The lost art of traveling by sleeper train

peak-au (44)in #railway • 6 years ago (edited)

Traveling by overnight train used to be very popular. When I was a child my parents used to take me on holiday to Switzerland on the sleeper train. Each year it was one of the highlights of my year.

With the advent of cheap flights the overnight train became somewhat forgotten. The train I used to take with my parents has been cancelled a long time ago. Luckily Austrian railways ÖBB thought it was time for the overnight train to make a come back. By the end of 2016 they bought some of the axed overnight routes from Deutsche Bahn and rebranded them the ÖBB Nightjet.

Seeking to relive some childhood memories, mid june 2018, I headed to Düsseldorf, the starting point of the ÖBB Nightjet 421 to Innsbruck/Wien.

When traveling on the Nightjet you have one of three options. You can simply book a seat, book a sleeping berth in a couchette car or book a bed in the sleeping car. I opted to treat myself and booked a single compartment in the sleeping car. It is the most expensive but also the most comfortable way to go.

Compared to flying you immediately notice that traveling by train is way more relaxed. The train starts from the main train station in the middle of town so no overpriced tedious airport transfers necessary. There is no check in procedure, no need to be at the station hours before, no security checks, no fuss over luggage. You simply show up, hop on the train and go. You can even bring your own drinks and snacks as everybody in the railway industry seems to realize that those items simply won’t blow anything up even if you tried to.

Old airplane habits die hard though. Eager in anticipation I showed up just over an hour early at the station. To my surprise I found the train already waiting on the platform and ready for boarding.

I found my compartment and settled in for the night.

The journey didn’t start well. We ended up leaving Düsseldorf with a 45 minute delay but who cares? I was waiting stretched out on my bed, reading my book and enjoying my complimentary welcome drink served by the sleeping car attendant. The only downside was that it was already too dark to enjoy the scenic stretch of railway along the Rhine just after Köln. Luckily I got to enjoy that on the morning of my return journey. If you want to get an impression of what it looks like in the evening you can check out the following video by Mark SMITH, a.k.a. the Man in Seat 61 over on his YouTube channel.

As soon as my head hit the pillow I was gently rocked to sleep by the movements of the train. Unfortunately the train makes some long technical stops during the night. For some strange reason the sudden lack of movement during these stops always seemed to wake me up. However, these long scheduled stops also meant we were able to make up the delay.

I woke up fairly well rested though. My compartment had it’s own small wash basin so I could freshen up a bit. Soon after the attendant brought me my included breakfast and before I knew it I caught a glimpse of the first alpine mountains.

The Nightjet arrived in Innsbruck spot on time. I was rested, relaxed and ready to continue my journey. With airspace congestion and a rising environmental awareness by travellers, I feel Austrian railways are definitely on to something good here!