2021 has been a particularly eventful year for ÖBB's Nightjet night train product. Coupled with the European Union's "Year of Rail Transport", the Nightjets network has been a real success. the public.
The ÖBB in fact inaugurated four new Nightjet lines in 2021. Since 24 May, the Nightjet has been running every day on the following routes Vienna - Amsterdam and Innsbruck - Amsterdam. A seasonal summer service was also launched. This was EuroNight, linking Vienna and Bratislava to Split in Croatia via Graz.
For the winter timetable, Nightjet launched two other major routes last December. The first now links three times weekly from Paris to Vienna via Strasbourg, Munich and Salzburg. The second offers a daily Nightjet service of Zurich to Amsterdam. The train runs via Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Basel.
It has been a resounding success. "With the return of night trains, we're witnessing the development of another form of metropolis-to-metropolis travel", explained the Minister of Transport at the inauguration of the Vienne-Paris line. Andreas Matthä, CEO of ÖBB Holding company.
"Not only because it responds to the concerns of a growing number of travellers in the face of the challenge of climate change. But also because of the comfort offered. You fall asleep after enjoying a glass of wine in the evening and wake up in another major capital the next day after enjoying breakfast," he explains.
Before the covid-19 pandemic, more than 1.5 million passengers travelled on the Nightjet every year. After a break in night trains in the spring of 2021, ÖBB's Nightjets returned to service with promising occupancy rates. By the summer, occupancy had already reached pre-pandemic levels. The sleeper car and private compartment booking offers were particularly popular.
More comfortable travel from 2022
ÖBB is continuing to invest in the comfort of its night trains. Last July, the company ordered 20 new-generation Nightjets from Siemens. This brings the total number of new-generation Nightjets on order to 33. Production has already begun. The first trains will be brought into service in spring 2023..
At the same time, 22 wagons in the existing fleet are being converted from seats to modern, multifunctional couchettes. The first of these "restyled" wagons has been in service since the timetable change as a "comfort sleeper car" on the Vienna - Bregenz route. The other modernised carriages will be added to the Nightjets fleet throughout 2022.
As for the new lines, 2023 will see the launch of another long-awaited route: from Paris and Brussels to Berlin. via Cologne and Hanover. As on the Paris-Vienna line, this will be a joint operation between ÖBB, Deutsche Bahn and SNCF. Another line is also in the pipeline on the Barcelona-Zurich. The line will also pass through France, via Montpellier and probably Lyon..
A 1,000 km limit for night trains
Could lines linking Italy to Denmark or Sweden, for example, be envisaged in the near future? " There is a geographical limit operating night trains, in particular due to technical constraints in railway signage. I believe that the maximum distance that can currently be served is 1,000 km. But the EU is working on a new technology," explains Andreas Matthä.
This new generation of European rail signalling is called the "European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). This cutting-edge technology means greater safety, particularly at level crossings, higher speeds, more punctual trains and lower maintenance costs.
On international routes, ERTMS means improved interoperability at borders. ERTMS is also helping to improve traffic flow at rail hubs.
Many lines should be equipped with the new system before the end of the year. 2030. For example the Marseille-Nice-Ventimiglia-Turin route, scheduled to be operational in 2027. Complete coverage of the EU should be achieved by 2050.
