Modifications on the fleet of older NJ cars

As we described here, the conversion of six Class Bmz compartment cars to Class Bbcmvz couchettes is underway. The contract, which was originally awarded to Molinari Rail, is now being carried out at the Škoda Pars works under a contract dated May 2023, which also included an option for a further 28 conversions.

In the first photo taken on 19 March 2024, the Bcmz 73 81 59-91 318-0, the last source car of the contract, is seen on its way from Austria to Šumperk at Červenka station. According to information at the time, all Bbcmvz cars were to be handed over to the customer by the end of the third quarter of 2024. In mid-November, ÖBB said that currently four were already in service and "the remaining two are to follow soon".

ÖBB, on the other hand, has withdrawn all Class Bcmz couchettes from service, i. e. the type that was destroyed in the accident in Pardubice on 5 June 2024. The same cars were also withdrawn by RegioJet after the accident, and remain in service with ČD after technical condition checks.

In connection with the arrival of the Viaggio N non-traction multiple units, the existing ÖBB night coaches also began to be unified with their colour scheme. At the end of June 2024, the first car to undergo this was the Bcmz 73 59-91 107, during its regular revision. The changes relate to the fact that stars no longer appear on the sidewalls in the "blue night sky", and the multilingual lettering indicating the type of car on the grey-coloured entrance doors has also been removed. Instead, the doors are framed in light grey. A black strip runs along the windows, like at the nightjet NMUs.

The type of car is now recognisable only by the pictogram on the window of entrance doors and the lettering "couchette" on each side of the car; by contrast, the term "liegewagen" under the window has disappeared. The second photo shows the car in question on NJ 40466 Wien Hbf - Venezia S. Lucia service on 28 September 2024 at the departure station.