The Brand new Nightjet cars

Thanks, I'll have to watch this. I took the Nightjet from Vienna to Venice a few years ago and it will be interesting to see the changes.

This was a special train for invited guests. The inaugural run in regular service will be in December after the schedule change. Initially on the Hamburg-Austria routes. Later next year they will replace the current trains on the Vienna-Venice, Stuttgart-Venice, Vienna-Rome and Munich-Rome routes.

Interesting video to watch. Wish I could sleep in those conditions. I know when I arrive at my destination I would not be rested and then the day would be shot. Looks great for people who can just crash and sleep and arrive fresh to start their day.

Thanks for posting. Good to know and very promising news.

Over the last several years since the end of City Night Line operated by DB in 2015, I've had to continue the night train option by using OeBB.

I found them satisfactory. No problems . Sometimes the six seat compartment was cramped since 5 out of 6 seats (incl. me) were occupied, just depended on your luck for that ride. Interesting to note on a number of these night rides, your fellow passengers were exclusively locals, all Germans or Austrians, solo and in pairs, male and female.

Now with this introduction of newer , more enhanced night trains, we certainly have OeBB to thank for that, even though it is not only national train company putting night routes in or restoring those, which had been abolished. OeBB on the topic of resurging night train routes, etc is facing competitors. ....bravo.

The new couchette in its own pod is nice. Also like the new orientation of the sleeper car beds.

As for NightJet in general, decided my last bad experience this past July was going to be my last bad experience - done with Nightjet for good I think.

Hank what was your bad experience?

I'll repost below my experience on a NightJet train this summer Julie. The newer train cars solve some of it, but the crews running the show will be the same, so other issues will not be addressed.

I sacked up my buddy Barney (my bike) and took the OBB Nightjet to Innsbruck. Bought a whole sleeper compartment to myself so that bagged Barney would not be an issue. And while Barney was not an issue, the OBB Nightjet sucks. Yes, I slept, but painfully. It's a terrible product for what it costs. Thin bad mattresses, pillow a little bit bigger than a box of tic-tacs, scratchy beat up comforter mismatched with those in the unused beds. Compartment was generally dirty. Amenities iincluded two tiny sacks of terrible snacks (I mean what kind of maniac thinks that waxy cherry chocolate coating stale powdery dried chickpeas is a treat?). Super indifferent service, like sleeping at an unhappy post office.

No water in the bathroom or compartment sinks in the entire sleeper car. I'm not talking about the silly shower. I'm in an entire sleeper car full of people for 14+ hours and nobody can wash their hands. Everybody touching all the same knobs and everything. Gross. No hand sanitizer either. I was super bummed I hadn't packed any. How the heck they decide they are just going to roll this sleeper train with zero water is beyond me. I mean there must be some kind of system, wherein water is put on the train before it starts? It was in the station for half a day. I dunno ...

Gross out alert. Skip this paragraph if you are squeamish. Toilet barely flushing so it was in third world prison condition pretty quickly. After morning coffee I went to do my business. And when the time came realized no toilet paper, no paper towels. I wiped with a plastic tampon bag. And then of course no water to get things sorted after the fact. A visit to the conductor guy showed that all of these supplies were available in abundance, just not restocked (or from what I can tell stocked the first place).

So yeah, OBB Nightjet can bite me. It's a beat up old crappy product that cost as much as a nice hotel. I'd rather take an extra day or so than save the time.

Thibault is a very prolific blogger and does a great job. Plus he loves sleeper trains.

Hank, thanks for your review, I was considering it for Rome to Munich, but my husband is pretty particular, and I think an experience like yours would send him over the edge. 'Nightjet can bite me', I'm sorry but I laughed out loud. What a horrible experience!

I'm only good for 4-5 hours on a train. Otherwise, that's what they invented airplanes for. And the budget airlines in Europe can be so cheap for popular routes.

I just remember a slow, hot train out Vienna to Prague that looked like it was from behind the Iron Curtain. We were in a train car full of smelly soccer players, and one guy tried putting his head on my shoulder for a pillow. No thanks!

if you watch any of the many Youtube videos on Nightjet, dive into the comments section. the current consensus is that it's a great concept but the execution is hit or miss, the staff often comes in for criticism.

Not this particular video but I've seen a few over the years. I am taking the NJ or others, those comments/evaluations I don't bother with., not interested. The night train as a travel option is part and parcel of the way I get around, regardless.

@Hank: What trains were you one? I have been on several nightjet trains, and while the old cars do show their age, they always were fine, and clean. I will actually miss the double decker cars when they are gone.

Not all trains sold by OBB are actually operated by them. So I am curious which train you were on.