A review of the NightJet is perhaps long overdue – the brand after all, developed by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), is responsible for resurrecting a large number of time-effective sleeper trains in Western Europe that were discontinued by Deutsche Bahn (DB), and their City Night Line (CNL) brand, in 2016.
ÖBB purchased the CNL night train stock and commenced operations, operating international services mainly from Austria to Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and more recently, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. As demand for night trains soars in the light of the climate crisis, since launching NightJet, the ÖBB have even launched brand new carriages on the Hamburg <> Innsbruck / Vienna route at the time of writing in December 2023 – something I hope to review in the future!
For now, I will cover a recent trip I took on the Graz to Berlin NightJet with a friend, where I was travelling from Vienna as far as Rzepin in Poland near the border with Germany. This route is particularly interesting as the train started operating on a longer route via Poland, rumoured because of high track access fees in Germany on the more direct route via Prague and Dresden. This has now changed with the same NightJet now operating via Prague and Dresden once again as of the December 2023 timetable change. This more direct route shaves ninety minutes off the journey time, better serving the Vienna <> Berlin business market with an earlier arrival into Berlin, typically at 08:19. Unfortunately for Rzepin, and other stations in Poland, this means those stations have now lost their NightJet having benefitted from the ‘geography lottery’ until now.
Here is the route that the NightJet took via Poland:
- Vienna, Austria
- Berlin, Germany
- Rzepin, Poland
- Břeclav, Břeclav District, Czechia
- Ostrava, Ostrava, Czechia
- Bohumín, Karviná, Czechia
- Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Poland
- Opole, Poland
- Brzeg, Poland
- Wrocław, Poland
- Legnica, Poland
- Lubin, Poland
- Głogów, Poland
- Zielona Góra, Poland
- Frankfurt (Oder), Brandenburg, Germany
- Chałupki, Kamieniec Ząbkowicki, Poland
Departure from Vienna Main Station (Wien Hauptbahnhof)
Vienna Main Station was built as a new station which opened in 2006, offering ultra-modern facilities. This incorporates a supermarket, an airport-style ‘food court’ and retail spaces including my favourite, the Manner Wien wafer shop! Also there is the ÖBB Lounge where, if you have a reservation for the sleeping car or a First Class ticket, you can access this comfortable waiting area and enjoy hot and cold soft drinks and beer – and some of the famous wafers themselves – all complimentary!
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
Onboard the NightJet
The NightJet, which started its journey in Graz at 19:20, arrived in Vienna approximately five minutes prior to departure, at 22:05. The train conveys not just carriages for Berlin, including a sleeping car, couchette car and seated carriage, but also a sleeping car and seated carriage bound for Warsaw, operated by the Polish national carrier, PKP InterCity, which is detached from our train at Bohumin.
Sleeping Car
On night trains in Europe, including the NightJet, the sleeping car is the most premium carriage on the train. As with the EuroNight Lisinski I reviewed recently (here is the post if you’re interested), each compartment has three beds in bunks which can be set-up for one, two or three travellers as beds can be folded away against the wall. At the point of booking, you have the option of purchasing a bed in a compartment (and sharing with strangers) or purchasing the compartment for yourself or your party. This all depends on how much you’re willing to spend, how much you value privacy and what availability is left at the time of purchase.
As the train arrived at the station, we checked in with the sleeping car attendant stood beside the door to carriage 256 who checked our reservations. She then pointed us in the direction to our booked solo compartments that were set-up with the lower bunk made up and the two upper bunks folded away.
On the bed was an amenity kit provided (one for each passenger) on the bed as well as a breakfast order card where you can choose up to six components, with more at an additional charge per item. This needs to be handed to the sleeping car attendant before turning in for the night – an ideal opportunity is when they come around to collect tickets and reservations for checking through the night. These are always handed back in the morning usually complete with stamps from the conductors of each country.
