The FAKE Sleeper Train by DB

[@heikozysk233]

A common misconception of these "fake" night trains is that just because one runs from Vienna to Stuttgart it is supposed to be primarily for travellers literally staying on board from start to end. But as there are many stops en-route, you will find people who will use it to get home to Salzburg from Vienna, or to go from Ulm to Stuttgart to catch an early morning flight. In addition, also the fully-fledged sleeper trains usually have many, many cars with just regular seats (which, for some reason, you don't see covered so much on KZbin compared to the "tonight we'll be riding in a 1st class private room videos ;-) ), so I assume there must be some demand anyway.

[@AnnabelSmyth]

There is demand, but almost all the sites recommend one shell out a few euros more for a couchette, if available. However, I do quite see sitting up all night is a thing for the young, and those with less money - and I believe some overnight trains even provide seats with a really good recline and lockable storage for one's valuables. Not sure in which country, though - not in Europe, I don't think.

[@heikozysk233]

I would also not dream of spending 9 or 12 hours in a regular seat. OTOH, you do the same when you fly a bit further abroad and can't/won't pay for business class. But sharing a compartment with couchettes or beds with strangers is also not my idea of having a great trip but rather having to spend the night in an overpriced moving youth hostel. Even if you're willing to spend several hundred euros on your own compartment with private toilet and shower, I find those very expensive cabins to sell out much quicker than the less costly alternatives. Which makes me wonder why the railway companies don't add more real sleeper cars to their trains to replace cars with regular seats or couchettes.

[@AnnabelSmyth]

@@heikozysk233 And one sits up on a similarly long train journey during the day. Fortunately, sleeping-car beds aren't totally eye-watering, especially if you don't mind not having a private bathroom (I like to have one, but it's not a deal-breaker if I don't, especially in a Nightjet.

[@ARod4374]

@@heikozysk233That's probably a capacity and cost thing. A 25m single-level coach car has about 20m of space for seats, and at 1m pitch between seats that's a maximum of 80 fares you can collect in standard class and 60 in a 2+1 layout for first class. A couchette car can turn that same 20m into 10 couchettes, which is either 40 or 60 maximum fares depending on whether it's a four- or six- bed couchette. By contrast, a sleeper bedroom is only one or two beds per room, so you can fit maybe 10 people in the same car that used to fit 40, so the prices are much higher. That said, a setup similar to the one in use on some of the CRH2E trains in China might work with solo travelers who want privacy but don't want to shell out for a bedroom. Those trains have individual pods arranged in the direction of travel, about 2m long and 1000-1100mm wide, but stacked two high (which still leaves enough headroom to sit up comfortably). Now your single car can fit 40 people just like a couchette car, but everyone gets privacy that way. I believe Nightjet is adding something similar to this on some of their newest coaches, and I look forward to seeing what people think of it!

[@heikozysk233]

@@ARod4374 That's a good point or rather many good points. I'd happy if there were trains offering pods in an open saloon style car. Similar to business class on an airplane - though a good recline instead of necessarily having a fully flat bed would be sufficient (just for me, obviously). In addition, all the amenities and comforts on board are bit futile efforts if the train is bouncing and bucking through the night on some old railway infrastructure. And when there are too many stops. The Nightjet between Vienna and Berlin stops 10+ times, needs several hours longer than the nightly Flixbuses (which only have one "in the middle of the night" stop in Prague) and is usually more expensive (even if you just want a seat). IMO, a decent night train should only stop to pick up passengers until 11pm or so, and not stop for drop-off stops until 7am or so.

[@Felix-nz7lq]

Night train =/= sleeper train. Honestly, as a student, it’s often just as nice to stay awake through the night and then have a few hours of sleep in the morning at your destination.

[@PrekiFromPoland]

I took a train like this once - an overnight EMU from Wrocław to Warsaw. Had to take more than a few hours of sleep, and shortly after waking up I had to go to work on a night shift. Wasted day.

[@routes4you]

Don't forget it's also useful for local travling between the intermediate stops. For Vienna-Salzburg you are not arriving that late.

[@SimplyRailway]

Agreed !

[@lb2791]

Your sacrifice for our entertainment is appreciated. I have ridden this train lots of times - as a regional service just like god intended.

[@powgames]

I don't think the Kiss ic2 should be shamed for being an InterCity train. It's better than the Twindexx in every way and i don't see any drawbacks to the old ic cars. Except the restaurant car maybe, but those are being decommissioned, so only ICEs will have restaurants anyway.

