I’m on my way to Hamburg and thought it would be a good idea to take the daily night train from Basel instead of flying.

In recent years, the European railway companies, most of which are still state owned or at least heavily subsidised by their governments, have invested a lot in their infrastructure and rolling stocking. Leading the way are the Österreichischen Bundesbahnen – ÖBB, who operate the Railjet and Nightjet trains. The Nightjets from Switzerland are operated as a joint venture with the Schweizerischen Bundesbahnen – SBB.

Dinner at Mövenpick Puro

If I’m doing this, I want to do it Agatha Christie style. Which is why I have a reservation for dinner at 19h00 at Puro, the main restaurant of the Mövenpick Hotel at the opposite end of the square in front of the railway station. The Mövenpick sits in the location where previously the old Basel Hilton once stood.

The service at Puro is always friendly and pleasant. The cuisine they serve is an interesting take on modern Peruvian fusion, if there is such a thing. Whatever it is, it’s very nice.

Getting to Basel SBB Railway Station

On my way across the square from the Mövenpick hotel to the station, I make a short detour to the Strasbourg monument which sits directly facing the railway station. The monument is a gift from the city of Strasbourg to express their gratitude to the Swiss for providing humanitarian aid when the city was besieged during one of the many the Franco-Prussian wars. The woman on the right is Helvetia, the personification of the Swiss nation, protectively holding her shield over the children of Strasbourg.

If her face looks familiar to you, that’s because the monument was designed by Bartholdi, who also created the famous Statue of Liberty in New York.

Boarding

The train arrives in Basel from Zürich at 21h52 and departs again to Hamburg at 22h15. At 21h45 I receive a text notification that the train will be leaving from platform 9.

Sleeper Cabin with Ensuite Bathroom

I’ve booked a twin cabin with an ensuite bathroom in the sleeping car. The first thing I notice as I step aboard the train is how clean and new everything looks. I’m in cabin number 1, which has bunk berths.

The cabin is more spacious than I was expecting and large enough for two adults to move around easily. The berths have already been made up for the night. Each berth has two pillows and an amazingly fluffy, thick duvet.

The cabin is well-designed. There’s a mobile charger, an electricity plug, reading lamp, and a small storage compartment near the head of the bed.

The bathroom is very small, but it certainly beats having to leave the cabin to go to the loo. It’s also very clean. The only thing I’m a bit unsure of, is the shower. I’m not fully convinced I’ll fit in and be able to close the shower door.

All in all, the shower is not bad. The pressure is okay and being fully enclosed means that there is zero spillage. The temperature regulation is responsive. To activate the shower, there is a button on the wall. However, to conserve water, the spray stops after about 45 seconds. So, even though I manage to fit in sideways, this is definitely more a perfunctory experience than an enjoyable one. But I’ll take it.

Dining – Breakfast

A complimentary continental breakfast is served about ninety minutes out of Hamburg. When I enter the room, there’s a card on the small table by the window with a whole list of items to choose from. You can select six items off the list, with further items costing extra, including the hot egg dishes.

The breakfast service starts between 06h30 and 07h00. The trays are delivered directly to the cabin. The breakfast consists of a plate with two bread rolls and two slices of Gouda cheese. Then there’s butter, cream cheese with herbs, strawberry jam and what must be the vilest cup of coffee in the northern hemisphere.

Arrival at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof

The Nightjet pulls into Hamburg Hauptbahnhof at 08h18, with a delay of eighteen minutes to its scheduled arrival time. One of the big advantages of travelling by train, of course, is that you arrive right in the city centre and don’t need to make your way into town.

It’s a gorgeous day here. There’s still a nip in the air but it feels like it’s going to be a warm day. I quickly locate the railway station’s baggage storage and dump my bags in a locker. I’ve booked a tour of the Elbphilharmonie at 11h15, which gives me plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast at Mutterland, just off to the side of the Hauptbahnhof.

Conclusion

The Nightjet from Basel to Hamburg is an interesting experience. The train itself, and specifically the new, modern sleeping cars are very nice. The width of the berth is adequate and although the thin mattress is firm, it’s comfortable enough. Of course, having an en suite bathroom is nice, but I think if there’s going to be a next time, I would likely settle for an en suite toilet and do without the shower, simply because it’s too small and narrow to have a decent shower. Other than that, I didn’t really sleep very well on the train. In fact, I hardly sleep at all.

Here in Europe aviation is currently facing a strong head wind. There is an orchestrated effort by opportunistic, green policy makers to make flying singlehandedly responsible for climate change. In contrast the railways are treated like the new Wunderkind that can do no wrong. Which is, in my view, an overly simplistic and somewhat naive view and, frankly, a bit hypocritical.

If the intention is to stop people from flying, especially on short-haul routes, the railway infrastructure across the European continent is going to have to expand substantially. These are infrastructure projects that should have been started many years ago for us to be ready for what comes nexts. But so far, that has not happened. The railways face substantial obstacles too. First, there is the fact that the cost of expanding the infrastructure is very high, especially in relation to how much of an increase in capacity it brings – which is why most railway companies are still state owned and heavily subsidised. The second is that the big railway stations are usually located in the city centres, where real estate is at a premium and room for expansion is limited. And third, the European railway companies are still lagging far, far behind the airlines in terms of dynamic pricing of fares and interline agreements. For example, if I travel by train from Basel in Switzerland to Maastricht in The Netherlands, I end up having to purchase no less than four separate tickets on the German, Dutch, and Belgian railway companies. And if I miss a connection, that’s basically my problem alone to sort out.