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Austria By Train

Traveling by rail is the best way to discover Austria. Incredible natural beauty, elegant cities like Vienna and Salzburg, and centuries of history are just waiting to be discovered. Travel through the Alps with your Eurail Pass, and find out all of the treasures awaiting you in this exciting country.

 

Train types in Austria

There are a number of train types in Austria ready to transport you both day and night. Most of the Austrian network is operated by ÖBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen). Use the Eurail train timetable to check times for trains in Austria.

popular-dommestic-connections-austria

Regional and intercity trains in Austria

 

REX

  • Commuter trains which connect Vienna with cities around it.

  • Train schedules are available on the ÖBB route planner.

 

S-Bahn

  • A suburban metro train network that runs within major cities in Austria.

  • With an Interrail Pass, journeys are FREE on the S-Bahn in Vienna, Salzburg (except for lines S1 and S11), and Innsbruck.

 

InterCity (IC)

  • Trains which connect larger cities in Austria, including Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg, and Graz.

  • Reservations are optional but recommended during peak season (May to September) and for public holidays.

 

InterCity bus (ICB)

  • This bus runs between Graz and Klagenfurt.

  • Reservations are required.

 

EuroCity (EC)

  • Connects Innsbruck, Salzburg, Graz, and Kufstein.
  • Reservations are optional but recommended during peak season (May to September) and for public holidays.

 

Domestic high-speed trains

 

Railjet (RJ)

  • Links Vienna to larger Austrian cities like Innsbruck, Salzburg, and Graz.

  • Reservations are optional but recommended during peak season (May to September) and for public holidays.

 

WESTBahn

  • Connects Vienna to Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, and München (Germany).
  • Special upgrades available to Pass holders via Westbahn.

International high-speed trains in Austria

 

Railjet

  • Links Austria to several European cities on the routes:
    • Vienna – Linz – Munich – Stuttgart - Frankfurt
    • Vienna – Gyor – Budapest
    • Graz – Vienna – Brno – Prague
    • Bratislava - Vienna – Salzburg – Innsbruck – Zurich
    • Vienna – Graz – Villach – Venice

RegioJet

  • The yellow RegioJet trains connect Vienna with Brno and Prague (Czech Republic). You need an Interrail Global Pass to travel on this train. Reservations available via RegioJet.

ICE

  • Links Austria to several cities in Germany on the routes:
  • Vienna – Nürnberg – Frankfurt – Cologne – Dortmund
  • Vienna – Nürnberg – Erfurt – Berlin - Hamburg

InterCity buses

  • Run from Villach and Klagenfurt in Austria to Venice and Udine in Italy.

EuroCity

  • Links Austria to several European cities on the routes:
    • Vienna – Ljubljana – Trieste
    • Graz – Vienna – Ostrava – Krakow – Rzesów - Przemysl
    • Klagenfurt – Salzburg – Munich – Cologne – Dortmund
    • Zagreb – Ljubljana – Salzburg – Munich - Frankfurt
    • Munich – Innsbruck – Verona – Venice/Bologna/Rimini
      • Mandatory supplement if you are travelling to/from/within Italy. 
      • 1st class: €15 
      • 2nd class: €10 
      • A supplement can be bought on the train for an additional fee, costing another €5

Night trains in Austria

Night trains run from Austria to France, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Poland, Germany, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Czechia and Switzerland:

 

ÖBB Nightjet (NJ):

  • Vienna - Florence – Rome (does not run from 12 June – 08 September)
  • Vienna – Bologna – Ancona (runs from 12 June – 08 September)
  • Vienna – Verona – Milan – Genoa – La Spezia
  • Vienna – Linz – Udine – Venice
  • Vienna – Linz  Zürich
  • Vienna – Linz – Munich – Stuttgart – Paris
  • Vienna – Nürnberg – Hannover – Hamburg
  • Vienna – Nürnberg – Cologne – Düsseldorf – Amsterdam
  • Innsbruck – Munich – Cologne – Düsseldorf – Amsterdam
  • Innsbruck – Munich – Hannover – Hamburg
  • Graz Vienna – Wroclaw – Berlin
  • Graz – Innsbruck – Zurich

 

EuroNight (EN)

  • Graz – Vienna – Katowice – Krakow – Warsaw (EN Chopin)
  • Bratislava – Vienna – Graz – Maribor – Split
  • Stuttgart – Salzburg – Villach – Ljubljana – Zagreb/Rijeka (EN Lisinski)
  • Stuttgart – Munich – Linz – Vienna – Budapest (EN Kalman Imre)
  • Zurich – Feldkirch – Innsbruck – Vienna – Budapest (EN Kalman Imre)
  • Zurich – Feldkirch – Innsbruck – Ljubljana – Zagreb (EN Alpine Pearls)
  • Zurich – Feldkirch – Innsbruck – Ceske Budejovice – Prague

Private railway companies in Austria

The following private railway companies accept Eurail Passes on their trains:

  • Micotra trains operate on the route Villach – Tarvisio (Italy)

  • WESTbahn trains connect Vienna with Salzburg.
    WESTbahn offers 1st class pass holders an upgrade to WESTbahn PLUS for only €9.90. With this you can enjoy superior seating, a free welcome gift and newspaper as well as refreshment services to your seat. You can get this upgrade on the train. 
  • Raaberbahn, ONLY from Ebenfurt to Sopron and from Neusiedl/See to Pamhagen (Gr)
  • RegioJet, yellow trains that travel to the Czech Republic. You need a Eurail Global Pass to travel on this train.

