Anybody had a go yet? The YouTube I saw showed older non a/c open window that looked like spruced up by plain, as they were, standard and 1st class. Westbound it runs well into the night, eastbound it leaves after breakfast.
I found the webpage particularly difficult - everything is big floating boxes and little if any feedback.
Prices are cheap though. If you only have one carryon and a small item.
Thoughts?
The GoVolta train currently consists of eight i10 carriages sourced from the Belgian Railways (NMBS/SNCB). Two of these are Comfort carriages with first-class seats in a 2+1 configuration, featuring a central armrest. The remaining six carriages are Economy carriages with second-class seating. These trains, which are around 40 years old, were taken out of service by the Belgian rail operator last year and sold second-hand to the Dutch founders of GoVolta.
In the coming months, the train will be expanded to include a buffet carriage, the ‘GoVolta Lounge’, where passengers can buy snacks and drinks. Unfortunately, this was not yet ready for use from the start.
The train connects Amsterdam Central with Berlin-Gesundbrunnen, stopping en route at Amersfoort, Deventer, Hengelo, Bad Bentheim, Osnabrück and Hannover. The journey to the final destination takes approximately 6 hours and 45 minutes.
Last Thursday, an unauthorised person managed to gain access to a locomotive parked at a stabling yard in Bad Bentheim. During the break-in, the locomotive’s systems were activated, causing the battery to run flat and become damaged.
The incident caused significant disruption to the timetable. The train bound for Berlin eventually arrived in the German capital nearly four hours late. As the same train was used for the return journey, the delay also affected that service. The train from Berlin finally arrived at Amsterdam Central Station at around five o’clock on Friday morning, almost five hours later than scheduled.
GoVolta tickets will soon be available to book via NS International.
At the moment, the booking process seems quite complicated, as can be read on German railway forums. A firsthand account from the forum ICE-Treff:
"I booked the day before the trip, and then received a confirmation in the form of a so-called ‘reservation,’ which only included the date, without any times—neither arrival nor departure times. [...]
On the day of travel itself, the booking confirmation arrived 4 hours before departure, now including both arrival and departure times. It also included a link stating that I had to check in via this link no later than 4 hours before departure; only then would I receive the boarding pass, and without it, I would not have a valid ticket. Although this 4-hour deadline had just expired when I received the booking confirmation, I was still able to check in via the link. On the linked check-in page, I re-entered the personal information I had already provided during booking. I then received a “Check-in Confirmation,” and shortly thereafter, finally, the “Boarding Pass” as a valid ticket.”
