East or west? Waldtrudering or Paris Saint-Germain-des-Prés? Anyone who is dog-tired waiting for the S-Bahn on platform 7 at Ostbahnhof will soon have the choice: go home and go to work tomorrow morning – or get on the night train and wake up the next morning on the Seine.
Because Munich has a new night train. On Tuesday night he rolled west for the first time from the Ostbahnhof. The line is part of a cooperation between the railways in Austria, France, Germany and Switzerland. Together they want to set up a pan-European network in the coming years. The night train business had fallen asleep for the past few years. Now it is to be awakened to new life.
The first destination is Paris – in two respects: Because the night train infrastructure should help to achieve the Paris climate goals. According to calculations by the Federal Environment Agency, traveling by train is around seven times more climate-friendly than flying. And with more than a million passengers per year, the Munich-Paris route is one of the frequent flyer routes.
There will soon be another night line from Munich
Monday evening was also a good evening for friends of Europe. Because with the new connection, the continent is growing closer together on the rails. And Munich becomes a hub. At the latest when the Alpen-Sylt-Nachtexpress kicks off in May, Munich residents can travel asleep in all four directions. You then have the choice whether you want to wake up in Westerland, Budapest, Venice or Paris.
There is great euphoria at Deutsche Bahn. It is said that the direct train to Paris will relive the history of the Orient Express. However, the Nightjet does not come close to the unusual interior of the world-famous luxury train.
The trains, which consist of seven wagons, have a total of 360 seats in three classes. Both the normal seating area (from 29.90 euros) and the couchette compartment (from 59.90 euros) have shared showers. The most luxurious are the private cabins (from 89.90 euros). They can accommodate up to three people and have their own showers, sinks and toilets.