TRIP REPORT | Budapest to Prague Night Train | EN METROPOL EuroNight sleeper | ČD Sleeping car
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- čas přidán 20. 05. 2023
- I took EuroNight sleeper train from Budapest to Prague aboard České dráhy's (Czech Railways) WLABmee lůžkový vůz / sleeping car. These carriages were modernised between 2020 - 2023.
A big thanks to my $5+ Patreons:
Dan & Linda
Nigel Lamb
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John
Sam Jennings
James D.
DETAILS:
Railway company: ČD
Train number: EN 476 Metropol
Category: EuroNight
Route: Budapest Nyugati - Praha hl..n
Duration: 13h03m
Class: Standard sleeper
Coach / Berth: 364 / 51
Train type: Loco hauled train
Train composition:
ČD Class 380 locomotive
Coaches: Prague portion: WLABmee823 Sleeping car
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A fine example of how a sleeper train can still work on a short route. I wish more operators around Europe would take note of this.
Yes, I fully agree :-)
Hello Pete, I just watched your Trip Budapest in Prague. It was a treat the night train. I have the impression that in terms of price it is quite affordable better than the prices in France. There is still comfort and food and security. I love to listen to the rolls of the train. Congratulations for this pleasant sharing Pete. My best regards from Dives Cabourg in Prague 👍👋🤩🤩📽️🚅
Hello Pascal! Thanks so much for watching! Yes, night trains in Central Europe are much better than in France. Many countries have discontinued sleeper trains in the past, such as Germany or France, and now they have no suitable sleepers to renew night trains. Greetings from Prague :-)
This is a very clean looking modern train and I really enjoyed watching this video. Thanks.
Thanks so much for watching! These carriages have recently been upgraded, that's why they look so new :-) Greetings from Prague :-)
Thank You for that info, that you give about the train.
Thanks for watching :-)
I always enjoy watching your videos, Pete. No silly comments or annoying music. Nice and relaxing! Great content! Keep making more videos! I wish you'd soon explore other continents too. Your videos remind me of taking the train from Holesovice to Nove Zamky, despite having booked a 1st class, I spent the whole journey in a dining car drinking beers :D
Thanks so much! I hope that after a break of several years I will be able to travel outside of Europe again :-)
Well, when there is a dining car available, it is recommended that it's used and not go to waste, no matter the class we are booked in :)) I like spending time at the booth of a train restaurant more than anything
Super Film 😊
Thanks so much! :-)
Nice one Pete, I love your overnight train journeys seems on this one the train is stopped for a while at the station, I’d prefer the train motion but I suppose others are happy there’s no movement, good post
Thank you so much! I think this stop wasn't so bad for passengers :-)
Great ride as always, yes, the train seemed a bit noisy, that's why I always carry ear plugs with me. Thanks for taking me along.
Thanks so much! It's the same for me, I always wear earplugs :-D
I always sleep with earplugs as I'm generally sensitive to noise when I sleep. Nevertheless, you can still hear low-frequency noises, which is one of the reasons why it is always difficult for me to sleep in a night train. So it's good that the train stands still for 6 hours in between.
I might use this connection in the opposite direction in the fall, but that's not certain yet.
Great helpful video - thanks
Nice report 👍👍
Thank you :-)
EXCELLENT CONTENT.
Its amazing that you made this trip again! My next goal is to take this train (not sure yet, wich direction), and try the CD sleeper.
Are you planning to travel with another route with sleeper opereted by MÁV? From Budapest to Zürich, Stuttgart, or Brasov. These trains are departures from, and arrives to the Keleti station, where with your ticket to the sleeper you can wait at the Bussnies Lounge for free next to platform 9.
I traveled this route again because now there are operated refurbished WLABmee823 sleeping cars that I wanted to try. Yes, I am planning one of the MÁV night trains that depart from Budapest Keleti station :-)
Thank uuuuuuuu! Can’t wait to watch it 😍😍😍😍
Thanks so much :-)
14:03: I was conscious that much abandoned western coach stock found great value again in the Czech Rep. I didn't knew this was also happening with hauling stock. This former SNCB class 12 engine reminds me a lot to the slovak Class 350 or the swiss Re4/4 IV. I remember seeing pictures(from Spiez/Switzerland!) about a sister class - SNCB 16? - hauling epic Express trains like the "Freccia del Sole" over many borders - long before Vectron or Traxx.
