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I have taken the car train from Hamburg to Vienna as a family. Pure luxury and comfort! We drive from Denmark to Hamburg(with a 2 year old), and load the fully

I have taken the car train from Hamburg to Vienna as a family. Pure luxury and comfort! We drive from Denmark to Hamburg(with a 2 year old), and load the fully packed car(stroller, luggages gifts for the in-laws etc) into the train at a special entrance, and walk into the coaches. We booked a private cabin/room for more privacy and also because we have a two year old. There were quite comfortable bunk booths as well in the same train. Sleep comfortably through the night. The train movements are soothing after a while. In the morning a serviceman in the train wakes us up with coffee and warm breakfast. Before Noon, we were driving off at Vienna towards our destination- Salzburg. I wish this facility existed everywhere - any major city to another major city across Europe. Imagine how many cars it would take off the road! I really wish the European Union does more than what it already does to unify the train systems and invest heavily in passenger focussed train tracks all across Europe. Make us not want to drive! No hours long security checks and walking in the airport. Comfortable train booths, save on hotel room costs by traveling overnight, bring a lot of luggage with you if you wish… what is not to like?! And by the way pollute less and not doom our planet.

dzhiurgis 3y ago
Something like this would cost $1000 in Australia
- plantain 3y ago
  We have it - closer to $5000. https://aussietrains.com.au/the-ghan https://aussietrains.com.au/the-ghan
- ChumpGPT 3y ago
  Trust me this is not the cross continent train that you have in Australia, this is a dumpy Euro train and Austria is a dirty old hole.
  - bmicraft 3y ago
    Tell me you've never been on an railjet without telling me...
jltsiren 3y ago
This, like many other ideas combining cars and public transport, sounds like something that doesn't scale. The exact numbers vary, but the passenger capacity of a car train is usually something like 1/2 of a normal night train or 1/3 of a normal day train, assuming that the train is fully dedicated to carrying people with cars. You also need special facilities and longer stops, because cars can't just dismount at normal platforms in a couple of minutes. On popular routes, this all means that you take more cars off the road by not carrying cars on the train.
- LargoLasskhyfv 3y ago
  > I wish this facility existed everywhere - any major city to another major city across Europe. Imagine how many cars it would take off the road! >> You also need special facilities and longer stops, because cars can't just dismount at normal platforms in a couple of minutes. So what? Point-to-point with no stops in between. Works for the chunnel, too.
- Closi 3y ago
  This implies that rail is running at capacity during the night, which I suspect isn’t true. It’s not a choice between 1 car-train or 1 normal night train - you can have both if there is line capacity. And you probably aren’t running sleeper carriages during peak hours.
  - mschuster91 3y ago
    > This implies that rail is running at capacity during the night, which I suspect isn’t true. cry-laughs in German Oh hell yes we do run at nominal capacity, actually often enough above. The transit routes are fully booked all times of the year, the demand for freight transit is insane, and every bordering country is complaining that we can't get our shit together (to no one's surprise after 30 years of perpetual budget cuts). The problem is: virtually all trans-European routes run through Germany. You can't avoid running through here.
    - Zetobal 3y ago
deleted 3y ago
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dzhiurgis 3y ago

Something like this would cost $1000 in Australia

plantain 3y ago
We have it - closer to $5000. https://aussietrains.com.au/the-ghan https://aussietrains.com.au/the-ghan
ChumpGPT 3y ago
Trust me this is not the cross continent train that you have in Australia, this is a dumpy Euro train and Austria is a dirty old hole.
- bmicraft 3y ago
  Tell me you've never been on an railjet without telling me...

jltsiren 3y ago

This, like many other ideas combining cars and public transport, sounds like something that doesn't scale. The exact numbers vary, but the passenger capacity of a car train is usually something like 1/2 of a normal night train or 1/3 of a normal day train, assuming that the train is fully dedicated to carrying people with cars. You also need special facilities and longer stops, because cars can't just dismount at normal platforms in a couple of minutes. On popular routes, this all means that you take more cars off the road by not carrying cars on the train.

LargoLasskhyfv 3y ago
> I wish this facility existed everywhere - any major city to another major city across Europe. Imagine how many cars it would take off the road! >> You also need special facilities and longer stops, because cars can't just dismount at normal platforms in a couple of minutes. So what? Point-to-point with no stops in between. Works for the chunnel, too.
Closi 3y ago
This implies that rail is running at capacity during the night, which I suspect isn’t true. It’s not a choice between 1 car-train or 1 normal night train - you can have both if there is line capacity. And you probably aren’t running sleeper carriages during peak hours.
- mschuster91 3y ago
  > This implies that rail is running at capacity during the night, which I suspect isn’t true. cry-laughs in German Oh hell yes we do run at nominal capacity, actually often enough above. The transit routes are fully booked all times of the year, the demand for freight transit is insane, and every bordering country is complaining that we can't get our shit together (to no one's surprise after 30 years of perpetual budget cuts). The problem is: virtually all trans-European routes run through Germany. You can't avoid running through here.
  - Zetobal 3y ago

deleted 3y ago

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