新たな寝台列車を披露　オーストリア連邦鉄道

【ウィーンＡＦＰ＝時事】オーストリア連邦鉄道（ＯｅＢＢ）は９月３０日、新たな寝台列車を披露した。飛行機やガソリン車などに代わる温室効果ガスの排出低減につながる移動手段として、欧州では夜行列車の注目が高まっている。（写真はオーストリア・ウィーンで披露された新たな寝台列車の内部）
　再注目される夜行列車だが、これまで長期間にわたり放置されてきた車両を入れ替えるため、鉄道各社は多額の資金を投じている。
　欧州全土で２０の鉄道路線を運営するＯｅＢＢは夜行列車復活の先導役を担っており、２０３０年までに利用者の数を現在の２倍となる３００万人に増やしたい考えだ。
　今回披露された列車は現代的なデザインで、プライバシーを重視し、シャワー設備を増やした。
　ＯｅＢＢは２０１８年、夜行部門の増強と既存の老朽化車両の入れ替えを図るため、独シーメンスに３３本を発注。１２月１０日からの運行開始を予定している。
　列車は、オーストリアのウィーンならびにインスブルックとドイツのハンブルク港を結ぶ。
　新しい車両は、オーストリア、ドイツ、イタリア、オランダ、スイスなどの他の路線にも、２０２８年までに段階的に導入される予定。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/10/02-14:30）

Austrian rail operator OeBB on Saturday unveiled its new generation of sleeper trains -- a response to demands from travellers for less pollutant alternatives to planes and petrol or diesel cars.
Night trains are starting to make a comeback in Europe thanks to their low-carbon footprint and after years of neglect, operators are now investing heavily to replace their ageing rolling stock.
State-owned OeBB, which operates 20 rail routes across Europe, has been a pioneer in reviving such services.
The company has Europe's largest fleet of sleeper trains and hopes to double the number of its overnight passengers from 1.5 million to three million by 2030.
The new trains feature a modern design, more privacy and more shower facilities.
The first of 33 -- ordered from German conglomerate Siemens in 2018 for a total investment of 720 million euros ($760 million at current value) -- will come into service on December 10.
It will connect the Austrian cities of Vienna and Innsbruck to the German port of Hamburg.
Between then and 2028, it will be phased in on other routes in Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
France will have to wait a bit because this requires new approvals from the national railroad authority, OeBB CEO Andreas Matthae told AFP.
Unfortunately, we are not yet a unified Europe in the railroad sector.
Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler told AFP: Every kilometre (mile) by train is a kilometre for climate protection and... a contribution to a better future.
Since 2018 OeBB said all its trains run on electricity generated exclusively by hydropower, solar and wind power... a milestone for climate protection in Austria
I still remember the old sleeping coaches, which were so dark -- the small window, the bunk beds and a curtain, said 69-year-old retiree Rosemarie, who declined to give her full name, as she examined OeBB's sleek new night train on Saturday.
Compared to the old sleeper trains, this is crazy -- pure luxury, she laughed.
OeBB's Berlin-Paris night train service is to return on December 11, nine years after it was cancelled.