 

The following private railway companies do not accept Eurail Passes on their trains:

  • Pinzgauer Lokalbahn, travelling between Krimml and Zell am See.

  • NÖVOG ( including Mariazellerbahn, Wachaubahn, Waldviertelbahn, Reblaus Express, Citybahn Waidhofen, and Schneebergbahn)

  • ÖBB Postbus
  • Stubaitalbahn
  • Wiener Lokalbahnen

  • Pinzgauer Lokalbahn

  • Graz-Köflacher Eisenbahn

  • Montafonerbahn

  • Salzburger Lokalbahn (only trains S1 and S11 do not accept Interrail)

  • Steiermärkische Landesbahnen

  • Stern & Hafferl

  • ​Zillertalbahn
  • Salzkammergutbahn
  • Achenseebahn

 

 

Travel to Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein is a tiny country situated between Switzerland and Austria. When your Eurail pass is valid in Austria, you can also travel to Liechtenstein. There is a ÖBB rail connection through Liechtenstein from Feldkirch in Austria to Buchs in Switzerland. Liechtenstein only has four small train stations: Forst Hilti, Schaan-Vaduz, Nendeln and Schaanwald. From Schaan-Vaduz it is a short bus ride to Liechtenstein's capital Vaduz (bus not included in your Eurail pass).

 

Popular connections

View approximate train travel times between Austria’s most popular cities using high-speed trains that don’t require a reservation.

Route

Travel time

Graz to Salzburg 2h 30m
Innsbruck to Salzburg 1h 50m
Innsbruck to Vienna 4h 15m
Salzburg to Vienna 2h 30m
Salzburg to Villach 2h 30m
Vienna to Villach 4h 15m

We suggest the following routes to travel between Austria and other European countries:

 

Route Which train? Travel time Reservations
Vienna to Amsterdam / Brussels (Netherlands / Belgium)  Nightjet 14h / 13h 45m Required
Innsbruck to Munich (Germany) EuroCity 1h 50m Required
Salzburg to Budapest (Hungary) Railjet 5h 10m Required
Salzburg / Innsbruck / Vienna to Zurich (Switzerland) Railjet 5h 25m / 3h 30m / 7h 50m Optional
Vienna to Budapest (Hungary) EuroCity / Railjet 2h 40m Optional (EuroCity) / Required (Railjet)
Vienna to Milan (Italy) EuroNight 12h 25m (overnight) Required
Vienna to Munich (Germany) Railjet / Westbahn 4h Optional
Vienna to Prague (Czech Republic)  Railjet / RegioJet 4h 30m Required (Railjet) / Optional (RegioJet)
Vienna to Venice (Italy) EuroCity / EuroNight 7h 45m / 10h 40m (overnight) Required

 

Reservations

Reservations for ÖBB trains are not required. For InterCity and EuroCity trains are optional if you want to be sure of a good seat. We recommend you make a seat reservation during the busy summer period (May-September) and public holidays. Reservations are required for night trains. Prices for night trains depend on the type of sleeping accommodation you choose.

 

How to make reservations for trains in Austria

You can make reservations for domestic and international high-speed trains and night trains:

  • Through our Reservation Service.
  • Online through the ÖBB website (please note that you can only make reservations for domestic trains)
  • At a ticket desk or self-service machine at local train stations.
  • By phone through the ÖBB call center.
    Phone number: +43 5 1717
    Opening hours: 24/7
    When calling, you'll hear a menu in German. Select extension "1" for train information and bookings. Austria's ÖBB booking center has English speaking staff. The booking center can deliver your reservations to any country you prefer, without charging you a booking fee. The delivery cost is €5.

    You can also pick up your reservations at large Austrian train stations. Just take your order number to a ticket office in the station.

 

Get your Pass for Austria

Austria Pass

 

Use your whole vacation to discover Austria by rail.

 

Standard prices from $ 145

Global Pass

 

Have the freedom to visit Austria and up to 32 other Eurail countries.


Standard prices from $ 208

 

Tips and tricks

Quick facts

  • Capital: Vienna (local spelling: Wien)

  • Population: 8.4 million

  • Language: German

  • Currency: Euro (EUR)

  • Dialing code: +43

Austrian hub stations

Austria’s main hub stations are Wien Westbahnhof  (Vienna), Innsbruck Hbf and Salzburg Hbf. At these train stations, it's possible to connect to trains to Austria’s main cities and many international destinations.

Station facilities

Stations in Austria usually have excellent facilities, often including:

  • Luggage lockers

  • Foreign exchange desks

  • Restaurants and cafés

  • Tourist information offices

  • ATM cash machines

  • Elevators and escalators

  • Access for disabled passengers

Bus travel in Austria

With a Eurail pass valid in Austria, you get free travel (pay only the reservation) on the following bus routes as an extra benefit:

  • Klagenfurt – Graz

  • Klagenfurt – Villach – Venice (Italy) (Venezia Mestre & Venezia Tronchetto)
    Your Eurail Pass needs to be valid in both Austria and Italy on this route.

 

Boat trips in Austria

Eurail pass holders also get discounted boat travel on several Austrian lakes and rivers.

 

See all benefits for Austria

 

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