New night train start-up - Nox

[377electrostar]

How many coaches will Nox hope to have by first public run?

Judging how their first train on 23rd March is sold out, I'd say at least 4. There are 30 suites per carriage, so it's unsurprising that the entire train is full this early.

Will Nox have full train rake or will it be attached to another service?

In Thibualt's first video about Nox on the Simply Railway channel, he stated that Night Trains are the least punctual train type in Europe (mostly thanks to complicated shunting, etc) - so to prevent that Nox will not be attaching their trains to other services.

I can imagine this costing easily a million or so to start up, so have they got major investors and start up capitol or is Thibault wealthy enough do on own?

The second (and most recent) co-founder of Nox, Artur Hasselbach, is a "crazy financial guy" according to Thibault, who has managed to secure investment for the company. In April, Nox Mobility raised €2 million in pre-seed funding, so it seems that they've got everything sorted out on that part of the company.

Speaking of which, it seems they've bolstered their prices slightly. Their first 5 trains after launch are all at prices which their rooms were originally advertised at, even higher than the €149 max. for the Double Vista for the 25th March and 1st April (still cheaper than a private compartment in the NightJet on the same route, as expected.) Is this to meet demand or have they just completely thrown their low-cost competitiveness with airlines out of the window?

 

[AlterEgo]

Speaking of which, it seems they've bolstered their prices slightly. Their first 5 trains after launch are all at prices which their rooms were originally advertised at, even higher than the €149 max. for the Double Vista for the 25th March and 1st April (still cheaper than a private compartment in the NightJet on the same route, as expected.) Is this to meet demand or have they just completely thrown their low-cost competitiveness with airlines out of the window?

The Double Vista is a product which will launch in 2028, do you mean the suites? (Lie flat seats converting to a bed)

 

[AdamWW]

They counted as seats. If you had a ticket valid for the journey you could use one.

That was my recollection - because they squashed the same number of people into a compartment as would fit seated, there was no supplement.

 

[377electrostar]

The Double Vista is a product which will launch in 2028, do you mean the suites? (Lie flat seats converting to a bed)

I should've said "advertised price" of the Double Vista , I'm just basing what was said in the first NOX video posted by Thibault in 2025 on what the price structure for the rooms would be. To my rememberance, after launch the suites were priced continuously at €65, now raised to €87.

 

[StephenHunter]

Are these new carriages or conversions of existing stock?

 

[377electrostar]

Are these new carriages or conversions of existing stock?

Conversions of existing stock, ex. DB IC1 carriages in this case. For now, the trains will be made entirely of their "suites", but from 2028 there will be private rooms available with new-build stock (according to some sources), a very ambitious plan in my opinion. If you ask me, I really don't see how newly procured sleeper carriages can be manufactured so quickly, unless the procedure started in 2025 and they haven't announced something to the public yet. I think them sticking with the IC1s will be their best option for now.

 

[StephenHunter]

So, older than Thibault then?

 

[doc7austin]

Our best friend DB InfraGO has announced last week that the classic main line between Fulda and Bebra will be totally closed for engineering works from February 5 to May 14, 2027. This Fulda-Bebra segment is part of the main north-south artery in Germany.

I'd assume that a night train Munich-Hamburg would take this aforementioned line.
Of course, DB InfraGO may assign the Nox train a fast path on the Würzburg-Hannover high-speed line between Fulda and Göttingen. Usually, a lot of freight trains would want to get these paths as well at night.
A diversion via Hanau and Gießen is also possible, though, that's a pretty big detour.

Deutsche Bahn erneuert Infrastruktur in Nord- und Osthessen

www.deutschebahn.com

 

[Amalie]

Frankly, for their “rooms” carriages, I expect them to refurbish the IC1 interior to a near unrecognisable state. I can see the only real recognisable differences between the refurbished and the new carriages being limited to windows, doors, and toilets.

 

[BRX]

The concept of the "loft" type rooms relies on using the space above the corridor, and for this they need to maximise the carriage height. The IC1 coaches don't allow this (it's commented upon in the video that the eventual versions will have more ceiling height than the mockup built within the IC1 coach) so it would appear that they'd need newbuild to make this work properly.

 

[Bletchleyite]

it would appear that they'd need newbuild to make this work properly.

Or something older. Traditional fresh air couchette coaches have plenty of space above the corridor, it's normally used for luggage.

 

[BRX]

Or something older. Traditional fresh air couchette coaches have plenty of space above the corridor, it's normally used for luggage.

I don't think they are any higher than the DB loco hauled IC coaches. I am assuming the extra height would be achieved by a slightly pointer top, as is seen on double-decker coaches.