[@MatthiasNeumeister130499]

​@@powgamesI really like them on the Westbahn services as well. Very comfortable one the Vienna - Innsbruck route which is more than 4 hours. And acutally more comfortable than the Railjet cars 😅 the reclining seats are fantastic

[@KenanTurkiye]

I love trains ❤🚄🚅🚈🚝 I have a folder about ''transportation'' thank you chou chou chouuuu : )

[@metcat88]

I think it's win-win situation for both the passengers and the company. Trains won't go back empty from repair shop and people are using the relatively cheaper service no matter how uncomfortable it looks. As a person who likes to ride 12 hours on a night bus with little to no sleep (because i like to watch the road, enjoy the food in rest stops etc.) this train service is looking very nice and useful and less chaotic looking than a bus ride even it's looking full. Thanks for the video Thibault. See you at your next journey ;)

[@manu.yt25]

This is a regular service not a 1 time repair trip, and no, sorry it's disgraceful to see people having to sleep on these terrible train for a night long ride, we should aim at making train travels way better than that, having some proper tilted seats shouldn't be complicated.

[@kennichdendenn]

​@@manu.yt25 For contract reasons, these trains have all the bigger maintenance tasks done in vienna. Those tasks happen in regular intervals, so actually, the train going on this route will probably be a different one each time. The cars were sold from the austrian "Westbahn" to the german "DB", because the westbahn switched to a leasing model for financial reasons and needed to liquidize assets. Why isn't it reasonable to offer this connection for extremely cheap? I doubt that a bus connection is more comfortable, tbh.

[@manu.yt25]

@@kennichdendenn Okay maybe but yeah sounds very strange then why not run a day time service so people actually use it for intercity not just as a terribly bad night train 😅

[@aphextwin5712]

@@manu.yt25There are already 21 daytime connections between Vienna and Stuttgart, though all but one require one change of trains in either Salzburg or Munich. All but two are faster than this night intercity (not least because they use trains that can run faster on part of the line). There also is a proper sleeper train between Vienna and Stuttgart. These 21 trains mean that there is a train at least every hour and roughly every second hour there are two trains per hour. This means there isn’t really a need for yet another daytime train and probably also on some stretches no place for an additional train (or rather only space that requires the occasional waiting period to find the next open slot). On top of that, by using a nightly schedule, a train set travelling for maintenance misses out only one day of its regular daytime schedule in Germany (one night travelling to Vienna, maintenance the next day, travelling back to Germany the next night) compared to two days if it were to travel during the day. Almost all trains travel during the late evening or night to a holding or maintenance yard. Sometimes this makes it possible to offer additional services that regular lines don’t offer like with this train.

[@cv990a4]

Just a positioning trip sold cheaply to get a little revenue to offset the cost. Cruiselines do this. Even, occasionally, airlines.

[@RF_AnishBarua]

2:18 When Electrical Engineer is also a musician. What a musical acceleration. Nice

[@DustownTV]

yeah totally awesome. I wonder how its done..

[@radischn5269]

@@DustownTV Well the short version is: "Variable-frequency drive" - Its basically the electrical equivalent of you reving up your combustion engine. Electric engines have vibrations or humming, and when accelerating the humming differs in sound. You could have a single note going higher and higher or you can set the frequencies to step up like a tone ladder in hard steps. You hear the last tone is hold for long time and then gradually getting even higher as they stop using the hard steps there.

[@christophernoble6810]

Yes, this is essentially a stock movement. Works in the other direction as well. There is also an overnight Hamburg to Vienna train using ICE stock. In addition there are overnight connecting moves within Germany and many ICEs begin their journeys in the middle of the night. We used to have a lot of these in U.K. many years ago. The stock then was much more accommodating for a decent night’s sleep.

[@robertwilloughby8050]

There used to be an infamous early morning London St Pancras - Sheffield train that was nicknamed "The Cheap Shag Express" as a lot of "Ladies Of The Night" used it to get home, and often there would be one (or maybe even two) quick bonks in the toilets (or even in the seats if the guard wasn't too bothered about it!), so they could be used for a decent night's..... something else!

[@persistentnoob]

They have several of these lines. I often use the Munich Hamburg Line. Sleeping quality is about the same (horrible) but its sometimes the cheapest way, even in first class.

[@trainlagged]

Thanks for displaying how useful this service is instead of shitting on how bad travelling in a seat is - those who don’t like the idea just shouldn’t do it haha, great video

[@some-online-dude]

haha lolz

[@mstrmren]

This is a great idea by DB! If you can't make real overnight trains work for you, that's a great alternative, especially conidering that DB technically still operates real long distance trains in cooperation with Nightjet.

[@Matt-sz5po]

Its horrible…

[@mstrmren]

@@Matt-sz5po what 😭😭 why

[@PlanesTrainsEverything]

I do like the Siemens Taurus start-up melody. l recently travelled on the overnight Berlin-Munich train, and that was... interesting! Oh, and they didn't dim the lights.

