For several years, Stuttgart has been left behind by the European night train network. This will change with the timetable change in December 2022, because the Austrian Federal Railways will serve the state capital of Baden-Württemberg as well as Göppingen and Ulm with their Nightjets.

Specifically, it is the NJ237 train, which is being extended to Stuttgart. This then continues to Venice. The EuroNight trains from Budapest, Zagreb and Rijeka will also run from/to Stuttgart in the future, although there are also options for boarding in Göppingen and Ulm. In some cases, the trains in Salzburg are divided so that different destinations are offered. For the first time in many years there will be a night train connection between Vienna and Stuttgart vv.

Towards the end of summer 2023, the first newly built Nightjets to be used in the direction of Italy. The existing building, some of which is getting on in years, is not to be phased out, but modernized from spring 2024. The cars should then be comparable to the new buildings in terms of equipment and technology.

Existing night train sets are to be modernized

The Austrian Federal Railways are also expanding the Vienna-Graz-Split EuroNight route. Three weekly night train courses are to be offered between the beginning of May 2023 and October 2023. ÖBB also focuses on tourist connections for daytime traffic. The direct IC connection from Vienna to the Salzkammergut to Bad Ischl, Hallstatt and Stainach-Irdning will be offered daily in the future. At the weekend there is a new direct train connection Vienna - Schladming - Bischofshofen, which leads over the Gesäuse. Some Austrian provincial capitals will also be better connected at the weekend with new early and late connections. From Vienna's Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof there will be daily direct trains to Prague via Gmünd and southern Bohemia. At the weekend, the new connection will even be offered twice a day.

Another 21 Cityjet double-decker sets are to be ordered for local transport – that means a total of 62 new trains for the eastern region. The first Cityjet Desiro ML trains for Vorarlberg will already be deployed in December when the timetable changes, and in Tyrol the first new Cityjets will go on the rails from August 2023.

Ticket prices are increasing despite high subsidies

On international train journeys, VAT will be completely eliminated with effect from January 1, 2023. However, this only applies to long-distance trains and only to the Austrian part of the route. The ÖBB promise that the tickets should be cheaper. However, this is lagging a bit, because the state railway has already announced that ticket prices will be increased significantly due to inflation.

At the same time, the Austrian Federal Railways will rely more than ever on the dynamic ticket prices already known from airlines and Deutsche Bahn. In concrete terms, this means that the price should be based on supply and demand. The ÖBB promise that if you book early, you should get the tickets cheaper, among other things at the price that is charged before the increase. 14 days are mentioned as the advance booking period.

While Austria's Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) wants to introduce minimum prices in aviation and with it wants to generate a "cost truth"., rail transport in the Alpine Republic and beyond is highly subsidized. The ministry she leads invests large sums of money in night trains. The Austrian Federal Railways are now Europe's largest provider in this segment. However, the enormous subsidies do not ensure that traveling by night train is a cheap alternative to flying. Apart from seated cars, seats in couchette and sleeping cars are often significantly more expensive than comparable flight tickets.