Dortmund and Cologne: Night trains start to Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic
From Dortmund and Cologne, night trains are now heading for destinations in Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic. How much does a ticket abroad cost and how long does the journey take?
Dortmund / Cologne – If you want to travel but don’t want to use the environmentally harmful plane, night trains in three European countries have been available from NRW since the end of May 2022. RUHR24 explains what travelers on the “Greencitytrip” trains should know.
company | GreenCityTrip |
parent company | Flywise Travel B.V |
Seat | Beursplein 37, 3011 AA Rotterdam, The Netherlands |
Night train started from Cologne and Dortmund in the direction of Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic
You will find 640 beds in the trains of the Dutch business center. The night trains from NRW always start in the evening in Dortmund and Cologne. The following destinations can be reached (as of May 30th) from the respective main train stations of the two NRW metropolises (prices in the previous tariff):
- from Cologne main station: Milanese (199 euros for a round trip), Verona (189 euros for a round trip), Vienna (169 euros for a round trip), Venice (189 euros for a round trip), Bolzano (189 euros for a round trip), como (199 euros for a round trip), Linz (169 euros for a round trip), Bologna (199 euros for a round trip), Salzburg (159 euros for a round trip), Florence (199 euros for a round trip)
- from Dortmund main station: Prague (159 euros for a round trip)
Anyone who books must buy a return ticket, a one-way ticket is currently (as of May 30, 2022) not available. Incidentally, there are only couchettes on the train, if you cannot or do not want to sleep, you can at best sit on your folded bed.
Cologne and Dortmund as a night train departure in the direction of Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic
And: Flexible travel looks different, because the journey only lasts five days, after which the train goes back to Germany. On the first day of travel you leave in the evening and arrive back in Germany on the fifth day of travel in the morning. Extending the trip to seven or ten days is also not possible.
There are a few other things you should know if you are planning a trip with the night trains from “Greencitytrip”: There is no WiFi on board and if you are traveling with babies or children, you also pay the “standard price” for the very small passengers, also as much as for an adult.
“Greencitytrip”: Night trains from Cologne and Dortmund can spontaneously postpone their departure
And – but you already know that from DB – the departure and arrival times of the train can change spontaneously. “Greencitytrip” speaks of “no more than 60 minutes”.
In addition to the specified travel prices for the outward and return journey, “Greencitytrip” charges a fee of 25 euros per booking. A family of four would also pay around 825 euros for a return trip for a short trip – say from Cologne to Bologna. The night train fare can’t compete with the 9-euro ticket. Even a plane ticket for the same route would currently be significantly cheaper – but also significantly more harmful to the environment.
Take a look at the travel time. Again the example Cologne – Bologna: Departure would be at 9 p.m. in Cologne, the next morning you would be in Bologna at 9.15 a.m. You have to want more than 12 hours for a trip that would be possible in about 90 minutes by plane. The long-term journey would certainly do the environment better.
List of rubrics: © Daniele Giusstolisi/RUHR24