Nightjet Brussels or Paris - Vienna - any recent experience?

[Dr Day]

Am considering the above (taking the luxury option for a private 2-berth sleeper for two of us) however the majority of reviews on Tripadvisor are horrendous with numerous stories of over-booking and dirty trains.

Does anyone on here have any relatively recent experience of the service and if so is it really that bad or a disproportionate representation as can often be the case on such sites? I fully understand the pros and cons of sleeper travel per se just wondered if there were any specific issues with Nightjet on these routes?

Thanks

 

[peterblue]

NightJet are fine. You'll find a disproportionate of unhappy people on any review site as people tend to report negatives more than positives.

I would recommend booking ahead as there are fewer 2 berths.

 

[sqrtc]

I traveled relatively recently (September 2022) between Vienna & Paris. It was a pleasant enough experience, but not of exceptionally high quality. I wouldn’t call the trains dirty, but they are showing their age considerably.

 

[duesselmartin]

As said, the couchettes show their age but generally they are fine. Booking numbers confirm this.

 

[30907]

My most recent experience was on the Prague-Linz-Zurich sleeper which uses the same Comfortline cars as Nightjet, and it was fine and even punctual, and the breakfast was almost up to OeBB standard.

The problem area seems to be the couchettes on all routes which are much older - and in general there are issues with punctuality, so don't rely on a tight onward connection.

 

[rvdborgt]

Am considering the above (taking the luxury option for a private 2-berth sleeper for two of us) however the majority of reviews on Tripadvisor are horrendous with numerous stories of over-booking and dirty trains.

I've done dozens of NJ journeys but never experienced overbooking.

 

[30907]

On a quick sample of TA reviews, the references to overbooking are mostly about having to stand on day trains because you haven't reserved a seat. Oh and one about mixed sexes in couchettes.I gave up....

 

[Nicholas43]

We recently had a bad experience Freiburg>Utrecht, but that has old sleeping cars. Our sleeping car was broken, and therefore not included in the train. ÖBB managers must have known that before the train was platformed at Zürich, but they failed to warn us. And they failed to ensure that the (outsourced) on-board staff were briefed to expect us. They have now offered a (rather meanly calculated, I think) refund, and a voucher to use on a future trip.

 

[ge-gn]

Travelled on the NightJet service from Vienna to Brussels last week in a sleeper. I was very impressed. The steward was really helpful and was happy to open the connecting door between our two cabins. He kept us informed about the delay we had accumulated during the night. The stock is clearly a bit tired, but everything worked, the bed was comfortable, the adjustable temperature worked, and I found the ride of the coaches super smooth, way better than those on the CS, even when we were running at high speed to catch up time. Breakfast was good. Fresh bread rolls with a choice of meats, cheese, and spreads plus yoghurt ad orange juice. My only grumble would be the single thimble of coffee I got at breakfast, but then I do like my coffee. I can’t wait to use the NJ again.

 

[popeter45]

got a NJ booking in July Basel-Hannover (for Hamburg as line has work so terminating early), traveled route before and was nice, downside of the double decker stock is lack of power sockets so make sure to pack a hefty power bank, breakfast was good as well as stated above, also make sure to plan in delays as last trip while we did arrive on time due to a line closure we got to Frankfurt with 3 hours delay

 

[duesselmartin]

Delays seem to be a Main issue in NJ but trains are never overbooked. In fact the ticket has your cabin number on it. As stated seat cars do not require a reservation in some countries and therefore is adviced.

 

[Martijn]

Used the NightJet from Brussels to Vienna last September. It was my first time on a train of this type, but I was quite happy with it!
The only issue I had, was a missing keycard: the previous occupant had mistakenly taken it, and it hadn't been replaced yet. That was slightly annoying, since I just missed out on booking a Deluxe room with en suite, so I had to leave my room to use the facilities at the end of the carriage.
There are some photos in a blog post of mine!

