DB introduces private ‘smooch cabins’
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) has unveiled plans to install private compartments with frosted glass windows aboard its Intercity Express high-speed train.
DB designed the cabins for maximum privacy during phone and video calls and confidential conversations. However, during a poll to find a name for the cabin, customers and readers dubbed the privacy cabins ‘smooch cabins’.
The cabins will have two seats, a button to frost the transparent glass divider, and a scent button to release relaxing fragrances.
Additionally, DB is to install digital screens for passengers to mark their seats as occupied if they visit the private cabins, restaurant car, or bathroom.
Harry Potter steam train resumes operations
Scottish train operator West Coast Railway (WCR) has announced that The Jacobite, its steam train that was famously featured in the Harry Potter films as the Hogwarts Express, resumed its service on April 15.
Services were suspended due to a lack of safety certification on its vintage train cars, which saw WCR attach modern air-conditioned cars with central door-locking systems to the steam train to continue operations.
WCR has said that, although it plans to reintroduce trips on its First-Class and Harry Potter carriages, it will depend on whether safety regulators issue the operator an exemption. The exemption would also allow the operator to run The Jacobite on main lines. It currently travels through the Scottish Highlands to visit Fort William, Mallaig and Glenfinnan.
Eurostar unifies travel classes with flexible fares
Eurostar has introduced more flexible fares following its merger with Thalys, a fellow train operator, and will rename its three classes.
The new classes are called Eurostar Standard, Eurostar Plus, and Eurostar Premier, and are available for bookings from November 4.
Furthermore, the new fare flexibility allows customers travelling in Eurostar Standard and Eurostar Plus to exchange their tickets without any fee and as many times as needed until just one hour before departure, although fare differences may apply.
The fare flexibility came following research into customer behaviour and preferences, which found that 99,6% of Eurostar passengers on cross-Channel routes exchanged or refunded their ticket within 48 hours of the original departure time, Eurostar told Business Traveller.
