Vienna, the undisputed capital of night trains

With Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) 'Nightjet' night trains already criss-crossing Europe, it's no surprise that Vienna is emerging as the capital of night trains. According to a study by the Austrian Transport Club, VCÖ (Verkehrsclub Österreich), which advocates better land-based mobility, Vienna benefits from 16 night train lines. That's more than any other capital in Europe. The Austrian metropolis is ahead of Bucharest, second in the rankings with 12 night rail lines, ahead of Budapest and Paris, tied on eleven lines, then Rome with eight lines.

The VCÖ notes, however, that ten EU capitals are not still not accessible by night train. These are Athens, Dublin, Valletta, Lisbon, Luxembourg, Madrid, Nicosia, Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius. The VCÖ is therefore campaigning for more night rail services in the EU, and simpler searching and booking of international trips by train in Europe. " No capital city in the EU offers as many night rail services as Vienna "says Katharina Jaschinsky, VCÖ expert. Sixteen final destinations can reasonably be reached by night train from Vienna. These include Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Hamburg, La Spezia, Paris, Rome, Zurich and, during the summer months, Split.

" Every EU capital on the European continent should be easily accessible by train for international travel, including night trains. Unfortunately, the EU is still a long way from this objective. Rail travel should be made as easy as possible for the people of Europe. To achieve this, we need more cross-border rail links. As well as making it easier to plan and book train journeys." says Katharina Jaschinsky. And she hopes that the new European Parliament and the future European Commission will rise to the challenge.

(Source: VCÖ)