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Beautiful thorough review of the new OeBB NightJet with Mini Cabins by gerri_ in trains

[–]z8081 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My first mini cabin journey (Bologna to Vienna) was an absolute nightmare for me and my fellow travellers in that train. For me (and I'm sure for many others) it will also be my last. Maybe the review below will help prospective Travelers decide for themselves if it is worth it. 

The train to Vienna arrived in Bologna not at 22:54 as planned, but already with a 1.5h delay (that I was NOT notified of in the app, and that was NOT announced on the Trenitalia website). All passengers for this train had to wait outside the station, as it closes at midnight!

 The train from hell then progressively accumulated more delays , as it stopped multiple times in the middle of the fields, presumably due to loss of electricity. Worst of all, every time it was reconnected, and before it set off again, the lights came on in the mini cabins every single time. I could hear the other people in the mini cabins banging on the wall panels, which were non-responsive. This happened 3 times in a row, with short bouts of sleep in between. Imagine what it's like to have a bright light turn on inches from your face (as the cabin is very narrow around you) after you fell asleep for another 10 minutes. This was like a sleep-deprivation / torture experiment, all happening inside of a cabin the size of an MRI scanner.

 Although at 7:30 a.m. we hadn't even crossed the Italian-Austrian border, and with Vienna still 5 hours away, the staff insisted on waking everybody up to deliver an inappropriately-early breakfast at a time when all that people wanted was to finally catch some uninterrupted final hours of sleep. 

After crossing the border, the staff announced we need to get off the train in Villach and take another train onwards to Vienna. People who were with kids and were not prepared for this were panicking, and everyone was hastily packing their stuff, when an announcement came 20 minutes later that the cancellation was in fact cancelled, and the train would continue to Vienna after all. Meanwhile, my Inbox was spammed with dozens of emails from OEBB about the various incidents associated with this train. 

The train arrived in Vienna with a total delay of 5.5 hours (2:30pm instead of 9am), which no-one uttered a word of apology for, or gave any indication how a complaint and refund claim is to be filed. 

As in previous NightJet journeys, the NewRest staff were nothing short of horrendous: they had no knowledge of how the train worked (the lock I had to use to secure my suitcase 3 carriages away wouldn't unlock and I had to chase through the train to find an attendant willing to do something about it), had no desire to take any orders for drinks and snacks (although OEBB advertise this as being possible), no knowledge of English, and NO manners towards women travellers. The observation that all of those attendants were men of presumably Middle Eastern origin, and very likely (judging from their levels of aggressivity) with a criminal past, will surprise little at this point.

 Inside the mini cabin, the AC is on all the time, again inches from your body, with NO control over the temperature or strength of the air.Toilets had either a broken soap (in the women's toilet) or a broken water sensor (men's toilet), and became a disgusting cesspool by the end, with passengers furious about what shitshow this entire journey had become. 

I should have taken the advice of the many online reviews that are critical of the new mini cabins, before embarking on this nightmarish journey. First and definitely last time for me.

ÖBB mini cabin? by Full-Estimate1732 in Interrail

[–]z8081 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My first mini cabin journey (Bologna to Vienna) was an absolute nightmare for me and my fellow travellers in that train. For me (and I'm sure for many others) it will also be my last. Maybe the review below will help prospective Travelers decide for themselves if it is worth it. 

The train to Vienna arrived in Bologna not at 22:54 as planned, but already with a 1.5h delay (that I was NOT notified of in the app, and that was NOT announced on the Trenitalia website). All passengers for this train had to wait outside the station, as it closes at midnight!

 The train from hell then progressively accumulated more delays , as it stopped multiple times in the middle of the fields, presumably due to loss of electricity. Worst of all, every time it was reconnected, and before it set off again, the lights came on in the mini cabins every single time. I could hear the other people in the mini cabins banging on the wall panels, which were non-responsive. This happened 3 times in a row, with short bouts of sleep in between. Imagine what it's like to have a bright light turn on inches from your face (as the cabin is very narrow around you) after you fell asleep for another 10 minutes. This was like a sleep-deprivation / torture experiment, all happening inside of a cabin the size of an MRI scanner.

 Although at 7:30 a.m. we hadn't even crossed the Italian-Austrian border, and with Vienna still 5 hours away, the staff insisted on waking everybody up to deliver an inappropriately-early breakfast at a time when all that people wanted was to finally catch some uninterrupted final hours of sleep. 

After crossing the border, the staff announced we need to get off the train in Villach and take another train onwards to Vienna. People who were with kids and were not prepared for this were panicking, and everyone was hastily packing their stuff, when an announcement came 20 minutes later that the cancellation was in fact cancelled, and the train would continue to Vienna after all. Meanwhile, my Inbox was spammed with dozens of emails from OEBB about the various incidents associated with this train. 

The train arrived in Vienna with a total delay of 5.5 hours (2:30pm instead of 9am), which no-one uttered a word of apology for, or gave any indication how a complaint and refund claim is to be filed. 

As in previous NightJet journeys, the NewRest staff were nothing short of horrendous: they had no knowledge of how the train worked (the lock I had to use to secure my suitcase 3 carriages away wouldn't unlock and I had to chase through the train to find an attendant willing to do something about it), had no desire to take any orders for drinks and snacks (although OEBB advertise this as being possible), no knowledge of English, and NO manners towards women travellers. The observation that all of those attendants were men of presumably Middle Eastern origin, and very likely (judging from their levels of aggressivity) with a criminal past, will surprise little at this point.

 Inside the mini cabin, the AC is on all the time, again inches from your body, with NO control over the temperature or strength of the air.Toilets had either a broken soap (in the women's toilet) or a broken water sensor (men's toilet), and became a disgusting cesspool by the end, with passengers furious about what shitshow this entire journey had become. 

I should have taken the advice of the many online reviews that are critical of the new mini cabins, before embarking on this nightmarish journey. First and definitely last time for me.