In December, as every year in the middle of Advent, Europe’s rail operators ring the changes with the introduction of new timetables for the following 12 months. This year, the new schedules debut on Sunday 11 December. These new timetables for 2023 will see the welcome return of international night trains to both Stuttgart and Genoa.

New night-train services

Until March 2020, Genoa enjoyed a weekly direct overnight service to Vienna. That train was operated by RZD Russian Railways and continued to Moscow. Now Austrian operator Nightjet steps in and fills the gap and not merely with a weekly train as prior to the pandemic, but with a daily service.

Departure is from Genoa’s Piazza Principe station at 19.40 with arrival in Vienna at 08.52. These are much better timings than the former Russian service which had an uncomfortably early arrival in Vienna around six in the morning. The new daily Nightjet from Genoa to Vienna will also carry sleeping cars to Munich.

Stuttgart’s happy return to Europe’s night-train network comes with a lovely crop of new overnight connections bundled into a single departure from Stuttgart at 20.29 each evening. This train will serve destinations across five countries allowing passengers to travel in the comfort of sleeping cars to Budapest (arrival at 09.19), Ljubljana (08.30), Zagreb (10.39), Venice (08.34) and Vienna (06.34).