[@alexj9603]

DB also operates several regular ICE trains that run across the country in the middle of the night. I once took one of these from Munich (departure at midnight) to Cologne (arrival 6a.m.). My experience was similar to yours. You don't sleep well on these trains, but at least you have the possibility of getting from A to B when it's urgent.

[@makssachs8914]

Did this as well in november when the snow hit and my flight got cancelled.

[@Malte_OJ]

I absolutely love this train for normal service in 2nd class. Much better than the other IC2 by DB. Unfortunately, there aren't too many services at night. DB also operates some ICE 4 trains going through the night. The worst thing is when some people get on at 4am on their way to their morning shift and are quite chatty while the other half of the train is trying to get at least some sleep.

[@powgames]

Headphones are the only and best solution

[@counterfit5]

Earplugs work too

[@VirtualComplication]

The Kiss trains are still maintained in Austria, which is the reason for this connection. It's definitely not a night train, but hey, at least it's cheap if you want to take it 😁

[@thejourneyplanner9037]

I'm actually stunned at the amount of people traveling in second class in these conditions.

[@MrMoccachinoo]

The DB trains running at night are usually extremely cheap to ride Vienna to Stuttgart starts at 30€ in 2nd, 45€ in first class. The price for young’s up to 26 years starts at 20€.

[@baseballfan99]

The ICE Berlin to Munich is an odd one as it seems to zig zag across Germany before it arrives the next morning.

[@AnnabelSmyth]

People do travel as cheaply as possible, especially when young and poor! I remember the old Night Ferry days between London and Paris, so many of my friends used that as it was so very cheap (not, obviously, the first-class option where the coaches went on the boat, but the cheap'n''cheerful!). And it's amazing how many coach services are waiting to cross on Eurotunnel at about 01:00!

[@mfbfreak]

"In these conditions" heh. It's a pretty sweet train. It's not meant for sleeping, but regardless it's clean, quiet, looks smooth, so in short probably more comfortable than 75% of the train stock in the world. Still better than overnight buses.

[@AnnabelSmyth]

@@joe25564 Nah - students gonna be students, whatever their nationality!

[@Spanderson99]

It boggles my mind how they never dim the lights on European trains at night. I’ve endured plenty of 30h trips on the Via Rail, but the coach interiors are dark, and they bring the lights right down so everyone can get some sleep. Even the airlines usually do this on longer hauls. Amazing how packed that train was though, obviously people are willing to endure a little to save some money these days

[@captainsteve666]

That's because people were dumb and hurt themselves, so now people are afraid of everything you could imagine and the operators are afraid of getting sued.

[@PrekiFromPoland]

Our national passenger operator, PKP Intercity, uses "safety" as an excuse for not dimming/switching off lights at night in non-compartment cars or EMUs. You can do this in compartment cars though.

[@morya85]

Railway engineer here. According to European standard EN 13272 operators and manufacturers have to comply with minimum levels of illumination. Dimmers are not considered on this standard. Unlike airlines train staff need to check your tickets onboard. For CCTV cameras to work well you need good illumination. Evacuation is usually allowed everywhere along the track, as long as the train is stopped, so escape routes need to be illuminated. I understand your point and the standards can be changed on the next revision to better suit night trains. But until there manufacturers and operators have to comply with it

[@PrekiFromPoland]

@@morya85 I travelled on a 152Az type sleeperette operated by PKP Intercity on EuroNight Chopin to Prague, that was several timetables ago, and Czech crews dimmed the lights during nighttime with no excuses. Besides, there's a little switchable light next to each seat for reading or ticket inspection. These sleeperettes were nice middle step between a proper couchette/sleeper and a regular passenger coach, but as far as I know they're out of order as of now and await major overhaul, so it's over for them. Shame.

[@RealGestumblindi]

German ICE4 trains actually switch to a less glaring orange-tinted light during the night. Maybe not really much dimmer (per the railway engineers answer), but certainly a bearable "night mode".

[@markoobid2005]

The only reason this (and the similar Berlin - Vienna IC) train exists, is the maintenance of these ex-Westbahn Stadler Kiss units, which is still held in Vienna. DB bought these units second-hand, but still has to send them to Westbahn's Vienna depot for maintenance, so instaed of sending them empty, they organized the night trains from where these units usually operate (Stuttgart, Berlin) to Vienna. And, if anyone wants a real night train between Vienna and Stuttgart, there is a Hungarian Euronight train "Kalman Imre" connecting Budapest and Stuttgart via Vienna and Munich.

[@Matt-sz5po]

How often do these KISS need repair then? Broken every day?

