TUI launching Ski Express night train from Amsterdam to Austria in December

Good news for winter sports enthusiasts: TUI will launch a night train to Austria in time for the upcoming ski season in an expansion of its current collaboration with GreenCityTrip. The TUI Ski Express will run every Friday to Austrian winter sports destinations between December 23 and March 31, TUI announced.

The TUI Ski Express will depart from Amsterdam and run directly to Austria via Utrecht. The train enters Austria at Wörgl, where it then continues on to either Tyrol or Salzburg, stopping at various popular winter sports resorts along the way, such as Gerlos, Kirchberg, Niederau, Soll, Zell Am See, and Westendorf.

“You leave on Friday evening and wake up in the mountains on Saturday morning,” TUI said. And you can go skiing immediately, not only because you arrive well-rested but also because a TUI Ski Express ticket includes a ski pass. Where bulky winter gear often pushes up the price of an airline ticket, the travel operator pledged no additional luggage costs for the train route.

According to TUI, there is great interest in a night train to winter sports destinations. Research among TUI customers showed that only 8 percent now travel by train to their winter sports destination, but 87 percent would be interested in doing so. The main reasons for the interest are convenience, coziness, and sustainability. "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, the general manager of TUI Netherlands.

Customers can book tickets on the Ski Express via the TUI website. Ticketed vacations include sleeping compartment arrangements with either fixed or fold-out beds in different class levels. Bookings can include a private or shared compartment. The trips last for 10 days including the train trips, with seven nights in a hotel, and a six-day ski pass is built into the pricing.

TUI already works with GreenCityTrip to offer trains from the Netherlands to Copenhagen, Florence, Milan, Prague, Venice and Vienna. "After the start of a successful collaboration at the beginning of the summer, we are very happy to launch winter sports by night train on the market with TUI. We are convinced that there is a lot of interest, a large partner like TUI means that together we make it accessible to many winter sports enthusiasts," representatives of GreenCityTrip said in a statement.