expand our night train fleet and will continue to play a pioneering role in night train traffic in Europe in the future. With our new, ultra-modern Nightjets, we impress with more comfort and privacy that clearly focus on the needs of passenger.’
Starting prices for ÖBB’s Nightjet sleeper trains: Seating – €34.90 (£29.99); couchette – €54.90 (£47.17); sleeper double – €99.90 (£85.83); sleeper single – €199 (£170.98). To book visit: www.oebb.at/en.
To see more of Nonstop Eurotrip’s videos head to www.youtube.com/@NonstopEurotrip.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