The modernisation of the sleeping car is interesting - just the guards' area kept the sliding windows - that's unfair )) It's truely a great thing, how czech railways manage to offer attractive overnight transfers also between shorter distances. I think it's a better idea to offer reliable schedules on shorter/middle distances, than failing by trying to offer distances like Berlin-Stockholm, Amsterdam-Barcelona. Nighttime is often filled with track maintenance and slower freigth and therefor less performanant than daytime.
Those locomotives originally from SNCB are complete reconstructions made by CZ LOKO (class 365), where only the body, frame and bogies remained from the original locomotives. Otherwise, the set is a new locomotive, intended for freight transport on lines with a voltage of 25 kV and 3 kV.
Yes, these refurbished sleeping cars are pretty good. It's good that ČD still maintain the network of night trains. Modernized couchette cars (former ÖBB) are now also returning to service.
Wow great video:)
Thanks so much! :-)
Great Video....
Bellevideohenri😊
If you did this 5 to 10 years ago you would have to get off at Prague because the final destination is Berlin Hauptbahnhof via Dresden Hauptbahnhof and Elbtalbahn Dresden Decin. Excellent video Pete
Thanks so much! Yes I know .. it was a true Metropol.. Now the Budapest - Berlin portion runs through Poland together with the Nightjet train.
@@PeteBrandy probably from December the ÖBB part will be cancelled and the train is going to come back to the Decin - Praha section.
19:35 That view was sick! At first I almost thought you were chasing the train with a drone :D
Moc pěkný! Včera jsem potkal Nightjet a říkal si, že taky musím zkusit
Díky moc! Jo, to bys měl, ÖBB Nightjet jsou skvělé :-)
Super video vagón vypadá pěkně.
Díky moc! Po té rekonstrukci vypadají celkem dobře :-)
❤
Úžasný video 👍
Děkuji moc :-)
@@PeteBrandy nemáš zač 😁
Hezké video
Díky moc! :-)
Až na ten hluk který je ve voze slyšet, tak se mi po modernizaci hodně líbí, hlavně ta imitace dřeva nebo co to je. A tím plněným knedlíkem si mi dělal chutě i teď v devět večer... :D
Ta modernizace je celkem dobře vypadající, ale bohužel to má i nedostatky, hlavně ta hlučnost a osvětlení.. ale ty vozy se ještě stále ladí po té rekonstrukci, protože některé kusy se úplně nepovedly. Konkrétně tento byl modernizován jako 4. v pořadí.
Good to see that CD are serious about night trains as they have now modernized whole fleet (carriages similar to NightJet are on a very good condition). And what happend with Warsaw-Budapest trip from your channel upload 2 weeks ago?
Yes, ČD now have very nice sleeper and couchette cars. Unfortunately, there was a mistake in the video Warsaw - Budapest and it will have to be completely remaked or filmed again.
Great video Pete, I'm hoping to do Prague to Warsaw, or any type of night train this summer. I have a question, is there any freight activity in Prague to check out freight trains?
finally there's reusable cutlery for breakfast as the obb does 😀
Dear Pete, I recently watched your trip to Prague from Budapest, where you showed some stops entering and exiting the city and county. I would like to suggest you mention distance and time to your destinations at each stop country to country. Thanks
Hello, thank you for the suggestion, it's an interesting idea, at least for more important stations :-)
Good report, can you pay in any currency that was listed ? like EURO and HUF ?
Wow! A big menu for an overnight train. What dish is that next to chicken schnitzel on menu? A multi-layered cake or sandwich?
The dish next to chicken schnitzel on menu is a multi-layered cake called "Medovník" (honey cake).
@@PeteBrandy 😋yummy😋
Palec na horu 🙂😉👍
Díky 😎
Why isn't this train routed through Vienna? Isn't the track better? I rode the line between Budapest, Vienna and Prague in 2009 and I think the ride was pretty good except I was sitting in a hot car. Everybody was sweating but not complaining but I found the conductor and apparently saved the day because everyone in the coach was applauding me. 👏👏👏LOL. I guess I was being the typical big mouth aggressive American but I couldn't help it because I was an Amtrak conductor who had experienced too many hot cars during my 30-year career. The AC on the Budapest-Vienna train couldn't be fixed so we opened the small top windows and it felt better than AC so everybody was happy for a hot minute or so.🤣✌
This train does not go through Vienna for several reasons, on the one hand there are higher fees for using the tracks through Austria, another reason is the serviceability of other stations in Slovakia and there are also many other direct trains between Budapest and Vienna.
😊
:-)
Breakfast beverage served with a real glass instead of a plastic cup.
Yes, but only in single compartments, which are considered as 1st class.
