I’ve criss-crossed Europe on sleeper trains many times, most recently in private compartments. But while I love the romance of solo travel, the cost of booking a whole compartment for myself often seems too steep.
So when Austrian rail operator ÖBB rolled out mini cabins (individual sleeping pods) on their Nightjet sleeper trains, I was keen to take one for a spin. One Friday at the end of August, I boarded the Nightjet from Amsterdam to Innsbruck to give the mini cabin a try.
Amsterdam is a busy station, and when the Nightjet pulls up at the platform there’s just enough time to pile on board before we’re setting off again, bang on schedule at 6pm. I hadn’t known what to expect, but when I locate my cabin I am pleasantly surprised. The mini cabins are arranged in blocks of four: two above and two below, with a set of lockers in the middle that are opened by keycard. One locker is perfectly sized for hand luggage, and there’s a smaller one for shoes. Larger luggage can be stored at the end of the carriage.
I’ve booked the upper cabin, and to reach it I have to climb up a set of rungs and footholds that stick out between the lockers. You have to be quite nimble to get into the top cabin, and once you’ve slid yourself into it, you can only really lie down or crouch. There’s nowhere else in the carriage to sit, but the cabin is cosy enough, so I might as well get comfortable.
You have to be quite nimble to get into the top cabin
At the far end of the mini cabin is a porthole window to watch the scenery go by (you can cover it with a blackout blind at night). There’s also a screen that tells you whether the toilet – of which there are two, at the end of the carriage – is free. And there is a sliding window to the neighbouring cabin that can be opened if you are travelling in a pair. As I’m riding solo today, this window is kept securely shut.
When the mini cabin’s door is closed, it feels very cosy and sheltered. It feels less like being in a moving coffin (as I had momentarily feared!) and more like being in a burrow, curled up tight for hibernation. It may not be luxurious (Hercule Poirot would surely turn up his nose at it on the Orient Express), but with sheets, a blanket and a pillow it is comfy enough, and above all it feels clean and modern. There is good lighting and air conditioning, and excellent Wi-Fi: I use this to listen to ÖBB’s specially curated playlists of relaxing music while I settle down with a good book.
It feels less like being in a coffin and more like being in a burrow, curled up for hibernation
At 7.30pm we cross the border into Germany, and by 10pm it’s officially bedtime. We pick up a few more passengers at stops along the way, and I am a little surprised at how busy the train is on an ordinary Friday in August. But despite more people onboard, the mini cabin feels quiet and secluded. As night falls, I drift comfortably off to sleep, lulled by the rocking of the train. It may not be the best night’s sleep, but it’s certainly the best I’ve had on a night train (even better, somehow, than the private compartment I took from Brussels to Prague).
Still, sleep feels all too brief: at 7am there is a sharp rap at the door, and the train attendant hands me my breakfast in a paper bag. Breakfast consists of two bread rolls, coffee and some spreads. It is tricky to eat while lying down, and the crumbs get everywhere, making me worry about the next passenger in this cabin. But I enjoy sipping my coffee and watching the landscape change as we trundle through Bavaria.
At 7.35am, the attendant raps on the door again with a less welcome message: he needs the sheets and pillow. No hope of a lie-in, then. There’s nothing for it but to get up, get dressed, and clamber down into the corridor. The views are better there anyway: I watch the mist rising from the fields as we zip through Austria and gaze up at the mountains to which the early-morning clouds still cling.
We arrive in Innsbruck, on time, at 8.49am. From the station I take a stroll into the city centre. The streets are cool and clean and quiet, and I see almost nobody until I reach Maria-Theresien-Straße, the grand pedestrianised avenue that leads into the cobbled streets of the Old Town. As I stand beneath the Goldenes Dachl, the golden roof in Innsbruck’s historic centre, the church bells start ringing out and the sun peeps through the clouds, bouncing off the mountaintops that are just emerging from the mist.
And this is the joy of train travel: I’m already in the heart of the city, and the day has barely begun.
Would I recommend the mini cabin? Wholeheartedly, yes. If you’re travelling alone and want privacy without the expense of booking a whole compartment, then the mini cabin is the way to go. Just don’t count on a lie-in.
Everything to know about Nightjet’s mini cabins: Prices and routes
Fares for Nightjet’s mini cabins start at €58.20, but fluctuate depending on how early you book and which route you travel on.
The mini cabins are available on the following routes:
- Vienna – Hamburg and Innsbruck – Hamburg
- Vienna – Amsterdam and Innsbruck – Amsterdam
- Vienna – Bregenz
- Vienna – Rome and Munich – Rome
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