By the end of 2023, DB and ÖBB expect around 40% more passengers on the cross-border services than five years ago. To meet demand, from December new connections in day and night traffic will be launched and new trains put into service.
The overall goal, according to ÖBB, is to double the number of passengers using the Nightjet service by 2030. Nightjet is ÖBB’s overnight passenger train service, which operates in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland.
Dr Sabine Stock, ÖBB board member for passenger transport, said, “By 2030, we want to double the number of passengers in Nightjet traffic. Deutsche Bahn plays an important role here, as many Nightjet lines start and end in Germany. New connections from Berlin to Paris and Brussels, and the deployment of the new generation Nightjet in Germany are strong signs that DB and ÖBB believe in the night train product and will provide more services.”
Stefanie Berk, member of the board of management for marketing and sales at DB Long-Distance, added, “The trend towards rail continues unabated. More and more people in Germany and Austria are opting for the climate-friendly train to travel to the neighboring country.
“With new trains, more comfort and more connections, we want to further boost growth. This can only be achieved through a joint effort by the railway undertakings involved. The expansion of the international timetable in close cooperation with ÖBB is our answer to the growing demand,” Berk added.
With the timetable change from December, there will be another ICE connection between Berlin and Vienna via Nuremberg. The extension of the route to Hamburg will also provide the Elbe metropolis with another daily connection to the Austrian capital.
DB and ÖBB will also be offering daily trips by ICE from Berlin via Frankfurt/Main and Stuttgart to Innsbruck and back from December onwards instead of only on weekends. In the future, long-distance trains will run hourly between Munich and Salzburg from about 6:00am to 9:00pm. There is a two-hour service from Innsbruck to Munich between 6:40am and 9:40pm every day.
ÖBB and DB are also increasingly investing in new trains. New ICE 4 trains will be used on the Frankfurt/Main-Munich-Salzburg-Klagenfurt route from the timetable change, and they will provide more comfort and reliability in long-distance transport.
The new-generation Railjets, which will successively run on the route between Munich and Italy from April 2024, will also bring more quality and seats. The brand-new and state-of-the-art trains offer comfort at ICE level.
ÖBB and DB are also expanding their cooperation in night traffic. From December this year, the two companies will offer Nightjet connections from Berlin and Vienna to Paris and Brussels. These connections will initially run three times a week, and then daily from autumn 2024. For Berlin, this is double the number of Nightjet connections.
From the turn of the year 2023/24, the completely new ÖBB Nightjet trains will be in service for the first time. They will initially be used on the Hamburg-Vienna and Hamburg-Innsbruck routes. These newly developed Nightjets, which can reach speeds of up to 230km/h, offer a new level of comfort, including single cabins (mini cabins) in couchettes and level entry for people with limited mobility.
Further connections in Austria, Germany and Italy will follow in the course of 2024.