Night train renaissance: ÖBB brings new Nightjet to Hamburg!

Night train renaissance: ÖBB brings new Nightjet to Hamburg!

Deutsche Bahn drew a line in the sand in 2016 and completely withdrew from the night train business. Since then, the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) took over numerous train connections and established the popular “Nightjets”. These modern night trains, which have been traveling at speeds of up to 230 km/h since 2023, are now the largest night train fleet in Europe with 20 lines, according to ÖBB spokesman Christoph Gasser-Mair. In 2024, an impressive record of 1.5 million passengers were recorded on the Nightjets. Trips from Tyrol to destinations such as Amsterdam or Hamburg are particularly popular and are very popular with tourists and city travelers alike.

Technological advances and challenges

The new Nightjets are intended to improve not only the quality of the travel offering, but also punctuality, which is currently being affected by construction sites in Germany. Gasser-Mair explains that most of the technical difficulties have now been resolved and the trains are working reliably. While stops like Hamburg and Amsterdam are popular with travelers, passengers with a climate ticket can also use regular seats - but only for an additional charge. The lower revenues in night traffic are partly due to the fact that night trains run less frequently and require more staff, which makes the operation like a “hotel on the rails”.

In addition to the Nightjets, ÖBB also relies on cooperation with providers such as “Euronight” to offer connections between Zurich and cities such as Budapest or Zagreb. Innovative private providers such as “Urlaubexpress” offer train connections from Hamburg, Berlin or Cologne to Tyrol, while the Swedish provider Snälltaget even enables high-quality train journeys from Stockholm to Innsbruck. These new connections are particularly important for winter sports enthusiasts and travelers to Tyrol, as evidenced by the statements of Elmer van Buuren, one of the founders of European Sleeper. At the premiere of his new connection with around 400 passengers, around 200 travelers were on their way to Tyrol.

In another development, the Dutch railways have simplified access verification at machines with the new OVpay system since January 31, 2023. This enables contactless payment with debit cards, but also carries the risk of incorrect debits of 20 euros. To prevent such problems, it is recommended to use a printed ticket when going through the turnstiles. Travelers are encouraged to contact platform staff if they have any questions or problems. Further information on this was provided by Nightjet provided.