The night train to Vienna makes a return, with government cash help

People heading for Austrian ski resorts will be able to take a night train once again from the end of next year, several years after night services were scrapped.

The NS and Austrian rail company OBB are planning to bring back the night train service from Amsterdam to Munich, Innsbruck and Vienna next winter, junior infrastructure Stientje van Veldhoven confirmed on Thursday in a briefing to MPs.

The Dutch government is injecting €6.7m into the project up to 2024 as part of efforts to encourage people to take the train as an alternative to flying.

Travellers will also be able to board the train in Utrecht and Arnhem, website Nu.nl reported. Prices will vary from €29 for a seat to €89 for a bunk, and there will also be luxury cabins with private bathrooms. The journey will take 14 hours.

NS chief executive Roger van Boxtel said that the night train is a sustainable alternative to flying. ‘I am sure travellers will value the service,’ he said. ‘The train is increasingly the best option on journeys of up to 700 kilometres.’

Research by the ministry’s Institute of Mobility Policy (KiM) in July concluded that there is a strong case for the reintroduction of overnight services from the Netherlands to other European countries.