Does anyone have experience using the NightJet train to Switzerland say from Hannover?
thank you for any info.
Since no one else has responded, I'll suggest this:
Go to the Deutsche Bahn website, select the train you're considering, click on Show details, then on Show intermediate stops. Will you be able to get a half-way reasonable amount of sleep? The 11:26 PM departure for Zurich makes eight stops between 1:26 AM and 6:24 AM. Then there's a 7:12 AM stop in Basel. Every stop will be accompanied by braking, station noise, then acceleration.
It wouldn't work for me.
I’ll offer a different position and say that it would probably work for me. I haven’t travelled on this exact route before, but I’ve been on the same carriages.
In my experience, night train drivers generally accelerate and decelerate a bit more gentle compared to the norm when they're driving day trains, because they try not to disturb the sleeping passengers. You will still feel the motion of the train (and lack thereof), of course, but it's not that abrupt. Train stations are usually desolate at the middle of the night, so the station noises usually aren’t that bad, if you ask me.
If you’re a particularly light sleeper you may not have the best sleep on the train. The ÖBB Nightjet service is reputable and offers a reasonable service and comfort, as far as night trains go. You can also find reviews of the Nightjet service online, including several videos on YouTube.
I have taken night trains from Hamburg to Verona (auto train to avoid the long drive). My experience is that the train noises doesn't wake me up.
We are planning a night train drive this April from Hamburg to Vienna, so we are not discouraged.
I think most European night trains are run by https://www.oebb.at/en/ these days.
Not exactly as you asked in reference to that route. I have done the NJ route between Hannover and Vienna and more often Vienna to Hamburg...no problems, easy, very satisfactory, most recently were those rides in the summer of 2018 and on the last trip in Oct 2019. I like the NJ night routes as they are direct.