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Everything about the "Nacht-ICs" of Deutsche Bahn

On nightride.com you'll find around 28 DB night train routes. But are they really 'proper' night trains? And everything else you need to know.
Published on 14 February 2025 — 2 min. readUpdated on 20 April 2026
timo
Timo Grossenbacher
Seats in a night ICE train at dawn
Photo by Christian Lue / Unsplash

Deutsche Bahn actually pulled out of the night train business back in 2016, discontinuing its City-Nightline services. And yet, for some time now, it has been operating a growing number of IC, ICE, and EC trains that run exclusively overnight. This makes it possible to cover long distances overnight (ideally while sleeping, or at least dozing). The trains also run from Germany to other countries, namely the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, and seasonally even to Denmark.

Where can I book?

You'll find all of Deutsche Bahn's night ICs on our handy price-comparison platform:

Hold on, are these *really* night trains?

Opinions are divided on that. As true-blue night train fans, we'd say: sort of, but leaning towards no. There are no couchette or sleeping cars; you travel in seats. The lights usually stay on, and the journey isn't exactly comfortable – the author knows what he's talking about. Nevertheless, these services let you cover long distances overnight for a relatively low price. That's why we decided to include DB's offering on nightride.com as well.

What should I keep in mind?

As a rule, the trains stop at quite a few stations where people get on and off. So there's always something going on, and as for privacy, you can forget it. To get a bit of peace and quiet anyway, we recommend the following:

  • A sleep mask and earplugs (or even better, noise-cancelling headphones) are a must.
  • Travel in a group; it's safer and also more pleasant. You can't lock your belongings away, and theft is a real possibility (especially during stops in the middle of the night).
  • Treat yourself to first class. The price difference is usually small, but the seats are a bit more comfortable, and you get more legroom and space.
  • Book at least a month in advance. You can often still find 'Super-Sparpreise' (super saver fares), which are significantly cheaper than flexible tickets.
  • Many trains have separate compartments (with doors) – try to reserve a seat in one of those. It's more comfortable and probably a bit safer too.

Which routes are there?

A PDF from Deutsche Bahn provides information on this. You can find it here. Here, we've summarised the most important routes for you:

From Berlin

From Hamburg

From Munich

From Vienna

From Zurich

As we are currently working on expanding the connections on nightride.com, this list will grow in the future. Last updated: 1 May 2025.