 

[popeter45]

zugfinder is useful to gauge how often delays happen for specific trains and by how much

 

[Austriantrain]

zugfinder is useful to gauge how often delays happen for specific trains and by how much

Unfortunately, nobody should ever count on a NightJet train traversing Germany to be even halfway on-time. It happens, but it’s the exception - and hour-long delays are not uncommon.

Trains to/from Italy can also be heavily delayed.

Apart from limited capacity, it probably is the major problem with using NightJet at the moment.

 

[popeter45]

Unfortunately, nobody should ever count on a NightJet train traversing Germany to be even halfway on-time. It happens, but it’s the exception - and hour-long delays are not uncommon.

Trains to/from Italy can also be heavily delayed.

Apart from limited capacity, it probably is the major problem with using NightJet at the moment.

yea, for upcomming trip have 2 hours buffer at Hannover with another hour buffer at Hamburg and even then considering now changing to a later train to Copenhagen if needed

 

[30907]

yea, for upcomming trip have 2 hours buffer at Hannover with another hour buffer at Hamburg and even then considering now changing to a later train to Copenhagen if needed

Should be more than enough, checking Zugfinder.

 

[popeter45]

sleepers are actually the one kind of train i prefer delays as can get a longer sleep in (vs the cally getting in a hour early at 6am and getting woken up early)

 

[BahrainLad]

Just to add I travelled Brussels - Vienna in December with my daughter (5) in a double deluxe sleeper.

Apart from some graffiti on the outside, the train was very clean. We left Brussels on time. I found sitting in the compartment before bedtime very relaxing, it was a nice atmosphere on board with people chatting quietly in their compartments (lots of British voices actually). For a Friday night, no disruptive passengers at all!

The attendant was very friendly and set up our beds at the agreed time. In the morning, my only criticism of the breakfast was that the rolls were a bit too crusty. The water pressure in the shower was good and the water was hot (even if the shower itself is a bit small but both myself and daughter managed to get in and out without flooding the place!)

Only issue really was we arrived in Vienna over 2 hours late due to congestion in Germany.

 

[87015]

Todays arrival scores at Meidling are expected as from Rome 1034 vice 0852, Hamburg/Brussels/Amsterdam 1152 vice 0905....
Also DB have just sold another 35 sleepers from the dump at Mukran to some Slovak privateers, so those screaming 'no coaches' actually mean 'no interest in paying market rate'!

 

[30907]

Also DB have just sold another 35 sleepers from the dump at Mukran to some Slovak privateers, so those screaming 'no coaches' actually mean 'no interest in paying market rate'!

I've missed that, can you provide a link?

I know of a batch that have been sold a while ago...

 

[AdamWW]

I've missed that, can you provide a link?

I know of a batch that have been sold a while ago...

I presume this is Yosaria.

It looks as if they bought the coaches a while back but have only just taken delivery.

https://spz.logout.cz/novinky/novinky.php

After the necessary actions required to prepare the long-term parked cars for driving, the first part - 18 cars - set off on the journey from Mukran to Slovakia on April 20, 2023.

I've used Google Translate, and I've no idea how accurate this source is.

 

[30907]

I presume this is Yosaria.

It looks as if they bought the coaches a while back but have only just taken delivery.

https://spz.logout.cz/novinky/novinky.php

I've used Google Translate, and I've no idea how accurate this source is.

Thanks. That's what I remembered, and fits with the information on Drehscheibe Forums. These are the 17 ex City Night Line double-deck stock, 30 years old and needing major modernisation including new bogies to bring them up to the level of the Nightjet cars. I presume the other 18 are the same, as 54 were built altogether and NJ has about 10.
They are proposing to compete with SZ on Bratislava-Kosice-Humenne,which should not be difficult as you can still get non-AC ones.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Thanks. That's what I remembered, and fits with the information on Drehscheibe Forums. These are the 17 ex City Night Line double-deck stock, 30 years old and needing major modernisation including new bogies to bring them up to the o3vel of the Nightjet cars. I presume the other 18 are the same, as 54 were built altogether and NJ has about 10.
They are proposing to compete with SZ on Bratislava-Kosice-Humenne,which should not be difficult as you can still get non-AC ones.

