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.
- Route map
- Domestic trains
- International trains
- Night trains
- Private companies
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
- Runs frequent trains on the route Vienna – Linz – Salzburg – Munich/Innsbruck/Bregenz
- 2nd class Passholders can buy a reservation for Standard Class
- 1st class Passholders can buy a reservation for Standard Class or an upgrade for Comfort and First class
International high-speed trains in Austria
All long-distance trains to/from Germany are subject to mandatory reservations from June 1st till September 1st.
- 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
- Munich – Innsbruck – Verona/Bologna/Venice
- Seat reservations are optional all year round only for domestic Austrian trips
- Mandatory supplement if you are travelling to/from/within Italy
- 1st class: €15 (including supplement)
- 2nd class: €10 (including supplement)
- Business Class upgrade: €30 (including supplement)
- A supplement can be bought on board for a small extra fee, costing €5, on top of the standard fee mentioned above
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.
- Links Austria to several cities in Germany on the routes:
- Vienna – Nürnberg – Frankfurt – Cologne – Dortmund
- Vienna – Nürnberg – Erfurt – Berlin - Hamburg
- Innsbruck – Munich – Stuttgart – Berlin
- Innsbruck – Bregenz – Stuttgart - Berlin
EuroCity
- Links Austria to several European cities on the routes:
- Vienna – Ljubljana – Trieste
- Graz – Vienna – Ostrava – Wroclaw/Krakow – Rzeszów – 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 a small extra fee, costing €5, on top of the standard fee mentioned above
Westbahn
- Runs frequent trains on the route Vienna – Linz – Salzburg – Munich
- 2nd class Passholders can buy a reservation for Standard Class
- 1st class Passholders can buy a reservation for Standard Class or an upgrade for Comfort and First class
Night trains in Austria
Night trains run from Austria to France, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Poland, Germany, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Czechia and Switzerland:
- Vienna – Florence – Rome
- Vienna – Verona – Milan – Genoa – La Spezia
- Vienna – Linz – Udine – Venice
- Vienna – Linz – Zürich
- Vienna – Linz – Munich – Stuttgart – Paris
- Vienna – Linz – Munich – Cologne – Brussels
- 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)
- Munich – Liz – 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
- Runs frequent trains on the route Vienna – Linz – Salzburg – Munich/Innsbruck/Bregenz
- 2nd class Passholders can buy a reservation for Standard Class
- 1st class Passholders can buy a reservation for Standard Class or an upgrade for Comfort and First class
- 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
- Domestic connections
- International 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 / Railjet | 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 (Required June 1st until September 1st) / Optional |
Vienna to Prague (Czech Republic) | Railjet / RegioJet | 4h 30m | Required (Railjet) / Optional (RegioJet) |
Vienna to Venice (Italy) | EuroCity / Railjet / EuroNight | 7h 45m / 10h 40m (overnight) | Required |
Reservations
How to make reservations for trains in Austria:
Eurail reservation self-service system
Administration costs when booking through Eurail self-service
- € 2,- p.p.per train
- Additional € 9,- per order (for paper tickets)
With railway carriers
- ÖBB (Austrian railways): Domestic and international trains
- Westbahn (Private Railway): Only Westbahn trains, domestic and international
- ČD (Czech railways): Domestic and international trains
- DB (German railways): International trains to/from Germany
- ÖBB Nightjet: Only Nightjet and some Euro Night trains
By calling the ÖBB booking center
- +43 5 1717 (open 24/7)
When calling, you'll hear a menu in German. Select extension "1" for train information and bookings. The booking center can deliver your reservations to any country you prefer, without charging you booking costs. 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. This call center can make reservations for the majority of European high-speed and night trains.
Locally at the train station in Austria
- How to book your reservation in Austria
-
- Book reservations for Austrian trains on the ÖBB website.
- For international (night) trains to/from Austria and throughout Europe using the following steps:
- Enter your departure/arrival stations and the time/date of your desired journey
- Click on the Passengers’ info box (where you see “1 x Adult – Without Discounts”) and another page will open
- Add as many travellers as you need, and for each Passholder click on 'add discount'
- Scroll down or search for 'Interrail / Eurail - Globalpass', then select it and click confirm
- Once you’re done with all travelers, click ‘OK’, and you’ll be redirected to the main page
- Click on ‘Find’ to proceed to the next screen
- Here you can select the train and then the type of accommodation (either seat, couchette or sleeper cabin) you want to take
- Once the desired accommodation is selected, click on ‘Continue with € __’ and finalise your reservation with the payment
- Needed for all night trains and long distance trains in Italy (Frecciarossa, IC, and EC trains Italy-Switzerland)
- Also applicable for EC/Railjet trains across the Brenner pass to/from Italy
Book reservations for Westbahn trains on the Westbahn Website.
- Click on ‘Reservation / Upgrade / Bike / PRM’
- Choose the preferred route.
- Choose ‘Reservation / Upgrade’
- Select the quantity, travel date and exact train departure
- Choose the travel class
- Seat number and coach are shown
- Reservation fees in Austria
-
ÖBB Railjet, ICE, Intercity and Eurocity trains
2nd and 1st class: € 3.50 (excl. € 3 online reservation fee)
Westbahn trains
For Westbahn trains, Passholders can buy a reservation for Standard Class and upgrade for Comfort and First Class online via westbahn.at or directly on the train for an additional fee.
Fees (depending on the travel distance)
- First Class: €9.90 – €44.90
- Comfort Class: €7,90 – 11.90
- Standard Class (optional): €1.90 – €4.90
Get your Pass for Austria
Austria Pass
Use your whole vacation to discover Austria by rail.
Standard prices from $ 158
Global Pass
Have the freedom to visit Austria and up to 32 other Eurail countries.
Standard prices from $ 233
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 Hbf (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
Boat trips in Austria
Eurail pass holders also get discounted boat travel on several Austrian lakes and rivers.
Get inspired
-
Austria Our Eurail community members and local Austrian Spotters share their secret spots and favorite finds from past travels around the land of lakes and mountains.
-
Austria itinerary Discover high mountains and lush valleys and everything else Austria has to offer with this Eurail itinerary.
-
Honeymoon Trip Visit the world's most romantic cities with our honeymoon itinerary! Feel the love in Rome, Florence, Venice, Vienna and Prague.
Change of currency
You cannot change the currency once you have a Pass in your cart. Remove the Pass, and then change the currency on the website header.