On December 8, the transport ministers and rail operators of several European countries held a press conference where they agreed to fund an enlarged OEBB Nightjet network.

Initial plans call for these additional Nightjet services:

  • December 2021 Zurich-Cologne-Amsterdam and Vienna-Munich-Paris
  • December 2022 Zurich-Rome
  • December 2023 Berlin-Paris and Berlin-Brussels
  • December 2024 Zurich-Barcelona

(Bear in mind there will be en route stops. As with other Nightjets they are not point-to-point.)

This development is all part of the EU’s ‘green’ agenda. And not all of this is entirely new.

Last September we reported on OEBB’s plans at that time for Nightjet expansion.

However as EU expert Jon Worth tweets:

“One of the headaches of OEBB’s Nightjets to date has been combining tickets with other [rail] operators.

“Was there a word on how to solve that? No, of course not!”

All Rail (a group of independent EU daytime rail operators) asks:

“How can we be sure that EU Public Service Obligation regulation is adhered to? Subsidised services must be the exception, not the rule. How can we reach the commercial viability of night trains?”

Nick Brooks, All Rail’s Secretary General, adds:

“Without the innovation that competition brings about, there will not be any modal shift to rail during the night.  This will not help the EU Green Deal.”

nightjet.com, bahn.com