[@markoobid2005]

@@Matt-sz5po maintenance is not necessary repairing. Every rail vehicle has to have control checks in regular intervals. If there are 7 units (I think they are actually), then every unit comes once weekly to Vienna.

[@santasantaeuw706]

wow you know it better than me haha. actually there are 8 units, 7 kiss 1 and 1 kiss 2.

[@mikatu]

What a bunch of BS! This has nothing to do with maintenance!

[@markoobid2005]

@@mikatu what else?

[@timothyjoksch]

I took the Rostock to Vienna route from Berlin to Nuremberg. Its less crowded than this train, and after Leipzig they even dimmed the lights and made no anouncments till Nuremberg. I definitly would recommend this route.

[@FlO530LE]

It depends. I also had journeys where there were all seats used between Leipzig and Nuremberg and where it had announcements for all of the many stops...

[@bedri1]

i did the route from Nuremberg to Leipzig ( 00:30 ~ 5:00 am) . It was crowded, i couldn't sleep at all but that didn't stop others from sleeping on the tables under the seats on the floor or laying in the corridor!

[@ternoc]

French SNCF operates a night TGV between Paris and Brest each sunday leaving at 23:59 and arriving at 5:52 using standard TGV

[@brilliantroads]

I think the best connections are the once that exist. Yes its not a fancy nighttrain, but the fact this (and to Rostock) is run can become a great alternative for people who'm don't have the money for a nightjet or similiar.

[@castlehighschool]

To be fair they don’t advertise them as night trains - so I don’t see the problem. There have always been nighttime intercities an this one is no difference. For some people those services are even better than normal night trains: faster, cheaper, more flexible to book and often more on time than the night trains. The Nightjet might be good but often it is way to expensive and sold out

[@nvire5202]

I believe every Sunday there is a TGV as a "night train" from Paris to Brest

[@stefansmith]

Yes indeed - takes 2 hours longer than daytime TGVs, leaving 23:59 and arriving 05:52!

[@mikea77]

Great job, Thibault. The train is similar as Amtrak’s Lakeshore Limited, from Chicago, leaving at 9:30pm Central Time to Cleveland (my home) arriving at 5:55am Eastern Time. It’s not a very restful trip. Cheers!!

[@igifigi1058]

Go to Poland. Almost all "night" trains here consists of max 1 night (couchette/sleeper) car and about 10 normal sitting cars with lights turned on all night :)

[@darrenchin_]

5:11 Good Lord...already a foot on the arm rest and the journey had only just begun...

[@johnmehaffey9953]

I feel your pain, it reminds me of my days as a youth getting the overnight train from London to Stranraer and then the ferry across to Northern Ireland, man was it rough, I remember my dad because there was no catering on board getting off at Crewe going to the buffet in the station he had a word with the guard and getting refreshments for 5 kids and tea for himself and mum, happy days my youngest brother was put into the overhead luggage racks and slept soundly we just lay down in the corridor, didn’t sleep soundly though,

[@philipkudrna5643]

Last year I had to take a night flight with Lufthansa from Riadh leaving at midnight and arriving arriving in Frankfurt at 5 in the morning. Even though I flew „premium economy“, it was rather uncomfortable. But at least you got a pillow and a blanket and something to eat. But on the train you can walk around and it seems far more spacious. And if it‘s a bargain option - it‘s certainly better than a bus-ride!

[@themazeLE]

DB operates several night connections in Germany, but these are just normal IC and ICE trains that run on somewhat slower routes during the night hours. Even if there are rest periods on these trains, they are not special night trains. The two KISS connections to Rostock (4-part) and Stuttgart (6-part) exist so that the trains can be brought to the workshop. Because they are still serviced at the Westbahn, not in a DB workshop. Last week I took the IC 94 from Leipzig to Rostock. Between Vienna (?) and Berlin, many Spanish-speaking people often travel on this route, but I don't know why. In other words, the train is relatively full. 2nd class in the four-car units is not too comfortable. If you want a table, you have to make do with the low-backed bistro benches, the normal seats are only available in airline style. They are quite comfortable in themselves, but the seat spacing is not really the right thing for taller people. You either have to sit up straight or there isn't enough room for your legs when the seat is reclined. The coffee and snack machines are a good idea, and the staff even serve you, but I find the prices excessive.

[@donaldyarad5088]

Sounds like an interesting trip. Good seeing you in the clips. Travel safe mate ❤️

[@theobrattinga500]

Great video !!

[@Gerrie_de_B.]

Looks like a perfect format. Not needed to complain a whole video.

[@rikeram]

Rode this once from Leipzig to Passau (near the German-Austrian border). Great option for less than 25 euros. The earplugs and eyeshades are essential though, got 7 hours of sleep that way!

