Stuttgart becomes departure station for night trains again

Published on 13-12-2022 at 11:15

EuroNight train of Croatian Railways NAC, WikiMedia

The German city of Stuttgart and the nearby towns of Göppingen and Ulm in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg gained connections to the Euronight and Nightjet network with the start of the new German timetable this week. It will now be possible to travel to cities such as Venice, Vienna and Budapest.

With the inclusion of Stuttgart, Göppingen and Ulm, a total of 41 German cities are now connected to the European night train network of ÖBB in cooperation with other railway operators. The Nightjet to Venice will travel via Munich, Salzburg and Treviso. Croatian capital Zagreb, Slovenian capital Ljubljana, and – seasonally – the Croatian coastal city of Rijeka can also be reached, not with a Nightjet but via the EuroNight service, operated in (South) Eastern Europe solely by ÖBB partners, in this case Croatian Railways HŽ and Slovenian Railways SŽ.

Winfried Hermann, Minister of Transport of the State of Baden-Württemberg, lauded the new connections, saying that it marks the end of the sidelining of night trains in Europe. Frank Nopper, Mayor of the state capital Stuttgart, added that the city can benefit from its new links to neighbouring countries. He recalled the long tradition of night trains from Stuttgart in the Stuttgarter Zeitung with a stop of the Orient Express to Constantinople from 1883, which after losing its luxury service was discontinued in 2009, saying the fact that the city is running night trains again is “a win across the board for all cities along the route.”

Prices for the Nightjet service to Vienna start at 49.90 per person. A spot in a sleeping car will set you back at least 99.90 euro. Prices for the EuroNight service to Hungary and Southeastern Europe were not communicated.