The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car.
The Deutsche Bahn AG is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company (AG).
Intercity Express is a high-speed rail system in Germany. It also serves destinations in Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands as part of cross-border services. It is the flagship of the German state railway, Deutsche Bahn. ICE fares are fixed for station-to-station connections, on the grounds that the trains have a higher level of comfort. Travelling at speeds up to 320 km/h (200 mph), they are aimed at business travellers and long-distance commuters and marketed by Deutsche Bahn as an alternative to flights.
First class is the most luxurious and most expensive travel class of seats and service on a train, passenger ship, airplane, bus, or other system of transport. Compared to business class and economy class, it offers the best service and most comfortable accommodation.
A couchette car is a railway carriage conveying non or semi-private sleeping accommodation.
EuroCity (EC) is an international train category and brand for European inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. Each EC train is operated by more than one European Union or Swiss rail company, under a multilateral co-operative arrangement, and all EC trains link important European cities with each other.
CityNightLine AG was a Swiss night train service. CNL had right of passage grants in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Denmark. It served stations in Belgium, France, Italy and the Czech Republic.
The Bombardier Double-deck Coach is a bilevel passenger railcar currently manufactured by Alstom, which acquired Bombardier Transportation in 2021 used by various European railways and Israel Railways. The current generation of double-deck coaches can be run at speeds up to 200 km/h (125 mph). Depending on their configuration, each coach can seat 100 to 150 passengers.
Wien Hauptbahnhof, Vienna Central Station or Vienna Main Station is the main railway station in Vienna, Austria, located in the Favoriten district. It became fully operational in December 2015, linking major railway lines from the north, east, south and west, and replacing the old Wien Südbahnhof terminus. With 268,000 daily commuters it is Austria's busiest long-distance railway station. Aside from being voted "Austria's most beautiful railway station", it was also second in Consumer Choice Center's ranking of "Top 10 Railway Stations for Passenger Convenience in Europe".
BahnCard is a discount subscription programme offered by Deutsche Bahn (DB), the German national railway company. Unlike airline loyalty programs, but similarly to the UK Railcard, the BahnCard entitles the passenger to a discount price and must be purchased prior to travel. The BahnCard is offered in a non-business and a business version called BahnCard Business. Non-business BahnCard contracts are automatically renewed each year, unless they are cancelled with sufficient notice. Three variants of BahnCard are sold by Deutsche Bahn: The BahnCard 25, the BahnCard 50, and the BahnCard 100. The first two variants allow passengers to get 25% and 50% discount respectively on standard long-distance rail fares, while the Mobility BahnCard 100 is a type of annual ticket that allows free unlimited travel on most of the German railway network for a fixed price. The (non-business) BahnCard 25/50 are valid for one year and can only be purchased by subscription. If they are not canceled no later than six weeks before the expiry date, their term is automatically extended by another year. BahnCard Business 25/50 are also valid for one year but require no cancellation. Unlike the personal BahnCard, BahnCard Business can be combined with the discount that is granted to large-volume business customers.
EuroNight, abbreviated EN, is a European train category that denotes many mainline national and international night train services within the Western and Central European inter-city rail network.
A motorail train or accompanied car train (ACT) is a passenger train on which passengers can take their car or automobile along with them on their journey. Passengers are carried in normal passenger carriages or in sleeping carriages on longer journeys, while the cars are loaded into autoracks, car-carriers, or flatcars that normally form part of the same train.
An Eilzug is a type of passenger train which runs regionally, and does not stop at all stations; it is similar to a modern regional express train, 'fast stopping train' or 'semi-fast train'. The term has largely been superseded, but is still used on some lines.
A Schnellzug is an express train in German-speaking countries. The term is used both generically and also as a specific train type. In Germany and Austria it is also referred to colloquially as a D-Zug, a short form of Durchgangszug, and express train services were often given numbers preceded by the letter D. The similar term, snälltåg, was used in Sweden until January 1980.
DB AutoZug GmbH was a German rail transport company that provided automobile (Motorail) and night passenger train services for Deutsche Bahn AG. It was based in Dortmund and was a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG. On 30 September 2013 the company was merged into DB AG's long-distance division DB Fernverkehr.
Intercity (IC) is the second-highest train classification in Germany, after the Intercity Express (ICE). Intercity services are locomotive-hauled express trains, usually over long-distances. There are Intercity routes throughout Germany and routes generally operate every other hour, with multiple routes giving a more frequent service on core routes. Intercity services are operated by the DB Fernverkehr division of Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s national railway.
The Vindobona is an international named passenger train which began service in 1957 between Berlin and Vienna via Dresden and Prague. In later years the route was extended to run from Hamburg via Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Brno and Vienna to Villach. It was named after the ancient settlement of Vindobona on the site of the modern city of Vienna. Labelled as a EuroCity train connection from 1993, services discontinued in 2014.
The Komet was an international overnight express train service between Germany and Switzerland, which was in operation from 1954 to 2016. Its name reflected the notion that the Comet train and an actual comet can both be described as travelling through the night at high speed. It was introduced in 1954. It became a EuroCity (EC) service upon the launch of the EC network in 1987. It became categorised as CityNightLine (CNL) service in the mid-1990s. With the decision by Deutsche Bahn to terminate all CNL services in December 2016, the Komet ran for the last time on 10–11 December 2016.
Nightjet is a brand name given by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) to its overnight passenger train services.
EuroCity Express, or short ECE, is a category of Eurocity train marketed by Deutsche Bahn that runs on two routes as of 2021. It was created to classify a newly introduced international high speed train service in a higher category - equivalent to the Intercity-Express - than the existing Eurocity, which is equivalent to the "second tier" domestic Intercity.
Bathroom in sleeping car (Comfortline Deluxe)
Beds in a sleeping car (with child's safety device)
Beds in a sleeping car (double-deck Eco)
Beds in a sleeping car (double-deck Deluxe)