[@basti279]

7:06 One thing I like about these trains is that they feature a urinal! It is so useful and I don't know why it is so uncommon. As the bathrooms are often not very clean, I always piss standing which is of course not good for further cleanliness on the train. Definitely need more of these!

[@il_dalla]

This reminds me of when, a couple of years ago, here in Italy Trenitalia decided to launch an overnight premium service between Turin and Reggio Calabria (literally from north to south of the country) using Frecciarossa’s fleet. It was considered a scam (just consider that lights weren’t dimmed at all during the night part of the trip)

[@schaulinnoam]

They still run though 😶

[@CabrioDriving]

Very good video. Lots of useful information. Thank you.

[@alessandrovisconi1079]

As someone who used to take three buses and two ferries (with no cabin reservation) from northern Italy to Greece during my past summer holidays I honestly find an overnight seater EMU train a walk in the park to say the least lol

[@Epic_FrameEdits]

What the hell someone lifted their foot 💀💀💀 5:16

[@SimplyRailway]

💀

[@mj1234321]

Nice train, if not ideally suited for overnight travel. I guess it's related to what Stadler is building in Salt Lake City for Caltrain. I did an overnight trip in coach from New York Penn to Williamsburg, VA aboard train 67 once - definitely could've used a sleeper for that trip!

[@sheilaathay2034]

I'm in Utah too. Transport needs alot of help here. The busses run in only clockwise direction from SLC to Cedar City. So if you're in Richfield , or south of SLC , heading to SLC ,you have to make that entire southbound route. REALLY STUPID. We need help here. Seriously

[@scottyerkes1867]

Nice review. Thanks Thibault💚😀😊😊

[@Nooticus]

Your videos are truly some of the most unique!

[@Pitatt0]

Nice video once a time!

[@kevanhubbard9673]

Look at it this way at least it still runs overnight and it's not ideal but still better than an overnight bus.

[@basstrip73]

The train looked quite full. Not everyone wants to, or can afford, to pay for a night train and for travellers on a budget this train didn't look that bad. Dimming the lights would have been nice tho, it was lit up like an ER.

[@erkinalp]

Lights are purposefully left fully burning by the way, to discourage terminus to terminus trips, and encourage short intermediate stop journeys.

[@bimwien]

I made the journey with the IC 94 from Vienna to Waren(Müritz) in 2020 and yes, it was a 12-hour drive xD I could actually lie quite well on the corner seat upstairs... the only thing that briefly startled me at each station was the station announcements where the speaker was right above me xD I can still recommend it to save money for driving overnight ^^

[@drdewott9154]

If you want another daytime train used for an overnight serice, then check out DSB's overnight intercity service from Copenhagen to Aalborg and back. Simon Andersen did a video on it for april fools but its a solid example. DSB also runs such a service between Copenhagen and Hamburg which many unaware train travellers on Interrail and the like often get on expecting an actual night train but instead spend the night on an IC3 DMU.

[@pauloschilling7338]

Great video I am really impressed 😊🚂🚂🚂.

[@sweeky1]

I remember being on one of these for around 12hrs, going from Wien Hbf to Berlin Hbf. It was a hard trip without good sleep 😅

[@mundanedew]

pretty sure DB doesn't advertise this route as a night train route, much less their train as a night or sleeper train. It's a standard long range connection like any other ICE, IC or EC that just happens to run at night

[@bedri1]

its the last IC train for the night connecting more cities, before the next days connections start.

[@karelcornelius9586]

2:18 Musical OBB Locomotive departing from Vienna

[@Shthophyckq]

I love your using of bruh. It's rare but fits perfectly.

[@santasantaeuw706]

nice to see how my train comes from Vienna, after its arrival in Stuttgart central. that kiss continues its journey at 6:17 as IC 2370 via Karlsruhe to Constance.

[@maximilianl5885]

Feets at 5:15 🫣

[@blackgold5102]

💀

[@Londonsteve56]

Why would anyone take this service from Vienna all the way to Stuttgart instead of the MAV Kalman Imre sleeper when you can also book cheap seats on that? The rolling stock is better suited to an overnight journey and it arrives at a more sociable hour.

[@enricojanssen1709]

There is also a similar service between Hamburg and Kopenhagen, it starts at midnight and arrives a 7 in the morning. Its also a normal IC Train

[@user-bw9pj8xd5t]

That bruh was amazingly placed 😂😂

[@ab-mg8cg]

the reason for these stock movements is maintenance. these former westbahn now db trains have still a maintenance contract with someone in vienna. while they are used during the day among others on the connection stuttgart zurich, they drive on some days through the night to vienna to be ready early in the morning to get their service.