They don't look 30 though! 20 maybe but not three decades.

 

[30907]

They don't look 30 though! 20 maybe but not three decades.

Not quite 30. The ones OeBB use have been refurbished and received new bogies - not sure of the details, whether it was rough riding or something structural. Don't think the cars DB took into stock had any of that.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Does anyone else find the nightjet website a pain to order through? It constantly shows me no fares avaliable when fares are avaliable through the trainline.com.... didn't feel worthy of its own thread

 

[popeter45]

Does anyone else find the nightjet website a pain to order through? It constantly shows me no fares avaliable when fares are avaliable through the trainline.com.... didn't feel worthy of its own thread

What route?, Had this recently only to discover it was because the trip (NJ 470 Zurich to Hamburg) that night was cut short due to engineering works that night

 

[YorkshireBear]

It is the EuroNight Stuttgart to Zagreb. Was looking in October at end of booking horizon. Or is this just because Croatian railways don't release tickets to OBB at same time as they release them to Trainline?

Seems consistently same every week it wasnt just a one time thing.

 

[30907]

It is the EuroNight Stuttgart to Zagreb. Was looking in October at end of booking horizon. Or is this just because Croatian railways don't release tickets to OBB at same time as they release them to Trainline?

Strange, I get the same result on both (today the last available date is 29 October).

 

[akm]

I would be extremely surprised if trainline was able to actually provide you with an actual ticket for a date beyond the horizon available on nightjet.com

For that particular service, earlier this year the booking horizon was as short as 48 hours! From the thread of this tweet https://twitter.com/SimonSchey/status/1620137510717505536 which I translate below. I don't know if they managed to travel or not...

Punter:
Dear @unsereOEBB , why is it that the night trains between Zagreb and Zurich or Stuttgart (i.e. #EN414 #EN465 #EN40414 & #EN40465 ) can no longer be booked from 02/01/23? Is this connection no longer served?
6:55 PM · Jan 30, 2023

OeBB:
These trains are currently blocked for booking until further notice. We can't tell you if and when a booking is possible at the moment, sorry.
6:59 PM · Jan 30, 2023

Punter:
Should I look for an alternative now? The 01.02. After all, it's the day after tomorrow... Or do I have to gamble and, if necessary, stand on the platform without a ticket?
7:10 PM · Jan 30, 2023




When I emailed them, Croatian Railways blamed OeBB, who just said "the services haven't been loaded yet"...

 

[YorkshireBear]

Strange, I get the same result on both (today the last available date is 29 October).

They have appeared today, there seems to be an issue with the way my phone interacts with the OBB booking site. Worked fine on my laptop when I just checked in my lunch hour. Much clearer to see whether I have booked a double compartment exclusively for two people too. Was just wanting to gauge prices for when I book in a few weeks but good to know.

Lesson learnt! Thank you for checking!

I would be extremely surprised if trainline was able to actually provide you with an actual ticket for a date beyond the horizon available on nightjet.com

For that particular service, earlier this year the booking horizon was as short as 48 hours! From the thread of this tweet https://twitter.com/SimonSchey/status/1620137510717505536 which I translate below. I don't know if they managed to travel or not...

Punter:
Dear @unsereOEBB , why is it that the night trains between Zagreb and Zurich or Stuttgart (i.e. #EN414 #EN465 #EN40414 & #EN40465 ) can no longer be booked from 02/01/23? Is this connection no longer served?
6:55 PM · Jan 30, 2023

OeBB:
These trains are currently blocked for booking until further notice. We can't tell you if and when a booking is possible at the moment, sorry.
6:59 PM · Jan 30, 2023

Punter:
Should I look for an alternative now? The 01.02. After all, it's the day after tomorrow... Or do I have to gamble and, if necessary, stand on the platform without a ticket?
7:10 PM · Jan 30, 2023




When I emailed them, Croatian Railways blamed OeBB, who just said "the services haven't been loaded yet"...

Seems that they are back to 180 day booking horizon at the moment.