
The Nightjet: A Big Bet on Train Travelers Who Take It Slow - moritzplassnig
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/business/overnight-train-austria.html
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LatteLazy
<Random musings of a train traveler follows>

I think this is great.

When I went inter-railing around Europe, we actively looked for overnight
trains and long, slow journeys. If we could get a 10pm train to the next
place, for 8 hours of journey, that was a night in a hostel saved!

We took the train from Venice to Innsbruck (highly recommend both places). It
was a nightmare because we got an 8pm train, arrived a little after 2am and
found (predictably) nothing was open and basically laid on the stone floor
outside the station for 5 hours trying to sleep. A 9h journey on a nice warm
train with a seat, would have suited me fine!

Similarly, here in the UK, I took a sleeper train from London to Exeter
regularly. The train would arrive at around 4am but didn't leave Exeter till
550. So you have to decide: you could be woken at 4am with breakfast or at 540
with a coffee and 10 minutes to get off or travel on to Cornwall. I always
picked 540 because then I'd get 6 hours sleep and remain awake the rest of the
day. The alternative was to get up at 4, walk home (30 minutes in the cold and
dark), then get into bed and get another 2 hours. Who wants that?

I know it's hard to suit everyone, maybe some people are desperate to get to
Exeter or Innsbruck in the early hours of the morning when nothing is open.
But I imagine a longer overnight journey and arriving around the times people
get up anyway works better for many more people...