There is also a sink provided in a cupboard in each compartment and coat hangers on the wall. The lower berth converts into three seats in ‘daytime’ mode on request and the two upper beds fold away.
I had a reasonable night sleep in my compartment on the NightJet. The beds were reasonably comfortable, however, the pillow was lacking plumpness, so I could’ve done with an extra one.
Amenity Kit
The provided amenity kit includes an eye mask, bottled water, flannel, slippers and snacks in the form of nuts and dried fruit. A small bottle of sparkling wine is supposed to be provided by the sleeping car attendant, however, on this occasion this was not provided with no mention of it at all.
Onboard Facilities
Most of NightJet’s sleeping cars feature a still fairly unique facility, in Europe, that is onboard showers! Well, it would be rude not to test out this facility on the Graz-Berlin sleeper, so I did.
Each passenger travelling in the sleeping car has access to a shower – whether this is a private one in the room’s en-suite bathroom (with WC) or the shared one at the end of the car (along with WC), again depends on the budget at the time of booking. Access to the shared shower is provided by the compartment key card, that also grants access back into the cabin, securely locking the compartment while you’re away. Towels and soap are provided and I couldn’t fault it – the water was warm and plenty of it available!
For any late night hunger, there is also food and drinks available to purchase from the sleeping car host though I didn’t order anything this time.
Breakfast
As specified the night before, a complimentary breakfast was provided in the morning. Unfortunately on this occasion, the sleeping car host had forgotten that myself and my friend were disembarking in Rzepin which meant that half an hour before arriving we were still without our Frühstücke.
I went to seek her out to ask whether it was going to arrive. She did forget that we were alighting before Berlin. I’m pleased to report though after a few minutes our breakfasts did arrive. Having experienced the NightJet sleeping car on a few occasions, this is the first time this has happened so I will let them off. Breakfast, as order by me, included a croissant, two slices of bread, a slice of ham, jam, yoghurt and coffee with other options available as per the menu card.
Arrival in Rzepin, Poland
Myself and my friend were the only passengers to alight at Rzepin that morning, a town in western Poland which name translates as ‘turnip’. We had alighted here, not intending to see Rzepin, but to connect to the Berlin-Warsaw Express to Poznan to catch a flight back to the UK. As it happened we did have a couple of hours here to explore and what a lovely quiet town. The joys of rail travel is stumbling across hidden gems and Rzepin is a prime example.
Booking and Fares
| Journey Leg | Cost of Ticket + Single Sleeping Car Reservation |
| Vienna to Rzepin | 162,90€* |
Fares on the NightJet vary – just like air fares. At the time of writing, following the December 2023 timetable change, the ÔBB has implemented new fares for travel in their sleeping cars, with some fares more than doubling – no doubt in response to a high demand for flight free long distance travel. For example, a solo sleeping compartment, as featured here, now can cost as much as €479,90 and one with an en-suite shower/WC costing €719,90 when booking Vienna to Berlin on 12th December 2023 for travel mid-week on 6th February 2024. Booking further in advance, for example booking the same journey on 16th December 2023 for travel on 10th April the lowest fare for a solo sleeping car compartment is €184,90.
These higher fares will be disappointing for many, especially solo travellers who have been used to paying considerably less closer to departure and value privacy. On a brighter note, however, ÖBB have introduced a brand new product on their new sleeper trains called ‘mini-suites’ which will mean privacy at the price of a shared couchette, but only on the Hamburg <> Vienna/Innsbruck route to begin with. I hope to review this in the future!
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Conclusion
The NightJet sleeping car is a reliable, time-effective and comfortable way to travel with some luxuries thrown in including shower access, a choice of breakfast items and lounge access in Austria. It would’ve been nice if the sparkling wine had been provided and the host remembered we were disembarking in Rzepin, however, having used the service on a number of occasions I can confirm this was a one-off. Although it’s great to see demand for night trains soar, I hope prices remain affordable as the NightJet is a fantastic way to travel.
This travel report was first published in December 2023.
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