What a relief: after having removed most sleeping coach connections from its network, the DB is now welcoming ÖBB, the Austrian railway company, to operate its Night Jets on some of its rails. Just before Christmas, we took the Innsbruck – Hamburg Night Jet and had an occasionally rocky but overall wonderful sleep in a three-berth compartment of a sleeping car.
The DB also took us back safely to Salzburg with a minor delay caused by a catenary malfunction on its main North South line, which was well managed, in view of the sizable impact of the disruption.
Following our return to Salzburg, we found a feature on the ÖBB Night Jets and the future of comfortable overnight train travel in the Salzburger Nachrichten, our regional newspaper. More connections are planned, new equipment envisaged within the next few years, taking passengers to Brussels, Amsterdam and other destinations across Europe.
What does DB say about this? Nein, nada, nyet! No need to get engaged in this promising, future-oriented business model. Even the German weekly Der Spiegel wondered yesterday about the DB’s failure to recognize this opportunity, or rather the company’s lack of interest in it.
Fun fact: ÖBB bought most of its current Night Jet equipment from the Deutsche Bahn.
Since the DB is owned, governed, ruled by the government, one wonders about the seriousness of all the climate talk when it comes to strengthening the climate friendly railway system.
Fun fact: German government bureaucrats have taken 200,000 return flights between the two capital seats Bonn and Berlin in 2018 in comparison to just under 27,000 train rides.
Bonn – Berlin would be a perfect distance for a Night Jet.
The president of the German Parliament, Herr Schäuble cautioned citizens this week to prepare for major changes in lifestyle to tackle the climate emergency, especially calling for a reduction of flights to holiday destinations.
Another fun fact: Average number of domestic flights per German MP per year 1.2, the Green party MPs top the list with 1.9. But they buy certificates to offset for the CO2 emissions. So it’s OK. Kind of. As the satirist Monika Gruber said the other day, that’s like beating your wife is ok, if you pay the doctor’s bill.
An apology is due to the Deutsche Bahn, it is not you who is sleeping…