New German night trains judged 'a catastrophe for booking and too expensive'
A watchdog for rail travel in Germany says the recently relaunched Berlin-Paris night train is too expensive for most consumers, while booking is unfriendly for users.
Night trains are making a comeback in Germany – with the recently relaunched Berlin-Paris and Hamburg-Vienna overnight routes premiering this week.
But most passengers cannot realistically take advantage of them – at least at the moment, says German train watchdog Bahn für Alle (Railway for All).
“We’re still far from where we need to be,” Bahn für Alle founder Carl Wassmuth told regional broadcaster rbb, saying that booking the night train is still too complicated and confusing — especially given the different operators that might have a stake in international routes.
"The booking platforms for night trains in Europe are a catastrophe," he said.
“We need a uniform booking platform, so I don’t have to go through training to find out where I can book this train,” he said.
Another problem is price.
Although the stated minimum prices on operator websites like Austrian state railway ÖBB could theoretically leave a person with plenty of sleeper options from Berlin to Paris for less than €100 – in practice the cost of booking the night train over the next few months is a lot higher.
“The prices are definitely too high,” says Wassmuth. “No train journey within Europe should cost more than €85. Only then will we get a real shift”.
Wassmuth says part of the problem is that while Austrian state rail ÖBB runs the train, it has to pay expensive German state rail DB route prices to send the train through Germany – which he says should be made cheaper to help lower prices.
Social media users were also critical of the high prices.
"The new Nightjet prices: €600 for a single sleeper Vienna-Hamburg on a random off-peak date in winter. For the same amount of money you can fly business class with Austrian & stay at the 5* Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten on the Inner Alster Lake in the heart of the city. Mad!" said one train and travel writer named Palaparan.
The new Nightjet prices: €600 for a single sleeper Vienna-Hamburg on a random off-peak date in winter. For the same amount of money you can fly business class with Austrian & stay at the 5* Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten on the Inner Alster Lake in the heart of the city. Mad! pic.twitter.com/R1VT7M70Iy
— Paliparan (@PaliparanDotCom) December 11, 2023
"The bottom line is still the same: If these new prices remain, it's the end of night train travel in Western/Central Europe for the Average Joe. Chasing people back in cars and on planes, missing a golden opportunity to get a new generation onto trains," he added.
READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about the new Berlin-Paris night train
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Night trains are making a comeback in Germany – with the recently relaunched Berlin-Paris and Hamburg-Vienna overnight routes premiering this week.
But most passengers cannot realistically take advantage of them – at least at the moment, says German train watchdog Bahn für Alle (Railway for All).
“We’re still far from where we need to be,” Bahn für Alle founder Carl Wassmuth told regional broadcaster rbb, saying that booking the night train is still too complicated and confusing — especially given the different operators that might have a stake in international routes.
"The booking platforms for night trains in Europe are a catastrophe," he said.
“We need a uniform booking platform, so I don’t have to go through training to find out where I can book this train,” he said.
Another problem is price.
Although the stated minimum prices on operator websites like Austrian state railway ÖBB could theoretically leave a person with plenty of sleeper options from Berlin to Paris for less than €100 – in practice the cost of booking the night train over the next few months is a lot higher.
“The prices are definitely too high,” says Wassmuth. “No train journey within Europe should cost more than €85. Only then will we get a real shift”.
Wassmuth says part of the problem is that while Austrian state rail ÖBB runs the train, it has to pay expensive German state rail DB route prices to send the train through Germany – which he says should be made cheaper to help lower prices.
Social media users were also critical of the high prices.
"The new Nightjet prices: €600 for a single sleeper Vienna-Hamburg on a random off-peak date in winter. For the same amount of money you can fly business class with Austrian & stay at the 5* Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten on the Inner Alster Lake in the heart of the city. Mad!" said one train and travel writer named Palaparan.
The new Nightjet prices: €600 for a single sleeper Vienna-Hamburg on a random off-peak date in winter. For the same amount of money you can fly business class with Austrian & stay at the 5* Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten on the Inner Alster Lake in the heart of the city. Mad! pic.twitter.com/R1VT7M70Iy
— Paliparan (@PaliparanDotCom) December 11, 2023
"The bottom line is still the same: If these new prices remain, it's the end of night train travel in Western/Central Europe for the Average Joe. Chasing people back in cars and on planes, missing a golden opportunity to get a new generation onto trains," he added.
READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about the new Berlin-Paris night train
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