[@craigfza]

I love watching your videos about train travel as I do believe it is a better way to get around Europe than flying. However, I have yet to see a train (especially a night train) that caters for people in wheelchairs. I say this as my partner is in a wheelchair and from what I have seen, it would be impossible to travel on a train if one is in a wheelchair.

[@lours6993]

There are plenty of trains now with wheel chair access and special zones to park you chair where no seat is installed. Check seat maps for TGVs for example.

[@AL5520]

​@@lours6993I believe the OP is talking about night trains with wheelchair accessible rooms. It is a problem as up until a few years ago night trains were almost extinct so mos couches used today are old, from a time accessibility was a rare thing. I'm sure that due to the renowned popularity new adapted couches will go into service. OBB Nightjet offers accessible rooms on some routs and so does the Caledonian Sleeper, between Scotland and London.

[@lours6993]

@@AL5520 Quote from OP "I have yet to see a TRAIN (especially a night train), that caters for people in wheelchairs..' Night trains are a subset of his point. I answered there are many day trains that are accessible.

[@AnnabelSmyth]

Oh no - many, if not most, trains have dedicated wheelchair spaces (with seats for the companion), accessible toilets, etc. They don't all have level boarding, but ramps can be booked in advance. I won't say it's easy to travel by train in a wheelchair, but it's certainly do-able. You can book assistance and boarding-ramps when you book your ticket.

[@InLoveWithCities]

Most trains in Europe (and in plenty other countires) have carriages with accessible spaces, including for wheelchairs. However step free access without assistance might be spotty due to the different platform heights. Sometimes a lift will be used for wheelchairs. And the new Nightjets have wheelchair accessible cabins.

[@SpeedosandStriker]

btw: the coach of the nightjet is in my opinion more comfortable than the couchette if there is no one or at most one passenger in the compartement. this is because in the old coaches you can put all the seats together to form a giant matress that is much softer than the couchette bunk beds. therefore if you are two people i always recommend checking the "reserve entire seating compartement" option instead of two bunk beds in couchette since often the price is not too different.

[@percismehta8959]

U hv been rail fanning for 4 yrs. Great. R u not tired. What medicine r u taking- (ha ha ha.)but jokes apart- thank for all the efforts each one of u r taking. Train channels for me do the work of mood alterations. They bring a smile on my face.

[@Ul.B]

Usually these trains also run on the Gäubahn between Stuttgart and Zurich. However, construction work is currently taking place there, so there is a replacement service on parts of the route. In my opinion, the seats in the 2nd class of these trains are quite bad, they can easily lead to back pain because they are extremely slippery and hardly provide any support. I haven't tested the seats in 1st class yet. My experience is based on a section of the Gäubahn, which can also be used with local transport tickets (IC use allowed).

[@CityWhisperer]

And I wonder, what's the point of having the Schengen Area if police are boarding a night train at 1am to check IDs, waking everyone up.

[@AnnabelSmyth]

I think they only do if they have reason to believe a wanted person is travelling on it.

[@rudolffabrie3233]

Drugs and illegal immigrants

[@CityWhisperer]

​@@rudolffabrie3233 So, once again, why even have (or even pretend to have) the Schengen Area if in practice it's not enforced.

[@aphextwin5712]

These have been introduced only in recent years due to an increase in migrants coming that way. They formally are only temporary. Most importantly, they only take place on a relatively small number of border crossings. In regard to Germany, I think currently only on the Austrian border and only in one direction (ie, for entering Germany). Schengen still works fine at probably 95+% of all border crossings.

[@EestiRaudteeFann]

Amazing Video, also thank you for your financial sacrifice for this content.

[@SmokiesDen]

2:18 most musical motor controller ever

[@ngarageRS]

I got that experience back then 20 year ago when I riding train with my parent from Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani overnight (train departure at 23.05) But I ride on 3rd class no aircondition and light are not dimming. Sleeping is really hard.

[@pasitotuntun4987]

😮 Gracias por el vídeo. Me gustó que añadas 🚈🚃 la imagen del tren y en donde estabas ubicado mientras caminabas por dentro. Sin embargo, no sabía que significa la segunda palabra de "2 class/... " 😂

[@IroAppe]

For the NC headset I can recommend buying earplugs, and putting them in as well. It really works, I had to do it, when there was a party in my apartment complex with heavy bass all night round. Earplugs on their own don't suffice. NC headset is also not sufficient. But with earplugs for one part of the frequencies, and the NC headset, for the rest of the frequencies, it covers well.

