Nightjet (stylised as nightjet) is a brand name given by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) to its overnight passenger train services.
Nightjet operates in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland. There are services provided by other train companies to Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia that operate under the Nightjet Partner label. Nightjet trains offers beds in sleeper carriages (Nightjet's most comfortable service category), couchette carriages, and seated carriages. On certain connections, cars can also be transported on the train. Bikes can be transported in a bike transport bag, or on some connections also in special bike racks.
Nightjet of the new generation
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the ÖBB the 'new generation' of the Nightjet services was launched. Newly designed, more comfortable carriages built by Siemens Mobility were announced on 2 October 2023 for the 2024 schedule, starting 10 December 2023. The services will cross Germany from Hamburg to Innsbruck (and Vienna) and vice versa, to be expanded to the existing lines later.
History
During December 2015, the German state railway company Deutsche Bahn announced that it would stop its night train services under the City Night Line branding and replace them with additional overnight high speed ICE services; this outcome followed years of efforts to turnaround the sector, which the company claimed to be little used, accounting for roughly 1% of all long-distance passengers that year, and thus unprofitable. Even prior to this decision, discussions were underway with the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB on the topic of continuing traditional night trains in some form. During February 2016, reports emerged that ÖBB was in negotiations with Deutsche Bahn to take over the operation of several night train services. Furthermore, the company was also evaluating its options in regards to rolling stock for operating these services, these included new-build carriages as well as the modernisation of existing rolling stock. Later that year, ÖBB decided to adopt the Nightjet branding for its night train service.
In December 2016, the first Nightjet services were launched; that same month, Deutsche Bahn discontinued its own competing night trains. During February 2017, ÖBB declared that passenger numbers on the Nightjet services were growing.
In August 2019, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and ÖBB jointly announced their plans to expand the passenger services between their two countries; this included the running of Nightjet services between the Swiss cities of Zürich and Basel with the German urban centres of Berlin and Hamburg. Furthermore, the two companies were examining options for the further expansion of the Nightjet network and to provide more overnight connections to Switzerland. That same year, Netherlands Railways (NS) was also discussing options with ÖBB for the provision of night trains through to Amsterdam; in October 2019, it was announced that the Dutch government had agreed to provide a temporarily subsidy for NS and Nightjet to jointly provide daily night trains between Amsterdam, Nürnberg, Munich, Innsbruck, and Vienna.
Usage of the service steadily grew during the 2010s; in October 2019, ÖBB CEO Andreas Matthä stated the passenger traffic on the Nightjet had grown by 10 percent over the year prior. During the first half of 2020, along with the majority of cross-border services in Europe, Nightjet services were temporarily suspended on account of the COVID-19 pandemic; in June 2020, the resumption of regular scheduled operations was announced. In December 2020, four railway companies, including ÖBB, Deutsche Bahn, SBB, and France's SNCF, signed an agreement to cooperate on the development of night train services across Europe; specifically, the launch of four new Nightjet connections between 13 European cities will be prioritised. Two of these services will run between Vienna, Munich, and Paris, as well as Zurich, Cologne, and Amsterdam, starting in December 2021, while services between Vienna and Berlin, and Brussels and Paris, will commence during December 2023. In December 2024, a new service between Zurich and Barcelona will be launched as well.