Here I am again writing about the NightJet! I haven’t gone mad, there’s simply a lot to talk about! Operated by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), this sleeper train brand dominates much of the sleeper train routes in western Europe.
The popularity of night trains has soared in recent years thanks to a drive in demand for flight-free travel. The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) pre-empted this by purchasing carriages and taking over routes from the German Railways (DB) who decided to discontinue their CityNightLine services in the early 2010s resulting in a strong presence across Europe.
This NightJet travel report is particularly special as this renaissance has lead to the rare procurement of a brand new sleeper trains for NightJet routes, built by Siemens. Being dubbed the NightJet ‘New Generation’, these trains launched on their first routes in December 2023 with more routes being converted to the new trains as time goes on.
What’s so special about these trains? Well apart from being a brand new train and featuring all the types of accommodation that customers are used to, the ÖBB has taken onboard feedback and created a train for the future. This includes a redesign of the standard products and the launch of a brand new type of accommodation – the Mini-Cabin.
In July 2024, I took a trip on the new NightJet from Vienna to Hamburg, departing Wien Hbf at 20:10 and arriving at Hamburg at 09:05 the following morning. Here is the all important map of the direct NightJet route.
At the time of writing the new NightJet has been rolled out on other routes: Vienna to Innsbruck, Vienna to Bregenz and most recently on the Vienna/Munich to Rome routes.
Departure from Wien Hauptbahnhof
The pristine station of Wien Hauptbahnhof is the origin station of the northbound NightJet to Hamburg. This ultra-modern station opened in 2012 and still looks brand new to this day.
Facilities are aplenty in this hub station, including a staffed booking office, ticket machines, left luggage lockers, a food court and a First Class lounge. There are also supermarkets in the station, handy for stocking up for such a long journey such as this including Spar and Billa.
Shortly before departure, platform 7 was announced for the NightJet number 490 for Hamburg. A feature I love at Wien Hbf is the train-formation indicators – a screen on each platform presenting each of the carriage numbers and the position of the carriages on the platform – particularly useful for a train sporting thirteen carriages such as this one!
Highlights in Vienna City
Known mainly for its architecture and music scene, Austria’s capital has so much to offer for a tourist getaway.
During my visits to Vienna, I recommend:
- Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens
- Hofburg Palace
- St Stephen’s Cathedral
- Vienna State Opera
- Spanish Riding School
- Albertina Museum
- Vienna City Hall
- Sachertorte at Hotel Sacher
Relax in the ÖBB Lounge
A real treat for a journey from Wien Hbf is the ability to visit the ÖBB Lounge prior to departure to escape the busyness of the station and unwind before a long trip.
The lounge is situated above ground level, accessible by lift or stairs from the main concourse. In the lounge, a host checks your ticket on arrival and there are complimentary soft and hot drinks and snacks to enjoy.
The ÖBB Lounge is only available to those travelling in Sleeping Cars on the ÖBB NightJet. Unfortunately, as the Mini-Cabin are classed as Couchette Cars (with pricing to match!), I wouldn’t have access to this today so here are some pictures from another trip.
Onboard the NightJet New Generation
The shiny new NightJet glided into the platform shortly before its scheduled departure time and it was exciting to see it for the first time. Attached to the rear of the Hamburg portion of the train were older NightJet carriages bound for Amsterdam Centraal. The first impressions of the new NightJet portion were a very sleek and modern night train and an upgrade to the previous stock.
The Hamburg portion features two Sleeping Cars, three Couchette Cars and two Seated Cars as is standard for the new NightJet, with these being in a fixed formation unlike the conventional stock where carriages can be inserted and removed individually.
Sleeping Car Accommodation
The most premium type of accommodation on the NightJet is the Sleeping Car which features room for up to two passengers. The ÖBB have redesigned the layout compared to older models with the beds being situated along the window rather than facing the window, allowing for a fixed ladder to access to the top bunk.
Each of the ten compartments per carriage has an en-suite bathroom featuring showers – a new feature where only the Comfortline coaches offered an en-suite bathrooms in a quarter of compartments with a shared WC and shower at the end of the carriage. Quite an upgrade!
In nine of these compartments on the new NightJet, branded Comfort, the en-suite toilet becomes a wet room with no separate cubicle for the shower (featured in the photos below).
One of these ten compartments is branded Comfort Plus, a larger compartment with beds facing the windows and an en-suite bathroom with a separate shower cubicle. This is selectable at the time of booking subject to availability and an additional fee.
The compartments also feature mood lighting, a height-adjustable table that can switch from a lower bedside table to a sit down table to munch on the usual complimentary breakfast offered by the ÖBB NightJet in the Sleeping Cars and work at if necessary.
Top tip: as is the case with other ÖBB NightJet trains, for solo occupancy you’ll need to specify this when selecting the train. Compartments sold as ‘doubles’ for one person will likely mean another person of the same sex sharing the same room.
There is also an accessible compartment on the train, but I was unable to capture this with it being in use.
Couchette Car Accommodation
The Couchette Cars are where the real difference can be seen between the NightJet New Generation and older models. This is due to the incorporation of the ground-breaking new Mini-Cabin.
