Nights on Tracks

Are you planning to travel on a night train in central Europe, usually Nightjet (NJ) or EuroNight (EN), and are not sure whether you need a reservation and where you can buy one? No problem! In this article, I’ll show you how to buy a valid reservation, if your train requires one, for three initial situations.

First of all, you have to know that you usually need a reservation on night trains due to the so-called global price (in German: Globalpreis), even if you are only travelling in the cheapest category, the seating carriage. Obviously, reservations are also essential in the couchette and sleeper carriages. But what is a global price? With the global price, the customer buys a ticket that is only valid for a particular train connection. When purchasing the ticket, the traveller must therefore commit to the departure date and time which means that they are tied to a specific train. In addition, a global price ticket automatically includes a reservation and all surcharges (Bahnreise-Wiki, n.d.).

It is therefore generally not possible to use such trains with regular route tickets. If you are now asking yourself what advantages such a global price system offers, here is the answer: On the one hand, travelling comfort is increased as every passenger has a fixed seat due to the reservation requirement. On the other hand, the railway company can control the capacity utilisation better and offer special fares (e.g. ÖBB’s Sparschiene) to encourage passengers to use under-utilised connections. The downside of the global price is the loss of flexibility when travelling by train, as a certain amount of advanced planning and rebooking is necessary if travel plans change (Wikiwand, n.d.).

Tip: On the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) website, you can see whether a train is subject to a global price (GP) or not, by looking at the legend under the route details.

After having discussed the global price, I will now explain to you how to buy a needed reservation, depending on wether you already have an Interrail / Eurail Pass or even own a rail card or not.

You don’t have a ticket yet?

Then the easiest and probably most logical way to get a ticket including a seat reservation is to buy a ticket from the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), which operates the Nightjet. If you buy a ticket for a night train there, it automatically includes a reservation. A seat preference can also be expressed at the time of purchase, e.g. „preferably at the window“. Alternatively, tickets including reservations can also be purchased from other European railway providers for night trains, such as SBB or Deutsche Bahn (DB).

Here my experience is: the earlier you book, the cheaper. The cheapest option is the so-called „Sparschiene“, which offers a global price seat ticket including reservation starting with 29€. Bookings can usually be made 180 days before departure (Nightjet, n.d.).

Do you have an Interrail / Eurail Pass?

An Interrail / Eurail Pass can offer great value for money. If you are a European citizen, you can use an Interrail Pass. If not, you can alternatively travel with a so-called Eurail Pass (Interrail, n.d.-a). There are various passes for different countries to choose from. It should be noted that residents of a country cannot buy a pass for their own country. An exception is the Global Pass, which allows two travelling days in your own country (one for entry and one for exit).

Please note that although Interrail tickets are valid on Nightjet and EuroNight trains, an extra seat reservation is always required. Without this, the night train usage is not permitted. You can enter your Interrail / Eurail Pass when booking via the Nightjet and the ÖBB website under „Discount“. You can also book via the Interrail reservation portal at https://www.interrail.eu/de/book-reservations#/. There you can also see for which trains you need to book a reservation.

For the majority of Nightjet routes, the surcharges are the same regardless of the date on which the booking is made. Please note, however, that night trains can be fully booked, which is why early booking is recommended, especially if your travel plans are not flexible.

However, since the introduction of the new Nightjet generation on the Innsbruck / Vienna to Hamburg route, there have been variable surcharges for Interrail Pass holders. A seat costs between 10€ and 25€ and a bed in a couchette coach between 26€ and 70€. There is a particularly high price range for the surcharges for individual, private sleeping compartments. Here you pay between 205€ – 695€ extra (Interrail, n.d.-b).

Do you have a rail card: KlimaTicket Ö / GA?

Climate Ticket Ö – Austria

Customers who have a Climate Ticket Ö (in German: KlimaTicket Ö) are entitled to use all public transport in Austria. This regular ticket, which costs 1095€ per year, is also valid within Austria for travelling in the overnight train seating carriage at no extra charge. A seat can be reserved for a fee, but this is not required. This was confirmed to me by the Nightjet staff in Innsbruck and also by the ÖBB via email.

GA Travelcard – Switzerland

Customers who already have a GA Travelcard (in German: Generalabonnement) and therefore enjoy free travel within Switzerland, can only use their GA Travelcard for night trains on the Zurich – Basel route without a seat reservation. In the direction of Austria via Buchs SG, the night train with a valid GA Travelcard cannot be used without a seat supplement. The reason for this is that the night trains EN 40465 (Zurich – Zagreb) and EN 50467 (Zurich – Prague) only stop for entering the train at the Buchs border station, the only Swiss station in the direction of Austria.

Once you have successfully purchased your reservation, you will find the number of your reserved seat next to the carriage number on your ticket. You can usually recognise your reserved seat in the coach by a sign on or above the seat. If you do not need a seat reservation and simply board the train, these signs can serve as an orientation if a seat is free. Please note: In rare cases, carriages may not be attached as planned for operational reasons. If your seat reservation is in one of these, it is best to talk to the train staff on site.

As you can see, the issue of compulsory reservations on night trains is not that simple. In general, I recommend to always reserve a seat on the night train, especially during peak travelling times. Furthermore, please note that the new generation of night trains only have one seating carriage with 72 seats (Neumann, 2023), which may be fully booked and in this case you will not be allowed to travel without a reservation. To find out whether you need a reservation on night trains, I recommend that you look up the route details at https://www.sbb.ch/ and check whether the „global price (GP)“ is listed there. Travellers with Interrail can use the reservation portal at https://www.interrail.eu/de/book-reservations#/ for support. If you are unable to purchase a reservation or are unsure, it is best to speak to the train staff on site. In my experience, you can also buy reservations from the train attendant after boarding, though with an extra fee. The Nightjet website also states that it is possible to buy tickets on board: „Unless otherwise possible, you can also buy standard tickets plus an on-board fee on the train.“ (Nightjet, n.d.).

Sources:

Bahnreise-Wiki (n.d.). Preissysteme Globalpreis – Streckenfahrschein. Retrieved on 08.02.24 from https://bahnreise-wiki.de/wiki/Preissysteme_Globalpreis_-_Streckenfahrschein

Interrail (n.d.-a). Benötige ich einen Interrail Pass oder einen Eurail Pass?. Retrieved on 14.01.24 from https://www.interrail.eu/de/support/interested-in-interrailing/do-i-need-an-interrail-or-eurail-pass

Interrail (n.d.-b). Sitzplatzreservierungen buchen. Retrieved on 14.01.24 from https://www.interrail.eu/de/book-reservations#/

Neumann, P. (2023, 19. November). Jetzt „on track“: Die neue Generation des ÖBB-Nightjet – wir waren 20 Stunden an Bord. Retrieved on 10.02.24 from https://back-on-track.eu/de/neuer-nightjet-oebb-premiere-mini-cabin/

Nightjet (n.d.). Häufig gestellte Fragen: Buchung im Nightjet. Retrieved on 08.02.24 from https://www.nightjet.com/de/buchung/faq/buchung-im-nightjet

Wikiwand (n.d.). Globalpreis. Retrieved on 06.02.24 from https://www.wikiwand.com/de/Globalpreis