Is it true that now this night train is attached to the 270 Metropolitan leaving at 17:29 and arriving in Breclav at around 21:00?
And while the rest of the 270 moves towards Prague (arriving there at 00:19) the sleeping car(s) stay in Breclav for the night, catching the morning 586 at 5:07
Hey there, nice video, I think this is first with the WLABmee after modernization, thanks for reviewing it :)
It's great that ČD modernized these older sleeping cars. If you add to that WLABmz cars from Siemens, it's a very decent fleet. Certainly better than what the ZSSK have, with exactly 0 modernized sleeping cars! :D I will be travelling myself on this type in a few days and I made sure to book this one instead of WLABmz, so I'm intrigued to see it myself.
Anyway, could you please clarify to me what did you mean by "more decent lighting of the buttons" in 25:30? If it's too dim, I would say that it's a good thing. I travel a lot in WLABmz cars and lighting on those buttons is extremely bright to me. Really annoying when your eyes acommodate for the dark and you see the whole compartment illuminated just by those buttons :D
Otherwise I have to agree with your assesment, the night lamp looks quite wierd and I'm bit disapointed that, again, it's a blue light. I miss the soft, yellow glow of the older sleeping cars and I always enjoy it when I have the chance to travel in older WLAB. Fortunately for me, it can be still found in the archaic fleet of ZSSK, god bless them for their incompetence with modernizing :D
Thanks for watching! Yes, the modernization was quite successful, but I have the feeling that these cars are still being fine-tuned. As for the buttons, the light from their backlight (they have an LED ring around them) is quite visible at night, personally it doesn't bother me that much, but I have feedback from a few people that it bothered them because it is quite bright at night.
Overall, compared to the WLABmz Siemens carriagess, these WLABmee carriages are more spacious (10 vs. 12 cabins), but the Siemens ones are better designed.
@@PeteBrandy Thanks a lot for the clarification. So I understood it other way and unfortunately they are very bright again. Oh well, nothing can be perfect. But even with those problems it seems like a good modernization, though I'll have to try it myself.
@@borispankovcin9359 how was it?
@@CalinFR Generally good, but with one big flaw, the main ceiling light is still shining just a bit when turned off. I don't know why, it might be a 'feature', so that there is some light for passengers going down in the night, but it also looks a lot like a 'bug' with some electricity leaking in the LEDs which makes them shine just a bit. I was on the upper bed and it was very disturbing for me. After I changed to lower bed it was better, but still, after this I'm actively trying to avoid this car type. That's really unfortunate, because otherwise the modernization is nice and cabins are also more spacious compared to WLABmz, because it's an older car.
Soundproofing is also lacking, but for me it's not a problem until someone is snoring. I could slightly hear 1 guy from the other end of the car. Can't imagine being in the compartment next to him.
@@borispankovcin9359thanks for the report. I too, used these cars recently from Bratislava to Prague a month ago on the Metropol. I was really enthuziastic about it, but that kinda faded out. They are spacious indeed and I could tell everything is newly refurbished. The light at night was a nuisance like you said, but I always travel with blindfolds and got used to them while sleeping. When I saw Pete's video of the train staying in Breclav for hours, I thought to myself that there was an opportunity for me to get some sleep. That was not the case. Because of bad soundproofing and the car being moved around all night (sometimes decoupled completely from power - lights, charging ports, wifi, the water stopped working for a couple of hours) and then just standing still with no background track noise, I could hear absolutely everything that happened inside and outside the coach. As you said, I had the unfortunate luck of having someone snoring from the compartment next to mine. I do have earplugs on hand too, and had to use them (I avoid them as much as I can). When it finally started moving, the sleep got better, but then there were only 3 hours or less left to Prague.
P.S. When the car is decoupled from all sources of electricity, along with the amenities enumerated above, a certain specific sleeper car background sound disappears. It makes everything dead quiet and every tiny bit of a sound would be now amplified :))
Hi Pete, this is such a great and helpful video. I'm Salma from Indonesia. I plan to travel with this exact same train from Budapest to Prague on April 2024 with my family (me, my dad, my mom and my sister). But when I tried to booked the ticket from the website, we got separate seats. I want to book the double bed cabin so I can sleep with my sister, and my father can sleep with my mother. How can I arrange the seat so that we can be together and not separated? I need more informations about train in Europe because this is my first time going there. I really hope you can help me with this one. Thank you in advance!
