German train operator Deutsche Bahn is set to introduce cabins with privacy windows, as well as “digital towels” and cabin fragrances, in a multi-billion-euro refurb and overhaul of its services.
Significantly more privacy
The date for a network wide rollout has not yet been confirmed, but the private cabin is available on the operator’s high-speed Intercity Express (ICE) trains in Berlin since a launch mid-April. The new seating configuration is a 1.4-square-metre, two-person cabin, with glass that frosts itself at the push of a button to transform “the train seat into a personal space with significantly more privacy,” Deutsche Bahn says.
The company says the option for more intimacy “is not designed for any specific target group” and that a variety of passengers including “business travellers, private travellers and travellers with children show this need.”
Smooch cabin
Deutsche Bahn may say the cabin could have multiple uses, including, as board member Michael Peterson pointed out “private and confidential conversations in a protected environment.” But when members of the public were surveyed about ideas for the name of the new provision, they focused on one aspect, with the somewhat titillating monikers “cuddle compartment” and “cuddle chamber” proving the most common suggestions, perhaps influenced by German newspaper Bild which coined the phrase “smooch cabin” (“knutsch-abteil”).
Another innovation will allow passengers to drape a virtual “occupied” notice over their seat if they leave it temporarily. It has been dubbed the “digital towel” in a nod to the notorious behaviour of German tourists who reserve the best spots by the pool on holiday. In addition, a calming scent will be delivered on demand in doorways and elevators.
Network found to be old and failure-prone
Whether these are quite the developments that everyone was anticipating after a Deutsche Bahn report last year which declared the network “old” and “failure-prone”, remains to be seen. Tangible improvements are needed not just in terms of comfort but in terms of punctuality, with a 1% decline to just 64% of long-distance trains on time over the year.
The operator, which is government-owned, has committed to render services “fit for the future” by 2030, which it says it will achieve partly by the use of artificial intelligence and track repairs. The settlement of its long-running industrial dispute with drivers’ union GDL over pay and working hours has also recently been agreed, meaning some of the labour-related obstacles to punctuality and regular services should be resolved.
