The new service will be operated jointly by Netherlands Railways (NS) and Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), but the governments wants the two railways to make it financially self-supporting.
The overnight service will start in December 2020 and will run from Amsterdam to Nürnberg where the train will divide with one portion going to Munich and Innsbruck and the other to Vienna. The Nightjet service will operate daily and will include a portion from Brussels which will be attached to the train in Düsseldorf.
The train will have seating, couchette and sleeping cars. ÖBB will be responsible for operating the train, while NS will haul the train in the Netherlands and service the rolling stock in Amsterdam. The last international night train service ran in the Netherlands in December 2016.
The Dutch government is keen to increase international passenger rail journeys. NS says there was a 13% increase in international train passengers during the summer in comparison with summer 2018.
