The new service is an extension of the existing Vienna/Innsbruck - Düsseldorf Nightjet, which has been diverted to Brussels via Aachen. The service leaves Vienna and Innsbruck on Sunday and Wednesday evenings at 20.38 and 20.44 respectively, arriving in Brussels at 10.30 the next morning. On Mondays and Thursdays, the return journey starts from Brussels at 18.30, arriving at Vienna at 08.27 and Innsbruck at 09.14.
ÖBB is Europe’s largest night train operator, with a total of 27 services across the continent with its partners.
“With our new direct connection to Brussels we are setting an example,” says ÖBB CEO, Mr Andreas Matthä. “Especially in the EU capital, it is important to be able to travel in a climate-friendly way. We are also in discussion with partners across Europe in order to be able to offer even more night trains in the future. We actively take responsibility for climate protection here.”
A further direct Nightjet connection from Vienna to Amsterdam is planned from December 2020.
“The new ÖBB night train connection from Vienna to Brussels is a great signpost on the way to climate-friendly mobility in the European Union,” says Austrian federal minister for transport, innovation and technology, Ms Leonore Gewessler. “And it shows how quickly measures for a real alternative can be implemented. It is now a matter of speeding up climate protection.”
Passengers on the inaugural service included members of the European Parliament, who used the train to travel to the parliament’s first session of 2020.
