Tonight, we're in Austria for a very special
occasion... the INAGURAL trip on the next generation of
European night train, the ÖBB Nightjet Sleeper PODs... so let's go and check them out together! Join me as we travel over 1000km with the
Austrian national operator, from wintry Vienna, and crossing most of Germany up to Hamburg
in the north of the country to fully experience this ground-breaking new sleeper accommodation. And doesn't Vienna just look amazing in the
snow? This is the area around the parliament. Anyway, let's head over to Wien Hauptbahnhof,
the main station in the city, as our train departure is approaching. Trams and buses can both be accessed from
the vicinity adjacent to the station's main entrance. I absolutely love this station. It's the perfect mix of modernity and functionality,
but it's not TOO big, so you can still find your way around easily enough. On the right side when you walk in, are tickets
offices for ÖBB, along with private operators Westbahn and RegioJet. A wide variety of food outlets can be found
on the ground floor, along with the ÖBB lounge, accessible with a First Class or Sleeper cabin
ticket. Unfortunately not a POD ticket, as this is
classed as a couchette. On the underground level is access to the
U-bahn metro and S-Bahn commuter networks. There are also many more shops, including
a mega Spar supermarket, restaurants, toilets and luggage lockers down here. Large electronic boards show both the train
arrivals and departures, with the information being in both German and English. Our train tonight is NJ490 to Hamburg (and
Amsterdam). OK, let's head up to the platform now. They are all accessed by both lifts and escalators,
making the whole station step-free from street to platform. You can find clear signage up here too, including
digital platform indicators. There are also diagrams showing you which
section your coach will be on the platform, so you can stand in the correct place. And here comes our train, pulling in around
10 minutes before scheduled departure. These fixed-formation 7-coach sets are hauled
by a Siemens Taurus electric locomotive which has a top speed of 230km/h (143mph). The consist is made up of the following coaches;
1 seated, 1 multi-function, with seats and an accessible cabin, 2 sleeper, and 3 couchettes,
all with a mix of 'normal' bunks and the new PODs. The Nightjet livery is one of my favourites
around. I think it's both classy and smart. What do you think about it? Leave me a comment below! Now let's check out our route tonight, from
Vienna, Austria up to Hamburg, Germany. A big thanks to TrainPal for sponsoring this
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this video! OK, let's board! Step-free access is not available at most
doors, but the multi-function coach which contains the accessible compartment, is level
with most platforms, otherwise a wheelchair lift can be requested. We'll be travelling in one of the ground-breaking
new sleeper PODs tonight. I think these individual compartments look
fantastic, and offer great privacy. They are very much designed like a capsule
hotel, and come at the same price as a normal couchette berth, but more on that soon! We depart on-time, at 8:10pm. This trip is 1100km (684mi), and is scheduled
to take 12 hours & 54 minutes of travel time, arriving in Hamburg at 9:04am tomorrow morning. The cheapest price that I could find now for
one of these new private PODs was €134.10 (£115.08, $145.65), which isn't bad value. There was a special promotion for these early
runs where it went as low as €75 (£64.35, $81.45), which is honestly an amazing price. The base price of the ticket, which includes
a standard seat reservation is €29.20 (£25.06, $31.71). They are dynamically priced though, so this
can vary quite a lot, sometimes being over double. I'll show you around a full sleeper cabin,
and tell you how much this costs a bit later on. Tickets are easily bookable online through
the ÖBB app and website up to 180 days before travel. If you want AD-FREE early access to every
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button in every video. Thank you! OK, let's check out these new sleeper PODs. Upon boarding, you check-in with the conductor
who will issue you with a key card to you POD. Steps and handles are provided for accessing
the top berths. As with all couchette accommodations, you
must make the bed up yourself. The POD is 6'3 (192cm) in length, and feels
really spacious overall. As long as you're not too tall. The mattress and pillow are both very comfortable,
as is the bedding. I'm sure it's going to be a good night's sleep! There is a nice space at the window end, to
the side of your head for smaller items, drinks, wallets, phones etc, which also includes a
wireless charging pad. A storage pocket, reading light, European-style
power socket and USB-A port can be found above your head. I like the fact it's USB-A and not USB-C,
as it's a lot more common, for more devices. On the power source end anyway. Each POD has its own small window, equipped
with both sun, and blackout blinds. There is a connecting door to the adjacent
POD, which can be opened up if travelling with a friend, or locked shut, for your own
privacy. There are hangers on the wall for bags and
clothes to be hung up. There is a sliding table and desk, which folds
up flat against the wall, but also slides along a runner. There is also a mirror on the underneath. Very ingenuitive. The touchpad control panel on the wall allows
you to control the lights. It also tells your if the toilets in your
coach are occupied and dims after a few seconds, which is an excellent touch. You can even start your very own disco! There are two lockers provided, also opened
