First look at Europe’s new NightJet sleeper trains

The latest generation of Nightjet sleeper trains in Europe has been unveiled.

Made by Siemens Mobility in Vienna and sponsored by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), the new seven-car Nightjets are comprised of two seating cars, two sleeping cars with two-person compartments, and three couchette cars made up of four-person compartments. There are also mini cabins for solo travellers.

The trains will travel at a maximum speed of 230km per hour and hold up to 254 passengers, promoting a more climate-friendly approach to travel across the Continent.

Those in sleeping car compartments will have their own toilets and showers, as well as a seating area and fixed beds.

For passengers in mini cabins, there will be a storage area and a movable folding breakfast table, as well as an integrated mirror, coat hooks, a reading light and lockers for luggage.

Each Nightjet train also has an accessible couchette compartment and bathroom.

There are wireless phone charging points onboard and all compartments have mood lighting “at the touch of a button on the compartment control panel,” according to Mark Smith, founder of train travel website the Man in Seat 61, who attended the launch event.

The first trains are expected to be in use by the end of the summer 2023 and will run on routes from Vienna and Munich to Rome, Venice and Milan.

By 2025, all 33 Nightjet trains will be in service across Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands. They will replace the majority of the existing trains.

The news comes after a new electric-powered sleeper train service from Hamburg to Stockholm was launched on 1 September, which will allow passengers to travel to Sweden from the UK in less than a day.

Meanwhile, Spain has launched free train travel for commuters in a move to encourage more people onto the railways amid the cost of living crisis.