Tracking and photographing Nightjet night trains: the complete guide

Nightjets run when most other trains have long since gone to the depot – late in the evening, in the middle of the night, or in the first light of morning. That makes them especially appealing for trainspotters, but also more demanding to track and photograph than an ICE in broad daylight. This guide shows you how to reliably follow Nightjet connections live, which camera settings work in low light, and what to consider when choosing a location.

What makes Nightjet tracking different from daytime trains?

Technically, tracking a Nightjet barely differs from tracking an ICE or an RE – you use the same apps and the same data sources. The difference lies more in the surrounding conditions:

• Long overnight running times mean bigger time windows in which delays can build up or ease off.
• Cross-border runs often switch between the systems of several rail operators, so depending on the country you have to check different apps. The product itself remains a service of the Austrian Federal Railways.
• Arrivals in the early morning hours shift your photo window into a time with trickier light, but also an interesting morning atmosphere.
• Less activity at the station at night can be both an advantage (clear sightlines, quiet platforms) and a disadvantage (less lighting, fewer people around). At Vienna Hauptbahnhof, night-time train density is higher than at almost any other European station.

Knowing these particularities lets you adapt your tracking and photo strategy accordingly.

Tracking a Nightjet live: the key steps

1. Find the train number. Nightjet connections mostly run under a train number starting with NJ. You’ll find it in the journey search of the relevant rail app or on the departure board at the starting station. The operator is ÖBB-Personenverkehr, even though the train runs through other operators’ networks along parts of the route.
2. Open the right rail app. Depending on which country the train is currently in, you use the official app of the operator there – more on that in the next section.
3. Check the real-time status. Delay, next stop and, in some apps, the carriage formation are shown to you directly.
4. Use the live map as a supplement. For spatial orientation, for example to judge the right moment for a photo spot.
5. Turn on notifications. Especially for overnight journeys, you don’t want to have to check manually all the time.

If you’re still unsure in general how train tracking works, it’s worth first taking a look at our basics guide How do you track a moving train?.

Tip: before a planned Nightjet sighting, note down both the train number and the scheduled arrival or passing time at your target station. That way you can double-check in the evening whether anything has shifted before you even set off.

The right apps for each country

Since Nightjets often cross several countries, it makes sense to have more than one app ready:

App/tool	Region	Live data	Best for
ÖBB Scotty	Austria, cross-border	Yes	Journey search, real-time status, push alerts
DB Navigator	Germany	Yes	Train number search, delays, platform information
SBB Mobile	Switzerland	Yes	Connections, real-time status in Switzerland
Trenitalia app	Italy	Yes	Status on Italian sections of the route
Live maps (e.g. marudor.de)	Germany, cross-regional	Yes, as a map	Spatial overview and route course
Spotter communities/forums	International	Partial	Short-notice changes, special liveries, diagrams

⚠️ Note: on cross-border journeys, an app may stop showing the train once it leaves its home network, or only offer limited information. Plan for the app switch rather than relying on a single source.

Keeping an eye on the timetable and times

Nightjets typically depart in the evening and arrive in the early morning hours. For your planning that means, specifically:

• Departures are usually in the late evening.
• Arrivals are often early in the morning, sometimes even before sunrise.
• With overnight delays, arrival times can shift noticeably – a check shortly before your planned sighting saves you unnecessary waiting.
• Timetable changes (usually in December) can alter routes and times – so always check the current timetable rather than relying on older notes.

Tip: especially for overnight journeys, it’s worth checking the real-time status not just right before departure, but also again an hour or two before the expected arrival at your location – overnight delays often only build up over the course of the journey.

Photographing Nightjets: the basics in low light

Photographing in the dark differs from daytime photography in a few key ways:

• Use a wide aperture to let more light reach the sensor – typically the lowest available f-stop of your lens.
• Push the ISO deliberately. Modern camera sensors handle far higher ISO values than many people expect, without the image becoming unusable.
• Treat shutter speed as a trade-off. Too long, and the moving train blurs (which can also be a deliberate stylistic choice); too short, and the image becomes too dark or heavily noisy in low light.
• Shoot in RAW if your camera supports it. That gives you considerably more room when editing afterwards, especially for white balance under mixed lighting at the station.
• Test autofocus. Continuous autofocus often struggles more with low contrast and darkness – a quick test beforehand helps avoid disappointment at the decisive moment.

If you generally want to keep refining your railway photography technique, our railway photography guide has further tips that apply during the day too.

Tripod or handheld? Two approaches compared

For most Nightjet situations at busy stations, a compromise is practical: a light, quickly set-up tripod or a stable support combined with adjusted ISO.

Choosing the right locations for night-train photos

A few factors matter more than during the day when choosing a location for Nightjet photos:

• Lighting of the platform or station forecourt. Well-lit areas give noticeably better results than dark edge zones.
• Clear sightline. At night, obstacles and barriers are harder to spot – so plan your location in daylight or using map material where possible.
• Accessibility at that time of night. Not every station is equally easy to reach or equally busy at night – check opening times and transport connections in advance.
• High-contrast backgrounds. Lit station halls, signals or city light in the background can noticeably improve a night photo – the glass roof of Berlin Hauptbahnhof is a rewarding example of this.

⚠️ Note: always be especially cautious at unlit or quiet locations, and choose areas that are clearly visible and publicly accessible. Never enter track areas or restricted zones – at night, assessing danger is even harder.

If you’re generally unsure what’s allowed when photographing at railway sites, read our guide Is it allowed to photograph trains? – the principles there apply at night just as they do during the day.

Keeping up with delays, diversions and special liveries

Especially on overnight journeys crossing several countries, delays can play out differently than during the day – connections at night are rarer, and a missed one often means a much longer wait until the next opportunity. Here’s how to stay informed anyway:

• Turn on push notifications in the relevant rail app as soon as you’ve saved a connection as a favourite.
• Search spotter communities and forums before your trip – diversions, unusual carriage formations or special liveries are often shared there first.
• Check the real-time status again shortly before the planned arrival, rather than relying on the scheduled time from several hours earlier.

Checklist: ready for your next Nightjet sighting

• Train number and scheduled times noted down
• The right rail app(s) for the countries involved installed
• Push notifications turned on
• Location checked in advance for lighting and accessibility
• Camera battery charged, tripod (if used) ready to go
• Camera settings for low light tested in advance
• Safety rules for the chosen location kept in mind

Conclusion

Tracking and photographing Nightjets essentially takes the same tools as daytime trains, just with a bit more planning: the right app for each country, a check of the real-time data shortly before your sighting, and a location that’s safe and well-lit even in the dark. For the photography itself, it pays off to combine a wide aperture, adjusted ISO and, where possible, a tripod. With the Traintrack app you then log your Nightjet sightings and see where other spotters are currently out and about.