Overnight train - Dusseldorf - Innsbruck and other car trains

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ymfb

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We have used the excellent overnight sleeper train from Germany to Austria a couple of times, maybe three. Sadly it appears to be no longer running from western Germany to Austria or Italy.

Does anyone know of any other overnight trains that also carry motorbikes to beat the long motorway slog.

As before we would probably, subject to availability, train it down and ride all the way back and see friends in Northern Italy & mid France
 
The latest edition of Alpentourer did a piece on it.

Here’s the map from the article, along with a screenshot of the website that the article linked to:

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Am I missing something here? If I was to use it, Nearest station is Hamburg. That's 8 hours from Calais, then an overnight trip to say Munich. So at a push from london its a heck of a 1 day trip, probably 2 , so arrive in Munich on day 3.
To drive from Calais to Munich is 10 hours? Granted its a m way slog, but probably end up in the same 3 day time? So is it a time saving idea or a wear and tear on bike saving idea? I quite fancy a jump on, jump off from closer to Calais to save days. What trick am I not seeing? Genuine question
 
The trains are designed to cater for Germans, not for bods living in London. There used to be similar trains running from Paris, which made some sort of sense for bods in the SE of England, heading to the Mediterranean.
 
Kind of figured that but wasn't sure if I misread the map/ location. Apparently OP is located in Salisbury ...I'd love to do that to save time but it punishes us Southerners. Guess they figure we can afford to ride down. :)
 
theoneandonly said:
540 euros ,return Hamburg to Verona. that's a lot of money to cut off ,1 day each way . ( but i'm a cheapskate )
Click to expand...

Hamburg to Verona (direct down the motorway) is 765 miles. Let’s call that 77 litres of motorway priced petrol at £1.80 a litre = £138. One hotel night, let’s say £80 = £218. That’s euro 260.

Add wear and tear, which is a bit subjective but if we took my 1600 as an example the tyres last 4,400 miles. 765 miles is, let’s say 20% or one fifth of the tyres’ life. Let’s guess at £40 or euro 50. Total so far euro 310. The price differential is now down to euro 230, without really trying.

Now mix in the ‘enjoyment factor’ of swishing across Germany with no effort on a train versus trundling along a motorway. This is very subjective but given that many punters on this site apparently NEVER use a motorway (I don’t actually believe them) the pain factor must be considerable. Let’s price that at 25p a mile over 765 miles to give £190 or euro 225. The train is now winning.

Of course this is not perfect maths and becomes very subjective. I have maybe under estimated the wear and tear element but maybe over egged the ‘enjoyment factor’ but it’s probably not too inaccurate. Either way, if you lived somewhere near Hamburg or Verona and wanted to go across between the two, it’s maybe not looking too bad to let the train take the strain.
 
Dusseldorf ---Villach with 1cabin /2 bikes for 2 people 1900 Euro return .

Used OBB few years ago Dusseldorf -- Innsbruck lot cheaper ,not sure it's running now?
 
Wapping said:
Is on the map. Whether it requires a change, I have no idea but there’s a line connecting the two.
Click to expand...

Didn’t require a change last time I used it but be aware that the train splits, so make sure you’re not fast asleep in a seat on the wrong part of the train - as one of our party found out :D
 
OBB is still running the overnight Dusseldorf/ Austria train apparently. Only on Fridays going south, and saturdays going north IIRC. We didn't need to change when we used it.

Just found it.

www.nightjet.com
 
The latest edition of Motorrad & Reisen has an article on the ‘car trains’ with some additional routes.

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Maybe with the green lobby pressure groups and more of Europe becoming interconnected by high speed train systems, the trains will become more common? In the summer, Eurostar used to run (they may do still) a direct train from London’s St Pancras station to Avignon / Marseille, rather than having to switch to the TGV at Lille. I would quite happily of plonked my bike onto a train in London and got off a few short hours later in Provence.
 
theoneandonly said:
540 euros ,return Hamburg to Verona. that's a lot of money to cut off ,1 day each way . ( but i'm a cheapskate )
Click to expand...

I think you’ll find it’s actually a bit more than that though. I’ve just been on the Urlaubs website. They don’t do the date we want to do the Düsseldorf to Villach route. However. The nearest date works out at about a £ a mile. If you add an overnight in a hotel plus running costs it’s probably about the same as riding there.
 
We are booked onto this in September, Düsseldorf to Verona.

Originally it was booked for our 2020 trip, the prices have almost doubled. For us, as older riders, it was the attraction of arriving fresh at the mountains (ish) instead of several consecutive 400+ miles days. Essentially we’ll be leisurely wending our way home over the next week or so via a very indirect route.

I’ll report back in due course.
 
Thank you. Düsseldorf certainly makes sense from Essex / Suffolk. I don’t think anyone needs to make an excuse as to how they get to somewhere or get back; it’s all down to what suits somebody best. Doing the trip, be it long or short, is all that matters.
 
https://www.seat61.com/european-train-travel.htm

is always a good start to rail based research......

https://urlaubs-express.de/uex-motorail-dusseldorf-verona-dusseldorf-2022/?lang=en

For our guests from North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and, of course, the Netherlands and Belgium, the departures from Düsseldorf offer the ideal opportunity to travel by car overnight to their holiday destination in Italy and save many hundreds of kilometres of motorway. From Verona, there are great opportunities to continue your journey. Many guests use the UEX on the way to the ferries to Croatia or Greece. Italy itself has been a favourite travel destination for many years. Two hours south of Verona by car, Tuscany is already attracting visitors. Verona itself also has a lot to offer. The ancient city centre belongs to the world cultural heritage. The annual opera festival in the “Arena di Verona” enjoys a worldwide reputation. The journeys to Verona start in 2022 on May 20th. Southbound services depart on Fridays, with UEX car trains departing from Verona on Saturday evenings. The last return journey to NRW is planned for October 1st.
 
Wapping said:
Thank you. Düsseldorf certainly makes sense from Essex / Suffolk. I don’t think anyone needs to make an excuse as to how they get to somewhere or get back; it’s all down to what suits somebody best. Doing the trip, be it long or short, is all that matters.
Click to expand...

Plus we are taking overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland, it’s only 30 miles so can leave after work.

I did the same trip a month ago when I went to stretch the legs of my 911 on the Autobahns, I was at the Düsseldorf junctions by 11am even though Holland is such a drag now with their 100 kph National speed limit

I was intending to do report on that but gave up as attaching photos defeated me
 
Email me your report and the pictures and I’ll create it for you.

PM on the way.

Richard

PS I was reminded of the Harwich / Hook ferry (not been on it since the 80’s) when I met up with GrantMac.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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