Hi, thanks for watching! If you book your tickets via České dráhy, after you search the connection, for a compartment for 2 people, at first you need to choose 2 passengers (passengers - change - add another person). Then for "Ticket" you need to click on "change" and in the menu in the item "seat" change to sleeper and under "number" change to "double" (which means double bed configuration). Also, don't forget to check the "We want to travel in the same compartment". Subsequently, you will already see in the reservation 2x ticket (2nd class) + Reservation for sleeper for 2 person..
Hi Pete - I'll be taking this Budapest to Prague train in November this year and have some questions since this would be my 1st time in europe night train. Can you help me with some information ?
Hi, if you have any questions, you can write me via instagram (petestrains).
Hi, I have a question. When you stop at Breclav at the stopover, do you just stay in the train or you need to get out and change the train? Thank you
you stay inside. at one point they move you around a bit, attaching and detaching cars
Jako obvykle, bezvadné video!! Opravdu jsou k rozeznávání veškeré důležité detaily. Ale zajímalo by mě jedna věc: proč když jezdíš v deluxe máš napsané na tom sáčku deluxe a když normálním tak nic. Ale nepoznal jsem rozdíl obsahu. 😅
Díky moc! Jediný rozdíl mezi Deluxe a Standard amenity kitem je že v deluxe je navíc malé balení sprchového gelu.. :-D
Excellent video, but sorry about the noise level. Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic need to get an EU loan and fix the damn tracks. I was hoping you had a smooth and quiet ride followed by a leisurely breakfast in the nicely-appointed restaurant car. This is the kind of night train I love but with an excellent ride quality.
Thanks so much! This mainly concerns the track in Slovakia and Hungary. In the Czech Republic, the Breclav - Brno section has been newly modernized and there is a maximum speed of 160 km/h (99 mph), but between Brno - Prague now trains running on a diversion route, as the main corridor is undergoing reconstruction. In July, trains on the route Prague - Brno will return to the main corridor, so travel will be better again.
@@PeteBrandy True, but don't forget that while the Prague-Brno train corridor is of utmost importance in Czechia, the same cannot be stated about the connected section in Slovakia and Hungary...in both countries, especially in Hungary (given the shortness of the track) the Budapest-Bratislava section is of secondary importance at most...
The track quality is not that bad in Czechia, however as Pete has mentioned, the diversion route via Highlands is in a worse state as it has been mostly used for freight in the past. The corridors are relatively new, not exactly high-speed but up to 160 km/h with modern rails and concrete sleepers. However, the state of railways around Bratislava and from Budapest to Bratislava are truly terrible. 😢
@@jmsmilfajt I rode a train from Budapest to Vienna in 2009. I don't remember a rough ride, but would that be the same route?
@@samtrak1204 thats a different route...
hai pete I just watched you trip from budapest to praha could please let me know where we can buy the tiket thanks🙏🙏🙏
Hi, I bought my ticket from ČD (České dráhy)
18:21 Here comes EC 271 Metropolitan, na který jsem za 20 minut nastoupil 😀
Jo, to je ten první ranní Metropolitan co začíná v Brně, ne? Ten myslím jede z Prahy těsně po půlnoci jako IC 571 Jiří Bouda a pak přechází právě na EC 271 Brno - Budapest.
@@PeteBrandy Ano, přesně tak
The train seems to be running very slow beside the Danube. What is the actual speed?
I think between 60 - 80 km/h (37 - 50 mph).
Well, there is a reason for that...for ex. the degree of the curve (Bend of the Danube as its called...)....the track is literally curving for 10 kms or so...
How does 6 bed couchette look like? And does it have shower?
The couchette cars usually only run during the season. These on Prague - Budapest route are former ÖBB Bcmz couchettes (I have a similar one in my RegioJet Košice - Prague video). These couchettes do not have a shower, but only small washrooms with a sink at one end of the carriage (couchette cars do not have sinks in the compartment).
@@PeteBrandy oh,. Are the compartments connected? Is it ok to use shower in next compartments?
Is this for real? The train stayed in Breclav, without moving for 6 hours?
In reality, these are only through cars (in the summer with couchette cars), which run in the section Budapest - Břeclav with the EuroNight train Budapest / Graz - Warsaw (+ also the Nightjet portion Graz - Břeclav - Berlin). At Břeclav, the Prague portion is waiting for the morning InterCity train to Prague, which is why these cars are there for 6 hours (but it is good for sleeping). But according to the draft of the new timetable, the Graz - Berlin portion should return to the historical route via Prague and Dresden, so I assume that the journey time of the Budapest - Prague portion will also be different.
