Fancy a quick trip to Switzerland by train? Well, plans are finally underway to make that happen. The NS and the OBB (Austrian Federal Railways) have green-lit a project to reinstate the night train between Amsterdam and Zurich.Â
The overnight train between the two cities was scrapped at the end of 2016, because it was running at a loss. However, up until the coronavirus, the popularity of overnight trains was increasing, after almost completely disappearing from the European transport scene.
From December 2020, it will be possible to travel by train from Amsterdam to Vienna and Munich. Brussels is also looking into creating an overnight train to Malmö in Sweden. Overall, international train travel has been doing really well in recent years. City breaks by train are the way to go!
Now, call us wishful thinkers, but we’re imagining a glorious, single-person compartment experience (we dislike both coronavirus and other people, honestly), with uniformed waiters at our beck and call, ideally for Ryanair prices.
As to whether this city-break-fanatic’s dream will be fully realized, only time will tell. But by December 2021, we should finally have a chance to try the new trains out. On its way to Zurich, the train will also stop at Cologne, Frankfurt and Basel.
The night train to Zurich from Amsterdam does actually still run in winter, when it brings winter sports enthusiasts to and from ski resorts — but by 2021 it will finally be available year-round.
Would you take the night train to Zurich over a plane? Let us know in the comments below.
Feature Image: Chait Goli/Pexels