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Grüezi!
Nightjet, in cooperation with SBB, DB and NS added a new route to its network. Now linking Zurich and Amsterdam, this route has the particularity to have one unique sleeping car… Of course I took it to see if it was worth it ✌🏻
Enjoy 🙂
– TRIP INFORMATION –
RECORDED IN JUNE 2023
Railway company: Nightjet (operated by SBB, DB and NS)
Train type: Siemens Vectron, sleeping and couchettes car (ÖBB) – seating cars (DB and SBB)
From: Amsterdam to Basel SBB
Time: 9h52
Price: 209€ – $227
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00:00 : Intro
01:26 : A Nightjet out of Austria ?
02:18 : ICR departure
02:38 : Arrival of the Nightjet
03:24 : A motley composition
04:27 : Sponsor of the video
05:47 : A unique sleeping car
06:56 : Boarding
07:19 : Room tour
09:29 : #FensterAuf from Amsterdam
10:08 : My bad
10:35 : Wine and key
10:57 : Mid roll ads
11:25 : Approaching Utrecht
12:00 : Hi friend
12:12 : Sunset in NL
12:29 : Walkthrough
14:25 : Toilets Time
14:54 : Last stop in the NL
15:42 : Time to sleep!
16:41 : Waking up for Railcolor in Duisburg
17:38 : Good morning from Baden-Württemberg
17:45 : Breakfast
17:58 : Opinion about the night
18:52 : Outro
30 Comments
Every time you upload a new video, I have to add another journey to my bucket list!
Great video, as always! Thank you / merci.
Very nice train. Incredible scenery as well. 🤩👍
For some reason, night trains to and from Amsterdam to Switzerland since CityNightLine (CNL) have always relied on T2S rather than on the latest available sleepers. The CNL Doubledeck coaches were not used on the Zurich-Amsterdam route and OBB had no available coaches so SBB leased a pair of WLAB33 from BTEX. The coaches originally were operated by OBB in their Night Trains pre-Nightjet.
It is interesting to note that SBB had it's own T2S but sold those to OBB. They have been brought back to Switzerland, this time for use as sleepers on the RAlpin ROLA service. SBB also had to lease couchette coaches for the Amsterdam train as it's most recent couchettes (Bcm1980) are also in service with RAlpin.
Oof, I had a VERY different (and much worse) experience on the Zurich-Amsterdam Nightjet. Sorry will be a long comment, but I thought it's good for people to know this information. I went for a weekend trip from Zurich to Amsterdam and back, Nightjet both ways, sleeping car outbound, couchette return.
The outbound started bad: Both doors on our AB33 sleeping car (mentioned at 6:04) had broken doors. Swiss law says you can't stay in a car with all doors broken, so we had to spend 1 hour in the seat until Basel (at the German border). Fine, not too bad. Then inside the sleeping car the washbasin door was not fixed properly (the one seen at 7:50). Every time the train made a turn or hit the breaks the door would swing open, with a loud BANG, waking everyone up with a shock. After this happened 5 times I had to use my shoelace to tie it together at 2am. So I got like 4h of sleep in the end. 5/10 experience.
The return was even worse. Our couchette car had no electricity and was thus super hot (I travelled in June when it was 30C out). That's fine, windows open, no problem. Well one hour later we were informed that because the car has no power we were legally not allowed to sleep in it. We all got kicked out into the seating car, including families and seniors. The attendent was visibly ashamed and apologised to us, saying we'll get a full refund. However any verbal or financial apology doesn't make up for the ABSOLUTELY NIGHTMARISH night I was about to have. The seating car lights don't switch off – it was bright all the way. The cars especially between Utrecht and Frankfurt were filled with party people. Many people were talking loudly in the car and reeked of alcohol. Safe to say I got zero sleep. (I ended up getting some sleep between 4 and 6am when most people were gone) The next day in the office was NOT fun as you can imagine. 0/10 would never do again.
This was not a freak accident or bad luck. The very apologetic train attendant admitted it happens a lot. A friend of mine (also a night train fan) told me it has happened to him and his partner many times as well. This is mostly because of the rolling stock shortage mentioned in the video. Hopefully it will get better in Autumn when the new Nightjet comes out and these old wagons can finally get the service they desperately need. Until then, I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO AVOID THE NIGHTJET, and I say this as a massive train fan. There's a good chance you will not get the accommodation that you booked, and your night will turn into a nightmare.
Thanks for reading my little PSA. I genuinely hope Nightjet can improve. And I trust they will once those deliveries of the new trains start coming in. But until then, I wish all passengers who are booked on these trains the best of luck and that they won't experience the misery I did both ways.
