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So what's new here? Slow-ish night trains are very common in Russia. I've used them more times than I care to count. They're a good fit for traveling between St

So what's new here? Slow-ish night trains are very common in Russia. I've used them more times than I care to count. They're a good fit for traveling between St Petersburg and Moscow. Sure, even the most luxurious class РЖД offers doesn't come close to this, but other than that...

rob74 4y ago
What's new? Nothing - except that night trains have been slowly dying out in Western Europe (the German railways DB completely cancelled their own night/car trains a few years ago and gave up the car loading facilities - but DB is known for its willingness to prioritize cost savings over maintaining or expanding its network), and now they are seeing a resurgence...
- cinntaile 4y ago
  It's a bit early to tell if it's a resurgence, so far everything is in the planning phase. Travelling by train in extra comfort sounds nice, but that is only if you don't have frequent stops and you don't have to switch trains in the middle of the night. Solutions like this one look like they'll be very expensive. It would be interesting to put the whole cabin on movable parts and use control theory to keep the cabin steady at all times. To remove the repetitive train track sounds for extra luxury. I hope they succeed.
  - rob74 4y ago
    Actually the Talgo trainsets I mentioned in another comment are apparently very quiet (only one axle per car) and steady running (their special setup counteracts the tendency of conventional carriages to swing from side to side https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting_oscillation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting_oscillation) - so Deutsche Bahn was on to something when they ordered these for use as night trains. Unfortunately I never got to travel with one while they were still in use. Most train tracks in Western Europe are continuously welded nowadays (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_track#Continuous_welded_rail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_track#Continuous_welde...), so no "repetitive train track sounds", except at points/switches.
chrisseaton 4y ago
> So what's new here? ... even the most luxurious class РЖД offers doesn't come close to this That's the whole point.
thriftwy 4y ago
...and they're the only viable option for getting to parts of Russian south, now that airplanes don't go there due to its proximity to the war theater.
lbriner 4y ago
In the west, the economics are stacked against trains and usually require government subsidy to run, sleeper trains are some of the most expensive since they use lots of staff and carriages that are not much use for anything else. This company is trying the luxury angle so that people would pay more than they might for a "normal" train and therefore the business might be viable. Lots of people do use charters and luxury trains so it might not be crazy but the difficult part will be not running too many services to cost money but not too few that they are not useful for the traveller.

rob74 4y ago

What's new? Nothing - except that night trains have been slowly dying out in Western Europe (the German railways DB completely cancelled their own night/car trains a few years ago and gave up the car loading facilities - but DB is known for its willingness to prioritize cost savings over maintaining or expanding its network), and now they are seeing a resurgence...

cinntaile 4y ago
It's a bit early to tell if it's a resurgence, so far everything is in the planning phase. Travelling by train in extra comfort sounds nice, but that is only if you don't have frequent stops and you don't have to switch trains in the middle of the night. Solutions like this one look like they'll be very expensive. It would be interesting to put the whole cabin on movable parts and use control theory to keep the cabin steady at all times. To remove the repetitive train track sounds for extra luxury. I hope they succeed.
- rob74 4y ago
  Actually the Talgo trainsets I mentioned in another comment are apparently very quiet (only one axle per car) and steady running (their special setup counteracts the tendency of conventional carriages to swing from side to side https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting_oscillation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting_oscillation) - so Deutsche Bahn was on to something when they ordered these for use as night trains. Unfortunately I never got to travel with one while they were still in use. Most train tracks in Western Europe are continuously welded nowadays (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_track#Continuous_welded_rail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_track#Continuous_welde...), so no "repetitive train track sounds", except at points/switches.

chrisseaton 4y ago

> So what's new here? ... even the most luxurious class РЖД offers doesn't come close to this That's the whole point.

thriftwy 4y ago

...and they're the only viable option for getting to parts of Russian south, now that airplanes don't go there due to its proximity to the war theater.

lbriner 4y ago

In the west, the economics are stacked against trains and usually require government subsidy to run, sleeper trains are some of the most expensive since they use lots of staff and carriages that are not much use for anything else. This company is trying the luxury angle so that people would pay more than they might for a "normal" train and therefore the business might be viable. Lots of people do use charters and luxury trains so it might not be crazy but the difficult part will be not running too many services to cost money but not too few that they are not useful for the traveller.