So my father has now his own truck and he is going to do round trips Italy-Belgium “under” LKW WALTER. Everything is fine, except train from Freiburg to Navara. He is afraid of a long waiting time for the train and conditions on it. He was driving with the train only one time and it was about 4 years ago and he didnt like it, but the agen from LKW Walter said that there is some changes now. Maybe someone can write something about the real situation now? How often they are going, is it possible to rest on it and something more…?
I used that train a few times, but it was well over 4 years ago so even more out of date than your fathers last experience.
When I was using it they were still running a mixture of the older style, fairly comfortable 3 man cabins on some trains. Some had the newer, less comfortable, 4 man cabins with a common room / kitchen at one end. The journey took a little more than 9 hours, from parking up on the carriages to rolling off at the other end, so you could technically have a proper rest. In reality you would get a very poor rest, because of all the jolting and jostling you would get through the journey. To be honest, I can’t see things improving much.
I never had any long waiting times, on the occasions I used it. I was pre-booked and would arrive not long before they started loading. The longest wait I had was about 30 minutes.
I was always on the overnight train. I’m told that during the day you get spectacular views
I have used this train a few times, last time I put a truck on this train was last month, to save driving time and to get the driver home quicker for x-mas. My driver asked me to never put him on the train ever again. It was full on Romanians and Hungarians etc etc, 8 to a carriage, train took 12 hours. Keeps stopping to let faster trains past. It cost about €550 euros I think.
I think it works best if you arrive at train after a full shift and get straight on. 12 hours later you are off and running fully rested and a lot further up the road. I worked out it doesn’t really cost any more / less than going via Mont Blanc and up through france or via Swiss & Lux (But we were always coming back to England, not Belgium)
My truck left Naples in the morning, arrived at Novarra in the evening, got on the train, got off the following morning in Freiburg and was is Calais late after noon the following day. From a transport managers point of view it worked very well. But I think my drivers prefers his V8 R-730 Scania to the 8 to a carriage will stinky people from the east who thinks it fine to ■■■■ in a bag !!!
If you YouTube it you can see the train in action. It is very impressive. You have to remove any ariels, lower the air in the truck and trailer, chock the truck and trailer yourself. Ambient goods only, no running fridges as well.
Hope this helps. Pete
WhiteWhiteWhite:
I have used this train a few times, last time I put a truck on this train was last month, to save driving time and to get the driver home quicker for x-mas. My driver asked me to never put him on the train ever again. It was full on Romanians and Hungarians etc etc, 8 to a carriage, train took 12 hours. Keeps stopping to let faster trains past. It cost about €550 euros I think.I think it works best if you arrive at train after a full shift and get straight on. 12 hours later you are off and running fully rested and a lot further up the road. I worked out it doesn’t really cost any more / less than going via Mont Blanc and up through france or via Swiss & Lux (But we were always coming back to England, not Belgium)
My truck left Naples in the morning, arrived at Novarra in the evening, got on the train, got off the following morning in Freiburg and was is Calais late after noon the following day. From a transport managers point of view it worked very well. But I think my drivers prefers his V8 R-730 Scania to the 8 to a carriage will stinky people from the east who thinks it fine to [zb] in a bag !!!
If you YouTube it you can see the train in action. It is very impressive. You have to remove any ariels, lower the air in the truck and trailer, chock the truck and trailer yourself. Ambient goods only, no running fridges as well.
Hope this helps. Pete
They have been known to lose one or two trucks off the sides too, not a good idea to try to sleep in the cab 
I used to use the Milan to Freiburg service regularly in the 90s, before the service terminus moved to Navara. This in itself must be a great improvement, because mixing it with the Milan taxi drivers was interesting. Operationally it worked very well, travel while you sleep (in theory), transit Swiss at 40 tonnes (28 max in those days), and as I was going on the account of somebody who was buying a minimum of 20 trips per day, the cost was reasonable too.
From the drivers point of view, an a night time trip, it was a bit like being hit over the head with a lump hammer for 9 hours. No facilities whatsoever, except a rudimentary bunk, in a shared cabin, and lots of rattling, shaking and shunting, the new trains were just starting to come in towards the end of my time, but they were little better. I’m not sure where this 8 to a cabin comes from, there are 4 bunks in a cabin, they are actually bench seats in which the back rests lift up to make 4 bunks, each cabin is for 2 truck crews, so normally there are 2 of you sharing unless somebody is double manned. No food or drink of any sort is available on board other than what you take with you.
During the daytime, the cabins convert back to seats, and the scenery is stunning.
acd1202:
I’m not sure where this 8 to a cabin comes from
My driver may have been making it sound worse than it was… 
When I worked for an Italian company we used it quite a lot (Navara-Freiburg,Lugano-Basel).
They were only ever 4 man cabins with the common room at one end as Simon said.
The first couple of times were ok as the novelty of it was great but then it was a pain in the arse because it really isn’t that comfortable a trip.