Why did it look so dark in the frist class carriage?
Oh man oh man, i love them open window coaches🤩🤩Greetings from Satu Mare RO
Does this train use a DBAG BR 101 while in Germany?
Expecting passengers to share a sleeping compartment with strangers given what might occur is simply ludicrous . Especially given the price compared with airlines. Certainly would never contemplate. 👍🏻🏴🇫🇷
Trains connecting Europe is amazing. It brings nostalgia and is practical.
Hey there, I was on that exact train and I am the guy who’s compartment you were in. I was delayed getting to the compartment as I had to stow my bike in the bike storage much further down the train. My bike is the blue one with the orange bag strapped to the back when you how the row of bikes later in the video. It was a great journey as your video demonstrates and a much better experience than flying. If people are travelling by bicycle on the sleeper service when booking you cannot reserve space for your bicycle online, it has to be done over the phone so people should be aware of that. Great video and thanks for the review of my compartment.
14:22 I certainly prefer the 2nd Class DB seats to the SBB's They are much more ergonomic. In 1st Class it would be the opposite.
Very nice. Is there any Amsterdam – Munich or Vienna direct train?
Thanks Thibault! I and my family are thinking of flying from USA in late spring 2024 to Berlin and stay a couple of days and then take the night train to Stockholm where we will stay longer before flying back to USA.
What a funny looking train with Nightjet, ÖBB and SBB coaches
Great trip report! Thanks for explaining the different types of cars…:):):)
I took this exact journey with my sister last year, except in reverse (Zurich -> Amsterdam). I was surprised by a few things:
– Lack of AC, so we had to keep the window open overnight. Not a big deal.
– The toilet in our sleeper was not functioning, so we had to walk back to the swiss coach to find a working one.
– I also had the issue where I didn't really fit in the top bunk. I should have asked my sister to travel in it since she's shorter than me. I think she would have been OK. It was close for me.
– We had no idea those German train cars would be hooked into our train at Basel. We arrived in Amsterdam and the train was twice as long as it had been before.
– We weren't really fans of the breakfast. It wasn't all that good.
– We didn't realize there were no showers. Would have been nice to know.
This service is new and uses old coaches – hey, that doesn't matter, as long as the service is good. I'd take a nighttrain in coaches of the 1970s as long as the service is given anyways. And the train arrived it's destination without issues so – old cars/coaches aren't that bad – sure there's no good A/C like in the new ones, but you have a window you can keep open…
Another great video. I did this exact journey in late July 1985! I was in a 1st class 4 berth couchette. It was the first leg of a four week tour by rail around Europe finishing up in Paris. I stayed in a small hotel in Basel right opposite the entrance to the station. I had a great time. Looking forward to your next video.
小哥啥时候来中国坐火车旅行啊！你的节目在中国还是有不少的观众。而且在美国留学的中国留学生只要关注火车的都知道你
Very nice, but they should really provide single/double cabins and a restaurant. I'm the first to stop flying, but they have to provide a decent service. The new ÖBB-Night-Trains are amazing.
Switzerland trains also called FFS. In English you best to look that one up 😉
They're the best way to do long distance trains
My best friend was a sleeping car attendant in his working days and he took me to a lot of destinations, me wearing a second working suit of his, pretending I was a new co-worker to be. Thus I saw Milano, Chur, Klagenfurt, Wien. Didn't have to pay a dime for journey nor the bed. I was a poor student then.
In a few months I'll be traveling to Bologna in Italy. Day trains in Germany are a pain in the arse (too late, missed connections and reservations), so I'm very happy to go by Nightjet from Amsterdam to Innsbruck, have extended breakfast or coffee there and go on with a Eurocity train to Bologna. What a nice solution!! And of course now I pay….
Only watching travel videos that do audio, instead of the captions.
@11:54 , the place where i come from, Veenendaal – de Klomp. Nice to see in your video. Greetings from a Dutch traindriver at NS. Nederlandse Spoorwegen
A friend of mine was on this train, I thought I recognized you filming when we went to the station but I wasn't sure. And sure enough, I'm pretty sure I'm in some of the footage you made of Amsterdam Centraal. It's a small world sometimes
Thank you for your videos, I greatly enjoy them. We are traveling on the Nightjet in September from Vienna to Hamburg. I booked as soon as it was available! I have not been on an overnight train in Europe for over 40 years, so I am greatly looking forward to this.
It would be better for the privacy of the passengers to blur them when you do the walkthrough.
Something built is the 70s is "old"? One more quip like that and I'll whack you with my cane! 🤣