The new ski train will open up parts of the slopes - but can only be booked as part of a package holiday offered by TUI.
ADVERTISEMENTCalling all snow sport lovers - a new overnight train to some of Austria’s biggest ski resorts is launching.
TUI’s ‘Ski Express’ will depart from Amsterdam every Friday night between 23 December and 31 March.
After leaving the Dutch capital at 5:30pm, the service will stop at Utrecht, then continue directly to Austria.
“You leave on Friday evening and wake up in the mountains on Saturday morning,” TUI says.
What will the new overnight Ski Express be like?
The train will enter Austria at Wörgl, a small border city. From here, it will split into two services - one to Tirol, the other to Salzburg. En route to these destinations, it will stop at popular ski resorts Gerlos, Kirchberg, Niederau, Soll, Zell Am See, and Westendorf.
Customers can book tickets on the Ski Express via the TUI website. The train can only be booked as part of a TUI package holiday lasting 10 days, however.
"The train is a great alternative means of transport for a number of destinations. Holidaymakers above all want comfortable and easy travel, it's up to us to bring that together," said Arjan Kers, general manager of TUI Netherlands
Baggage is included in the ticket price, and travellers will have the choice between couchette cars sleeping three, four or five passengers. The three and four bed compartments can be reserved by private groups.
Passengers travelling in economy (the five-seat cars) will have to pay an additional reservation fee to be seated with their travelling companions.
While the three-bed compartments boast fixed “wider beds,” the four and five passenger cars offer only fold-out “sleeping places.”
TUI has partnered with a European startup to offer the service
The new service is part of a collaboration with GreenCityTrip, a Dutch startup offering rail travel across Europe.
The two companies already offer night trains from the Netherlands to Copenhagen, Prague, Vienna, Venice, Milan and Florence.
“After the successful start of our cooperation earlier this summer, we are very happy to bring a winter holiday product to the market with TUI. We are confident of its potential,” Hessel Winkelman and Maarten Bastian of GreenCityTrip said.
Travelling by train is a far more sustainable option than flying.
According to the European Environment Agency, rail travel accounts for 14 grams of CO2 emissions per passenger mile. Air travel generates 285 grams per passenger mile.