If I was driving past now and had a choice,I’d keep driving 
WhiteWhiteWhite:
acd1202:
I’m not sure where this 8 to a cabin comes fromMy driver may have been making it sound worse than it was…
A driver exaggerating ? I’ve never heard such a thing.
WhiteWhiteWhite:
acd1202:
I’m not sure where this 8 to a cabin comes fromMy driver may have been making it sound worse than it was…
It used to be 3 bunks which were 3 high on one side of a corridor train so you could have up to 9 to a carriage. You always felt like the bloke in the bottom bunk was looking at your knackers as you climbed up 
I always thought it was NOVARA. but hell i wouldnt know i only lived there for 12 years 
r slicker:
I always thought it was NOVARA. but hell i wouldnt know i only lived there for 12 years
I never used Novara, only Freiburg Milan and Dresden Lovosice, that was certainly 3 high bunks
r slicker:
I always thought it was NOVARA. but hell i wouldnt know i only lived there for 12 years
I just assumed it was a spelling mistake and took it to be Novara, in the same way as I assumed wouldnt was a miss spelling of wouldn’t
The last, monochrome, pic that Betz put up reminds me of the older 3 man cabins. The bunks were arranged as 1 high level above three seats and a high and a low level bunk opposite. The back rest of the middle seat folded down to make a level table, as in that pic.
The newer coaches were 4 to a cabin, I didn’t notice any facility to fold up the bottom bunks to make seats, mind you I didn’t look for it.
8 to a cabin may be a slight over exaggeration by your driver, but his preference to do the drive rather than take that train matches my experience. From a gaffers perspective it’s great, like you say. Cost and time effective. But we drivers don’t get any real sleep due to the shunting and bumping about etc. I would hate to be facing a 10 hr drive after coming off the train, I’d be fighting to stay awake all day.
Not quite so bad at the Italian end. Two espressos, one for each eye, at regular intervals through the day = 
LinardsOzolins:
So my father has now his own truck and he is going to do round trips Italy-Belgium “under” LKW WALTER.
the train will be the smallest problem on walters work
Slightly off topic. Wasn’t their a train crash in Swiss this week ■■
4 man cabins, communal room at end, sometimes there is power, depends on train. Take a sleeping bag and pillow with you if sleeping.
From Germany they give you a couple of sandwiches and water, but tight next door is an imbis who will make you up a small picnic thing.
From Italy you get sandwiches a couple of cakes and water but ■■■■ quality, better buying something before you arrive.
Take mosquito repellent with you and smother yourself in it because of the mossys in navara.
It takes minimum 11 hours and passengers get priority so your train will be put in a siding. If major delays occur in Switzerland, they pull in to a station and do give you more food.
Daytime journeys the scenery is stunning, night time journeys, take some alcohol and food, sometimes you can have a good party on board, then sleep is a bit easier if you’re ■■■■■■■
The train is what you make of it, it can ok or it can be a nightmare.
If you go with the attitude it’s full of smelly Eastern Europeans you’ll hate it,
If you go thinking it’s full of drivers who are in the same ■■■■ as you and make the most of it, it can be a pleasant trip
Okey-Didley-Dokely:
4 man cabins, communal room at end, sometimes there is power, depends on train. Take a sleeping bag and pillow with you if sleeping.
From Germany they give you a couple of sandwiches and water, but tight next door is an imbis who will make you up a small picnic thing.
From Italy you get sandwiches a couple of cakes and water but [zb] quality, better buying something before you arrive.
Take mosquito repellent with you and smother yourself in it because of the mossys in navara.
It takes minimum 11 hours and passengers get priority so your train will be put in a siding. If major delays occur in Switzerland, they pull in to a station and do give you more food.
Daytime journeys the scenery is stunning, night time journeys, take some alcohol and food, sometimes you can have a good party on board, then sleep is a bit easier if you’re ■■■■■■■
The train is what you make of it, it can ok or it can be a nightmare.
If you go with the attitude it’s full of smelly Eastern Europeans you’ll hate it,
If you go thinking it’s full of drivers who are in the same [zb] as you and make the most of it, it can be a pleasant trip
You mean they are actually giving you food and water these days, things have improved!
milodon:
LinardsOzolins:
So my father has now his own truck and he is going to do round trips Italy-Belgium “under” LKW WALTER.the train will be the smallest problem on walters work
My thoughts exactly
~ Craig
i was on this train on wed 20th feb 2013 and i will never be on it again it was full of smelly gits and the so called beds where all stained they supply you with matress protectors but i never used the bed at all just sat in the seat it has 2 small toilets and train was full so you can imagine what the toilets where like by the morning dont know how this company get away with it as its not cheap to use there is not much diffrence in the pice if you go the blanc and buy a return ticket also back up to our depot in europoort it is only a shift and a half so aint any quicker 