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ÖBB has launched an upgrade program to modernize its existing night train fleet and increase comfort and services for passengers. A total of 22 seating cars from the existing fleet will be upgraded to new multifunctional couchette cars for ÖBB Nightjets. As new “comfort couchette cars,” they will be individually integrated into the existing Nightjet trains so that modernized cars and barrier-free compartments will be available on as many routes as possible in the future. The first upgraded comfort couchette cars will be in service on the Vienna – Bregenz route from the December timetable change.
With the upgraded multifunction couchette cars, ÖBB is relying on new modern materials and basing the equipment on the new-generation Nightjet, which will be in service for the first time in 2023. The modernized couchette car features 4-person compartments with permanently installed beds, whose equipment significantly increases sleeping and traveling comfort, especially for families. The multi-function couchette cars have a stroller parking space and three bicycle parking spaces, which means that bicycle transport will be possible on almost all Nightjet lines in the future.
In the future, travelers in the upgraded cars can look forward to free WLAN and other technical innovations, such as charging options via USB or socket at every couchette or an operating display with various comfort functions, such as light control or service call. In addition, the new carriages are equipped with an electronic access system using NFC cards and with video surveillance to further increase the sense of security.
With the modernized carriages, ÖBB is raising comfort for people with limited mobility to a new level. For example, each multifunctional car is equipped with a modern barrier-free compartment with two beds and a barrier-free WC.
The upgraded multifunction couchette cars will gradually be integrated into the existing Nightjet fleet. From the 2021/22 timetable change (December 12, 2021), the first cars will go into service on the Vienna – Bregenz route. By the summer of 2022, all 22 cars should then be completed and on the road in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands on selected routes. The new coaches can currently be booked in the ÖBB Ticketshop as “private compartment couchette comfort”.
- sources: oebb.at/heute.at/picture: oebb.at
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