[@chefchaudard3580]

At least, it costs almost nothing to DB… A proper night train is costly : they can only be used at night, on one travel per night, slow enough and calling to stations only at the end of the journey, because otherwise people would be dropped at their destination in the middle of the night. Add to that laundry and the cost of the cars…

[@andrea.moccia]

Trenitalia runs a similar service between Milano and Reggio Calabria, they just took a daytime high speed train and made it run during the night. They don’t even dim the lights☹️…

[@joaopaulochavespinto9685]

The only overnight train in Portugal is similar to that one. It's a regional service from Porto-Campanhã to Lisboa-Santa Apolónia that is operated in the standard commuter style 2240-class EMU's. The journey between those two stations is normaly 3 hours long in the Alfa Pendular service or 3h20 in the Intercidades service. But this overnight train stops in so many insignificant stations that it takes 5 hours from 1 am to 6 am. At least it's cheaper then the day ones 🤧 Edit: Oh and it also only runs in that direction, no overnight train from Lisbon to Porto, in fact there is no direct regional service at any time of day in that direction.

[@s125ish]

Is it busy?

[@joaopaulochavespinto9685]

@@s125ish never traveled on it but for overnight travel between Porto and Lisbon (or at any time of day for that matter) you have way faster and cheaper options by express bus, so I don't think so. But it might be kinda usefull for people closer to those smaller stations maybe????

[@PtrkHrnk]

9:59 Schengen what??? 🤦‍🛂

[@Ul.B]

These border checks between Austria and Germany are due to irregular migration.

[@deneb_tm]

it _is_ still a night train though, just not a sleeper DB runs a number of overnight ICEs as well - i took one from munich to hamburg and back just last week. i found it extremely useful being able to just arrive in the morning, not needing to get a room or otherwise figure out how to spend the night

[@ferranfabregas]

The Copenhagen - Hamburg night train is quite similar. It's a regular train with a night schedule. Cheap but not very pleasant indeed.

[@SternenruferinPatchouli1]

ITS A NEW IC! AND ITS GREAT!

[@slypear]

Great presentation - as usual! And thanks for taking one for Team Train Science~ BTW, when will Stuttgart station's construction be finished - anyone know?

[@natewp]

Took a night ICE from Stuttgart to Berlin back in 2019. They didn't even dim the lights but luckily on the ICE 1 there were private compartments where you could control the lights but finding one available was difficult if you're not early enough.

[@themazeLE]

You probably mean the ICE 698. Unfortunately, it's an ICE 4 since 2020.

[@xAciasx]

I really miss these compartments cars of the older ICEs. I totally get why they don't exist anymore but i had good memories of it.

[@themazeLE]

The ICE1 still have compartments.

[@alexus267]

These KISS trainsets are certified in multiple countries, allowing DB to run them in Switzerland (alongside ICE4).

[@mattflaneur407]

Oh my, the stinky bare feet at 05:12! Non merci, Nein danke! Stress, Schweiß und Schnarchen! But thanks for the review, as ever!

[@anthonywarrener1881]

Thank you for this interesting video. I’m glad you did it for your viewers, and I will not be riding in it ! You could have caught the Paris TGV in Munich, but perhaps you would have had a longer wait there, than in Stuttgart ?

[@Abnerbandanovotempoinscrito1mi]

Ótimo vídeo simplys

[@neptun2810]

It's about time we get some real sleeper trains here in Germany. It's just the perfect solution for when you travel long distances with not that much time. Like for example when you’re going to a distant town for the weekend, so you get on the train Friday afternoon, and you want to spend as much time as possible in the other town, but you also have to be back in your hometown Monday morning. You have to sleep anyway, so when you sleep for 8 hours during an 8.5 hour train trip; it's like if you had travelled all the way in 30 minutes. If you see it from the perspective of how much time you lose for travelling, sleeper trains are actually faster than airplanes.

[@YumeFox]

There is a similar service which runs from Vienna via Nürnberg to Berlin. A train which I have taken before, as it is the first train of the day from here (Leipzig) that actually heads to Berlin, which is usefull if you have a flight early in the morning.

[@tobiwan001]

10:00 I don't know what happened, but inside the Schengen are they basically never make any checks. Even travelling by car, they have removed the border posts - sometimes including the old buildings.

[@evazampa1237]

DB no longer has any sleeper trains ceded to ÖBB and you can also recognize the Nightjet by the price and it is fierce, especially for solo travelers😭

[@paulthiel5145]

As an avid solo traveler I will gladly fork out the costs of the Nightjet over this one at any point of time. No way I would be doing this 😬

[@AnnabelSmyth]

Yes, but it's worth it!

[@dreimalnein22]

Wowwww, when did you take this train? I wanted to do this since the course exists and I just did it five/four days ago - sunday/monday with the occasion to import a abessin cat from Halle(Saale) to Vienna. And now you publish this video, what a coincidence while the weird train runs for years now!

