Taking night trains is risky

Efforts to try to get us all off the planes in Europe and onto the trains is proving a challenge.

The relaunch of sleeper trains was supposed to be one way – but they’re suffering from delays and crime. 

The most recent example is a train being run by Austrian railways. On Sunday night the NightJet service from Vienna to Zurich broke down in Salzburg and was delayed several hours. Passengers who hadn’t booked berths were forced to sleep in the corridors. 

Swiss Federal Railways says punctuality of night trains has been getting worse since March last year.

Only to add to the poor image, the Austrian press says two Swiss travellers from Zurich to Vienna boarded their train in April this year to find the first class berth they had booked was not on the train as the correct carriage hadn’t been attached. To add to the misery, they had nearly CHF 1,000 and some jewellery stolen as they slept in the seats. 

They weren’t the only victims on that service. Police say they’re still investigating several other thefts.

The holiday makers said they wanted to be greener by taking the train. 

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