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My girlfriend and I are planning our very first international train trip and we got kind of lost when reading about the Euronight Train.

I'm buying the tickets here and I'm getting the cheapest seats (we're just backpacking on a super small budget) but there is not much information about them.

  1. Are the seats reclinable?
  2. Do we get to choose seat numbers?
  3. If any of you have taken this train, is it comfortable for a long train trip? (I'd ask if we'd be better off traveling by plane, but I guess that'd be a whole other question.)
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    A word of warning: friend of mine had her valuables stolen on this very train connection. Not advising against it but be watchful.
    – mts
    Mar 1, 2016 at 8:42
  • Good site for train travel: seat61.com
    – CMaster
    Mar 1, 2016 at 9:43
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    I strongly recommend at least a couchette, which still fits in a budget. Couchettes are locked on the inside and cannot be opened from the outside.
    – gerrit
    Mar 1, 2016 at 11:38
  • @gerrit the couchette option wasn't available when trying to purchase the tickets :/ only the sleeper cabin and 2nd class compartment
    – VinArrow
    Mar 1, 2016 at 11:43
  • Maybe they don't have them anymore or not on the trains operated by ÖBB. I've only taken the ÖBB sleeper train on one round trip Hamburg-Vienna years ago.
    – gerrit
    Mar 1, 2016 at 12:14

1 Answer 1

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The wagon contains six-seat compartments. This is how a compartment looks like, although the colors are usually faded:

ÖBB bmz 73

Ralf Roletschek - CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported

The seats are reclinable (although not fully). In the end position the opposite seats join up. So, if the compartment is all yours you can even lay down. If it's fully booked it's rather cramped.

When booking online you can only choose whether you want to sit at the window, center or corridor. At an ÖBB train station, via phone, and at very few travel agents outside Austria you can choose the exact seat you want to sit in. They can also tell you how many seats are already booked in your train and how full they are usually. Booking there instead of online is without surcharge and they often have a few more cheap connections than the website.

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  • I see, thanks! Booking there is not really an option because we're from Brazil, but I'll try and find some acquaintance living in Austria to help me out. And thanks for the pic, it's much better actually seeing the compartment than just guessing!
    – VinArrow
    Mar 1, 2016 at 11:37
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    I can add that the armrests can be raised, so if you're travelling on a weekday night off-season it might be just the two of you, and you can stretch.
    – gerrit
    Mar 1, 2016 at 11:39
  • @gerrit we'll be traveling in late march. i guess that's kind of off-season, right?
    – VinArrow
    Mar 1, 2016 at 11:41
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    @VinArrow Late March is Easter this year, so there might be quite a few travellers. The only time I took a seat in a German (or Austrian) night train was on a Monday night in February 2008, so I don't have too many data points. Most sleeper trains in Europe are losing money and the German railways are withdrawing their last sleeper trains this year (Austrian railways are still continuing) because they lose money. Outside of summer, occupancy is typically rather low, which is also my own experience even when I tend to book more comfortable classes (Liegewagen or Schlafwagen).
    – gerrit
    Mar 1, 2016 at 11:45

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