[@jonathangat4765]

I think that the most comfortable place to ride is probably the bistro section....you could spread out on one of those bench seats. Same with the bench seats at the end of each car. Nice train, but not great for overnight, especially if you're not going straight home after.

[@walopes]

Nice review. The train looks amazing, but I think I'm gonna take a Nightjet instead for my first long european train trip :D

[@applebased8936]

To be fair, in germany, even though the train has a very bad reputation, we still love to use it. So the long distance as well as the regional ones are usually always crowded. So i recommend always booking a seat in advance if you dont want to travel on the floor by the door

[@boomerix]

If you want to sleep from Vienna to Stuttgart get on the Kálman Imre Euro Night (operated by MÁV and ÖBB) that runs every night from Budapest to Stuttgart. According to schedule it should arrive around ~8-9am and the 6 berth couchette ticket costs around 50€, so about the same price as a seat on the DB train.

[@ferminluquecarvajal6025]

Hola a todos ¿ El tren del vídeo de dos pisos es de tracción distribuida ? Gracias.

[@hugolandberg7504]

watching Ashoka nice you are a man of culture!

[@viennatramway]

Often rode them Vienna - Linz or Salzburg as "Westbahn", they are great sets!

[@SimplyRailway]

Agreed!

[@5mnz7fg]

One could occupy that luggage bench for sleeping. 😄 But not dimming the light is outrageous! And so is the border control! I thougt Austria and Germany were in the Schengen area where no border control is needed.

[@rudolffabrie3233]

Sounds like someone who doesn't know what Schengen exactly is.

[@5mnz7fg]

@@rudolffabrie3233 Enlighten me.

[@erkinalp]

Border control is also intentional, it actually doubles as a police control.

[@MegaJK97]

There are even longer "fake" sleeper trains from or to Vienna, with departure from or destination in Rostock main station. For example: IC95 started its tour 20:21 from Rostock main station and went over Berlin, Leipzig, Halle, Jena, Nuremberg, Munich, Passau, Linz to arrive in Vienna main station at 10:45. A long journey, spanning all across Germany and Austria. Nowerdays it seems like the connection was cut; but there are connections around the same time with 1 change in Leipzig main station. And they probably went from and to Vienna for the same reasons: the trains get their service in Austria. Oh, and they used a similiar type KISS IC2 from Stadler aswell :3 Edit: Oh well, should've given this video at least 4 minutes ;D

[@dennisrettke]

I always love your videos! Thanks for your efforts and sharing this journey with us. Honestly, it reminds me of trying to sleep on a plane. Brutal move with the border check though 🥴. By the way, what is that app you're using at 3:49?

[@timkohler4603]

DB Navigator (the trip planner app from DB)

[@eliteiel9747]

I mean, why run it empty, it looked to me as if there were enough people who were using the service that night, so if it's gonna need to run to vienna anyway, let people who are willing to sacrifice comfort use it. Think this is a good move from DB. To me it seems like a more roomy alternative to Flixbus, cheap, and you can stretch your legs easier, with power outlets, so I mean... why not.

[@prasenjitdey4222]

I have not seen trains like this before, I hope to see one in my next life.😮 👌

[@rezaalan3991]

Great trip. I'm curious about WestBahn, is it still operated? Not bad but yeah sleeper train is still the best. Can't wait for Poland's train adventure.

[@regularyugoslav8188]

WestBahn still operates their Stadler Kiss fleet across Austria and occasional services to Germany (Vienna->Munich usually)

[@stefanv9660]

Another great trip. Greetings from Romania. I hope you will do another trip to Romania soon. We have a lot of night trains here. Not the best tho😁

[@A_Canadian_In_Poland]

Your night trains can be booked only a few days in advance! In Poland, the sleepers typically sell out completely 20-25 days ahead of the departure, and lack air conditioning.

[@oskarsrode2167]

The audacity to slap a 1st class sticker and charge you much more for what essentially is exactly the same as 2nd class.... 1st class should have 2+1 with wider and more comfortable seats.

[@patrick-tau5267]

Nice. Please ride on the new Euronight Service Stuttgart-Budapest

[@jmsmilfajt]

This EMU is outstanding for a daytime IC service but for night IC service there are better options. Here, ČD also have overnight IC services but they use ex-ÖBB Bmz compartment coaches with fully dimmable lights and it's possible to buy two opposite seats and fold them completely. Pretty much the same coaches ÖBB still use for seating cars on their Nightjets. It's not ideal but it's much much better than Stadler Kiss for an overnight journey.

[@PrekiFromPoland]

Those ex-ÖBB cars are the best, even in second class.