Before we get to that, in each carriage there are three traditional Couchette compartments with beds for up to four passengers. These have a traditional moveable ladder to access the top bunks and feature the usual breakfast offered on the ÖBB NightJet – a reduced version compared to the Sleeping Car breakfast. Passengers make the beds themselves with the provided blanket, sheet and pillow.
Mini-Cabins
Now for the particularly exciting part, the Mini-Cabin – my accommodation for this trip!
Recently, the ÖBB introduced price hikes for solo occupancy of the Sleeping Cars with fares costing hundreds of pounds. Unfortunately this is the case for all NightJet routes including those operated by the new train.
For me, this is where the new Mini-Cabins really come into their own – for those travelling solo or in couples who like privacy on a budget. Priced at the same as a couchette berth, the Mini-Cabins offer this and comfort with each customer being provided with their own lockable capsule. Couples can book adjacent berths and a door can be opened.
Luggage space in the Mini-Cabins is tight, with only a cabin sized bag being accommodated in one of the two lockers provided per Mini-Cabins. The other smaller locker is intended for use for shoes. In the Seated Car there is plenty of luggage space for larger cases, with the ability to lock these to the rack with a credit card (no payment is taken).
There is a control panel situated in each Mini-Cabin featuring a useful indicator of whether the toilets are occupied and also the ability to change the mood lighting within the Mini-Cabin – a nice touch. Party in Mini-Cabin 61 anyone? Annoyingly, however, with every button press there is a loud beep that can be heard in the Mini-Cabin next door so please be a good neighbour and don’t press it too often!
Male and female gendered toilets are provided at the end of each Couchette Car with a washroom. These were kept clean on the train’s journey.
There was a friendly ambiance with travelling in the Mini-Cabins with other customers still getting used to the new product and us all helping each other to work out how the keycard system worked before the host came around. Unfortunately, there are still some teething troubles with the new trains. On the night I travelled, one of my neighbour’s keycards stopped working and he was locked out of his Mini-Cabin. The staff soon came around to sort out the issue, however.
Breakfast was served early in the morning which consisted of two bread rolls with jam and butter and a choice of coffee or tea with orders placed shortly after departure the evening before with the ticket inspection.
It wasn’t possible to specify the time for breakfast, nor the time the host came around to collect the bedding. On this trip, the breakfast was provided at 06:25 and the bedding was collected at 07:15 with the 09:05 arrival into Hamburg Hbf. With nearly two hours to go still for me, this did seem rather early. There were many customers who did alight at Hannover, so I imagine they decided to do the full service at the same time for all passengers for simplicity. There are up to eighty four passengers travelling in Mini-Cabins in each set after all.
Seated Accommodation
The final type of accommodation on the new ÖBB NightJet is the seated carriage. The same seats are being provided on the new daytime RailJet trains which I hope to experience soon! These feature two tables, a small one up a-height, presumably to watch videos on phones and the other a standard large table. They also recline and have reading lights provided. Seats are situated in a 2+2 configuration with some seats around tables of four.
I wouldn’t want to spend anymore than a few hours in these seats. Presumably the intention is to provide shorter late night and early morning journeys rather than the full thirteen hour trip but the option is there for those on a budget.
Border Crossings
As Austria and Germany are both part of the Schengen free travel area there aren’t normally formal identity checks when crossing the border from Austria to Germany. However, the German police have temporarily introduced checks, so do have your passport/ID card ready if you travel anytime soon. An announcement is made if this is the case.
Arrival at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof
The smart ÖBB NightJet arrived on time into Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, Germany’s busiest station built in 1906. Facilities include a shopping centre, left luggage lockers and a booking office.
Booking and Fares
ÖBB changed its pricing structure for the ÖBB NightJets since December 2023 with some Sleeping Car fares more than doubling than their previous levels and reaching many hundreds of Euros.
Tickets for all accommodations are demand-managed fares that increase in price as they sell out. The cheapest fares are generally available the earlier you book.
As mentioned, tickets for the new Mini-Cabin are priced in line with a couchette. Here are the from prices for each accommodation type on the new NightJet for the Vienna to Hamburg journey.
| Journey Leg | Solo Sleeping Car | Shared Sleeping Car – 2 people | 1-berth Mini-Cabin | 4-berth couchette | 2nd Class Seat |
| Vienna to Hamburg | from 239,90€ per person | from 169,90€ per person | from 54,90€ per person | from 54,90€ per person | from 34,90€ per person |
Tickets can be booked directly with the ÖBB online or at stations. Alternatively, book the NightJet with Omio and support the website if this travel report has helped you.
If you do book with Omio, make sure you select each fares category before choosing as some accommodation types aren’t available for all fares categories. For each fares category, press ‘change seating preferences’ to choose your accommodation type and check availability.
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Conclusion
The new NightJet gets a big thumbs up from me. The accommodation is bright, modern and comfortable and largely well designed to optimise the space on the train while not compromising on comfort. The Mini-Cabins specifically are a great way to travel cheaply as a solo traveller and in privacy and comfort. I hope to see these rolled out on other night trains.
This travel report was first published in September 2024.
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