by your key card. A larger one for carry-on sized luggage and
backpacks, and smaller one for shoes. Larger suitcases must be stored on separate
racks in the multi-function coach. However these have excellent PIN-code lockable
straps for your peace of mind. The only small down side to the PODs is that
the doors don't have a 'locked open' position, so tend to close themselves when in motion,
and you can't control their temperature independently either. I'm a
huge fan of this new innovation, and where I would have booked out a private sleeper
compartment previously, I'd be more than happy to spend the night in one of these PODs with
their excellent comfort and privacy. On crossing into Germany, there is a 'Schengen
not-Schengen' ID check by the German police. The 3 couchette coaches on this train come
with 28 PODs, and 3 standard couchette compartments, with 4 beds in each, making a total of 40
passengers per coach. Here's a look at the standard couchette compartments. They're very similar to the PODs in their
outfitting, but without the dividing walls or lockers. These are perfect if you're travelling in
a family, or group of 4. There is a lockable external door, and you
can control the compartment temperature independently. Each couchette coach has 2 toilets, and an
additional washroom. These weren't particularly clean, but were
fully working, and kept stocked up with soap and toilet roll throughout the journey. The seated coach is laid out in a 2+2 configuration,
in a mix of both airline style and table seats. These are intended for shorter part-journeys,
but in theory you could do the full route in here. If you're mad, or something. The seat reclines a small amount, and the
legroom is OK. There are two tray tables, one large for eating
meals from, or working on a laptop, and one small for watching content from a phone or
tablet, with a handily placed USB-A socket above. There is also wireless charging and a coat
hook. A reading light can also be found integrated
into the seat. The multifunction coach contains the accessible
compartment, which has space for 2 wheelchair users, and 2 companions. The accessible toilets are right next door. It also has more seats, some ski racks, and
6 bike spaces which must be reserved in advance for an extra charge of €16 per bike. Last up, is the premiere accommodation on
the train, the sleeper compartments. The 2 sleeper coaches on the train, have 8
comfort, and 1 comfort plus compartments each. This is a comfort compartment. I think they look great, very stylish and
modern. The beds are by the window, and face the direction
of travel in a change to normal European sleeper train convention. The bedding is of a much more premium feel,
fluffier and comfier. OBB have certainly upped their game in this
department. All are en-suite with showers, the comfort
ones having an all-in-one wet room. The amenities are the same as the couchettes,
with wired and wireless charging available, individual temperature controls, along with
a plethora of lights and lighting controls, including the multi-coloured disco lights. The seating area can also be converted into
a table for eating at, or working from. Another ingenious feature of this train! The comfort plus cabin is pretty similar to
the comfort ones, except it's larger and the bunks are oriented across the coach. The en-suite also includes a separate shower
cubicle too. OK time to head to sleep in the POD... Good night! After just a couple of hours of sleep, the
train comes to an abrupt halt at Nuremburg. To cut a long story short, the locomotive
failed and the train needed a reset, which meant all the lights coming on full, passenger
announcements blaring, and all at nearly 2.30am. NOT GOOD! All-in-all, after a locomotive swap, we're
now running around 3 hours late. Breakfast is included for both sleeper and
couchette passengers, but it is much more comprehensive in the sleeper compartments,
and you get a choice from a menu which you fill in the night before. There is also a limited food a drinks menu
which you can order from the conductor. See the link in the description below to check
this out in more detail. Free WiFi is also available for all on the
train. We are now in the Hamburg suburbs, so let
me give you my summary from the OBB Nightjet next generation trains, travelling up from
Vienna in one of the BRAND NEW PODs. I think that OBB and Siemens have done a great
job to breath a new life into their sleeper trains, listening to customers, and really
thinking outside the box with these new trains. The PODs especially are stylish, functional
and innovative, and will allow many more people to experience comfortable, private and safe
overnight travel, at a much better price point than was previously possible, if they didn't
want to used the shared couchettes. There were obviously a few niggles on this
trip with the stock, and the loco failure caused a massive delay and disrupted sleep,
but overall, a massive step forward with the accommodation and hopefully the teething problems
are ironed out soon. Our penultimate stop is at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof,
the main station in the city. Anyway, we now arrive to Hamburg Altona, this
train's terminus 3 hours and 7 minutes late. Have you been on any Nightjet sleeper trains
before? How did these new PODs compare to your experience
in a sleeper or couchette compartment? Let me know in the comments below! By the way, I'm always open to new video ideas,
so send me a DM on Instagram or Twitter if there's anything you really want to see on
the channel... Don't forget to subscribe as I publish a new
review every Friday. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next
week!
