We are traveling from Berlin to Krakow and back to Dresden in late January. We wanted to travel at night to save time (flights are too expensive). We read that the 1st class sleeper compartments sleep three. Would it be possible to book all three compartments so that a couple could have more privacy? It is my understanding that the additional sleeper supplement is not that great.

I don't think you can book the third bed if you don't have the necessary train ticket.
Aren't there any compartments sleeping two? Normally there are in these kind of trains. It is simply the same compartment, but the places are a bit more expensive to make up for the 'rental loss' of the 3th berth.

I'm not sure your information as to the size of 1st Class compartments is correct as they generally sleep two, not three (sometimes 2nd Class compartments will sleep three).

Yes, you can book to have the entire compartment to yourself. It will cost a little more. When I take overnight sleeper trains, I take the entire comparment myself, even though there are often three berths (two is more normal, but on the overnight train from Frankfurt to Milan, for example, there are three). When you book your ticket, make it clear (in a polite way) that you want the compartment just for the two of you.

Dear Mr Devens,

As JonJon says, that train carries in first class sleepers with two berths or one berth, and in second class 3 berth sleepers and crowded 6 berth couchettes.

BTilke?s news is good, but a surprise. I thought the rules were that any berth booked and not claimed within 15 minutes of the train s departure is free for resale to anybody who wants to buy it. The matter is academic: in late January the train will be pretty empty, so if you book 3 berths second class you are likely to find you have your own compartment for the trip. To book the double, first class, will cost you 50 percent extra, which is not much more.

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Sleeping compartments are not first or second class. The commonest sort of sleeping car has three-berth compartments. If you pay the second-class fare, you can can book a berth, sharing with other people of the same sex. If you want to use just one or two berths in a three-berth compartment, you usually have to pay a higher first-class fare. However, trains in eastern Europe are generally cheap: I've booked two-berth compartments from Krakow to Praha and from Praha to Budapest, and the price wasn't extortionate. In January, the trains will be quiet and there shouldn't be a problem booking on the spot at short notice.

Well I'm sorry to say that according to my own "railroad bible" the Cook's Timetable the only night train from Berlin to Krakow is most definitely described as having both First and Second class accommodations.

The Thomas Cook timetable uses different symbols for sleeping cars and couchettes. If a night train is shown as having first and second class accommodation, then that refers to the carriages with seats. A note below the timetable will indicate what sort of overnight accommodation the train has. Usually sleepers will have three-berth compartments, unless they are specified as "T2", but there are more details in the introduction to each country.