Pictured: The amazing ‘pod’ cabins for solo travelers available on Europe’s new, streamlined sleeper trains from December
This is just the ticket for solo travelers who love their privacy.
The Austrian National Railways, ÖBB, have a new ‘pod’ style cabin for individual travelers on the new generation Nightjet sleeper trains.
Hailed as “innovative cocoons,” these new “mini cabins” feature single berths and just about “everything you need for an undisturbed overnight trip.”
As photos show, these ‘ultra-modern’ cabins feature a movable folding table with integrated mirror, coat hooks, a reading lamp and adjacent lockers for hand luggage and shoes.
Individual travelers can enjoy the new pods as early as December 10, when Nightjet’s new trains – with ‘modern design, more privacy and more comfort’ – hit the rails. The first trips are planned for the Vienna-Hamburg and Innsbruck-Hamburg lines.
Austrian national railway ÖBB has unveiled a new ‘pod’ style cabin for solo travelers on its new generation of Nightjet sleeper trains
These new ‘mini huts’ are hailed as ‘innovative cocoons’ and feature single berths
The image above shows how the new pod cabins are arranged throughout the carriage
The current Nightjet service, which launched in 2016, consists of sleeper cars that can accommodate one to three people and couchette cabins that can accommodate up to six people.
In addition to the innovative solo pods, the new generation formations, with a total of 33 sets, will include extensively redesigned sleeping cars that can accommodate one to two people and couchettes that can accommodate up to four people.
The new four-berth couchettes promise to ‘increase your sleeping comfort and ensure a relaxed arrival at your destination’.
Individual travelers can enjoy the new pods as early as December 10, when Nightjet’s new trains hit the rails
The ‘mini cabins’ are equipped with lockers for hand luggage and shoes
Launched in 2016, the Nightjet service welcomes a total of 33 new trains. Above, a passenger sits in the new mini cabin
The ‘ultra-modern’ mini cabins are equipped with a movable folding table with integrated mirror, coat hooks and a reading lamp. These new seven-car trains have a capacity for 254 passengers
The sleeping cars, meanwhile, have their own bathroom – complete with shower – and a ‘comfortable’ seating area, so travelers can work, read or eat during the journey.
In addition, each new Nightjet is equipped with a ‘modern’ accessible couchette compartment, for use by up to two wheelchair users and an attendant. A barrier-free toilet is also accessible via a low floor entrance.
ÖBB also said it offers improved transport options for travelers: there are six bicycle sheds for cycling enthusiasts and more space for luggage, strollers and sports equipment.
The new generation trains will have a capacity of 254 passengers in seven wagon formations, consisting of two seating cars, three couchette cars and two sleeping cars.
One of the Nightjet’s most exciting journeys connects Vienna’s Hauptbahnhof station with Paris’s Gare de l’Est, a 14-hour journey.
Although Nightjet already offers four-berth sofa beds and sleeper cars, these sleeping quarters have undergone an extensive redesign. Above you see the renovated couchette with four sleeping places
The redesigned sleeping cars feature a private bathroom – complete with shower – and a ‘comfortable’ seating area so travelers can work, read or eat during the journey
Leonore Gewessler, Austria’s Minister for Climate Action, said: ‘Traveling by train means protecting the climate. This especially applies to the night train.’
She said passengers can board in the evening in Vienna and wake up refreshed the next morning in another European metropolis.
Gewessler added: “This will be even easier and more convenient in the future.”
Andreas Matthä, CEO of ÖBB, said: “With the new generation of Nightjets, we are continuously expanding our night train fleet and will continue to play a pioneering role in night train traffic in Europe in the future. With our new, state-of-the-art Nightjets, we will impress in the future with more comfort and privacy and clearly focus on the needs of the passengers.’
The Nightjet Roadmap. Some destinations are reached using Nightjet’s partner rail system, ‘EuroNight Trains’