I am curious why the service to Praha (476) takes 13 hours 08 min, while the return journey with 477 is just 10 hours 26 min. Why such a difference?
The difference is due to the different length of the stopover at Břeclav station, which is different in each direction.
@@PeteBrandy makes sense. Thank you
Ahoj jaký máš model iphona furt máš starší 11-12 nebo máš už 15 pro nebo pro max a další otázka natočiš trip report ComfortJet až bude nasazen a kdy by to bylo 😅😅😅😅
Ahoj, aktuálně 13 pro, ale chystám se na upgrade na 15 pro. ComfortJet je v plánu, ale zatím asi ani lidi u ČD neví kdy vyjede .. už na něj čekám 2 týdny a nic :-D
@@PeteBrandy to bude lepší mít 15 pro než buide confortjet a můžeš klidně i do 4k60 videa aby bylo plynulejší video :-)
💗🤍💚👍👍👍
Řeší se to nějak v rezervčním systému, pokud člověk nechce jet sólo, aby spolu jeli cizí lidi jen jednoho pohlaví?
Ano, volí se přímo při nákupu vždy jestli muž nebo žena podle toho rezervační systém zvolí typ oddílu.
13 h? A kudy jede dle jízdního řadu je v 23 h v Břeclavi a pak info končí
Pokud se hledá podle čísla vlaku, tak končí v Břeclavi protože tam se ten vlak dělí na další a každý má pak jiné číslo. Pokud se ale kupuje jízdenka, nebo se hledá podle trasy, tak jsou tam uvedeny všechny stanice až do Prahy. Je to uvedené i ve videu že vůz stojí 6 hodin v Břeclavi a pak pokračuje ráno s vlakem IC 584 Metropol. U vlaků EuroNight některá část vystřídá třeba i 3 čísla vlaku, jako například přímé vozy Budapest - Varszawa, které jedou jako EuroNight Metropol, z Břeclavi pak jako Nightjet a z Bohumína potom jako IC Chopin.
@@PeteBrandy 6 hodin stojí v Břeclavi? Hmm tak to vymyslel nějaký koumák, to rovnou mužů jet rannim spojem... Stačí když se jede z Humenného, že má čekačku 2 h v Košicích..
just tried it. The beds are horrible, hard as a wooden board. Too bad about the rest which is in tip-top shape
Těch šest hodin v Břeclavi působí hrozivě (a zbytečně), nicméně pro někoho, kdo má problém usnout v jedoucím vlaku, to může být záchrana, jak se alespoň trochu vyspat (tím síš, že tam ten vlak přijíždí v rozumný čas). Je ale škoda, že nejede z Břeclavi nic dřív, na co by se ten vlak dal připojit, příjezd do Prahy kolem sedmé by tomu slušel víc. Na druhou stranu v dobách přímého vlaku Pannonia (Bukurešť - Praha), jezdil tenhle vlak přímo na tomhle. Odjezd z Budapešti v podobný čas, příjezd do Prahy krátce po páté ráno. A to fakt nebylo dobré.
Myslím, že to je celkem dobrý kompromis aby se dalo zvládnout alespoň těch 6 až 7 hodin spánku. Většinou ještě nastupují cestující v Bratislavě, takže vůz utichne až v té Břeclavi. Kdyby jelo něco dřív, tak by to asi dopadlo jako Zemplín, kde ani nemá smysl jít spát :-D Ono také dost záleží jestli člověk jede domů nebo má v cílové stanici program, v tom 2. případě je ráno potřeba vstát dříve aby se dalo stihnout snídani a také ze sebe trochu udělat člověka :-D
@@PeteBrandy Souhlas.
I cannot understand, why are they pushing this route? The Slovaks don't care about the Kúty - Štúrovo line, neither the Hungarians about Budapest - Szob in terms of international transport.
The sleeper coach,
I don't know why, but all the modernizations from the class ČSD Bmee into any other, as Bmeer, Bmz, Bdmpee, Bbdgmee, Bdghmeer ... are rattling, squeeking, roaring.
I am curious, if the ex-DR Halberstadter Seitenganger on Görlitz bogies does the same ?
Yes, I think that these originally Bmee carriages are not suitable for conversion to sleeper cars. There are also some of these types of cars in production in Germany, but I think they already have other types of bogies.
Strašne málo si spal
V tomto vlaku celkem dlouho, něco kolem 5 hodin :-D Byl to 3. noční vlak během 3 dnů a v předešlých 2 vlacích jsem naspal jen něco kolem 3 hodin :-D
Geniální video 😁👍
Děkuji moc :-)