Since September 10, a new night train has been running from Munich and Vienna to Rome. Italy’s transport minister is already promising an extension soon.
Munich – No photoshoot, no celebrities: Without much fanfare, the first new Nightjet of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) left Munich Central Station on Tuesday evening (September 10th) for Rome. The ÖBB are talking about the “new flagship of European night traffic”.
The Nightjet to Rome leaves Munich Central Station every evening at 8:10 p.m. and travels via Salzburg, Villach, Bologna and Florence to Tiburtina Station in the Eternal City, where it arrives at 11:05 a.m. according to the timetable. For holidaymakers who want to travel in an environmentally friendly way, the journey to the south in a sleeper car is an interesting option; night trains are currently booming all over Europe. Falling asleep on the Isar and waking up on the Tiber – that actually sounds good.
Aging sleeping cars are being replaced by modern carriages with individual cabins
But until Monday, the night trip to Italy was still something for real train lovers: The train sets from the 1970s were already very worn, and privacy in the six-person compartments was a foreign concept. Since Tuesday, the brand new Nightjets from Siemens have been in use. In addition to four-person compartments in couchettes, two-person compartments in sleeping cars with their own toilet and shower, there are now also single cabins for solo travelers with a folding table for breakfast, coat hooks and reading lamps. Passengers on the night train from Innsbruck via Munich after Hamburg have been enjoying the new Nightjet since December 2023.
On Tuesday evening, there was a big station for the new train in Vienna and Rome with many celebrities in attendance. Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens), the EU Commission representative in Vienna, Christian Wigand, Italy’s ambassador Giovanni Pugliese and ÖBB boss Andreas Matthä saw off the first new Nightjet to Rome on the Danube. “With the new generation Nightjet, we have created a game changer for night train travel in Europe,” said ÖBB boss Matthä. It brings a huge leap in comfort. “We are very pleased that we can now travel from Vienna and Munich to Rome with this modern train,” continued Matthä. Climate Protection Minister Gewessler was convinced: “The short and medium-haul routes in Europe belong to the train.”
Italy’s Transport Minister Salvini: In a few years the Nightjet will travel to Sicily
In Italy’s capital, Interior and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini from the right-wing Lega party was among those celebrating the departure of the first train. In the Italian capital, Salvini promised an extension of the Nightjet to Sicily: “My wish is that in a few years there will be a Nightjet that connects Vienna and Palermo on a high-speed line.” Part of the Nightjet train also travels to Munich.
Background: Last year, the Italian government decided to build a bridge for cars and trains across the Strait of Messina between Sicily and the mainland. Construction is due to begin next year and is scheduled to take seven years to complete. The feeder lines are also to be upgraded to high-speed lines. At present, the only high-speed line in Italy, which comes from Turin, ends in Naples.
The ÖBB invests 720 million euros inn new sleeping cars, so now the Route Cologne-Berlin Private providers are also entering the night train business, with a new sleeper car connection running from Brussels via Munich to Venice.
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