Train Information

Austria has an extensive public transport network, international travel by train is easy, and Austria’s regional trains make reaching almost all the country’s towns and cities possible.

There are two train companies in Austria

  1.  Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB)  Click HERE for more infor on ÖBB
  2.    Westbahn  Click HERE for more infor on Westbahn

Approximate Travelling Times by trains

Vienna to Salzburg : ~2.5 hours

Vienna – Graz: 2 hours 38 min

Vienna to Innsbruck: ~4 hours 30 min

Vienna to Hallstatt: ~3 hours 45 min

Salzburg to Innsbruck: ~ 2 hours 

Salzburg to Munich: ~1 hr 45 min

Salzburg to Hallstatt: ~2 hours

Salzburg to Zell am See: ~90 min

Innsbruck to Bregenz:  ~ 2,5 hours

Graz to Linz:  ~3 hours

Note: Times are approximate- and will depend on route, time day and season.

Contents

1. Top Tips for Train Travel in Austria

2. Austria Train Companies

Travelling to Austria by Train

 

Top Tips for Train Travel in Austria

1. The main central train stations are known as Hauptbahnhof or Hbf. Vienna’s Main train station is called Wien Hbf.

2. Train tickets can be bought online or at the station. Tickets are typically cheaper if you book online before your travel date.

3. Children travel cheaper on Trains. 

View the Full List

Austrian Train Companies

Austria has two train companies, ÖBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen) and Westbahn.
Both ÖBB and Westbahn are reliable and provide excellent service, with ÖBB having a more extensive network of trains.

TOP TIP: We only recommend booking your tickets directly on ÖBB or Westbahn.

Omio, Rome2 Rio, Trainline, RailEurope etc are not rail companies. They’re a ticket consolidators.

If you are coming to Austria, you can book your tickets on ÖBB or the official country’s train company. In Germany: DB, Italy: Trenitalia

Why not use a third-party train consolidator to book your tickets ?

  • They charge a commission/booking fee.
  • They ‘pull’ information for 1000s of transit operators- so the information and ticket may not be correct.
  • They do not have all the up-to-date schedules, so some options will not be available.
  • Limited communications. Both ÖBB and Westbahn App provide updated schedules, changes in arrival/departure times and track changes.
  • Customer Service. You are dealing with a third-party intermediate. If there is a problem with your ticket; you need to cancel, or you missed your connection;  you will get limited help from the travel consolidator, and ÖBB and Westbahn will be limited in how they can help as you did not buy your ticket through them. 

What to use the third-party transit website/app s for?

These websites and apps are a helpful  search/comparison tool. They can show you the options across different train companies to find the best connection and price.

This is helpful when travelling between countries as you can see the different offers available from the different official train companies. 
You can always these apps and websites to search and then book directly with the operators.

ÖBB

Österreichische Bundesbahnen (the Austrian Federal Railways) is the national train company.

Book directly on the ÖBB website.

Read our complete guide to booking ÖBB tickets

ÖBB Train Network

Westbahn

Westbahn is a private train company, connecting Vienna, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Bregenz, Rosenheim and Munich

Book directly on the WESTbahn Website

Westbahn trains are electric trains of double deck coaches. They run at up to 200 km/h (125 mph).

Westbahn offer Economy (2nd class) , comfort class (Same seats as 2nd class, but more legroom & all seats are at large table) and 1st class.  There are both upper & lower deck seats in all three classes.  There’s free WiFi & all seats have power sockets. 

The trains have a Food Vending Area (machines) where you can buy snacks, drinks, tea & coffee with contactless bank cards. 

Westbahn Train Network

Read our complete guide to booking Westbahn tickets

Travelling to Austria by Train

Between Austria and Germany

You can either book your train with ÖBB, Westbahn (from Munich only) or with the German National train company Deutsche Bahn DB 

DB has:

      • Over 50 direct services every day, even through the Alps!
      • Children up to 14 years of age travel free of charge in many cases with an accompanying person who is at least 15 years of age
      • 25% discount on the German part of the route with BahnCard 25/50/100 (excluding City-Ticket)
      • Tickets are available up to six months in advance.

Between Austria and Switzerland

Trains from/to Zurich to/from Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna travel via the Arlberg Railway through the beautiful mountainous Arlberg Pass.

From Zurich Hauptbahnhof (Hbf), the main train station, you travel along the shores of the Swiss lakes, the Zürichsee & Walensee, before travelling through Liechtenstein and its capital Vaduz.  At Feldkirch, you enter Austria and then travel along the Arlberg pass to St Anton and then Innsbruck. From Innsbruck, there are connections to Wörgl, Kufstein, Salzburg and Vienna.  

There is one Railjet per day that travels directly from Zurich via Vienna to Budapest and vice versa.
Trains to Switzerland can be booked on the ÖBB website or the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) website.

Between Austria and Italy

Trains from/to Vienna to/from Italy travel via Klagenfurt and Villach to arrive in Italian destinations Bologna, Venice, Florence and Rome. 

From Salzburg, trains to Italy travel via Innsbruck and the Brenner pass to Verona , Bologna and Florence.

Trains to and from Italy can be booked on the ÖBB website and/or the Trenitalia website.

Between Austria and Czech Republic

Railjet trains run jointly by CD (Czech Railways) and ÖBB connect Vienna Hbh with Praque Hlavni. There are trains every 2 hours, and the journey takes 4 hours.  Tickets can be booked on the ÖBB website

In addition, RegioJet, a private Czech Railway company, has up to 4 trains a day between Vienna and Prague. Tickets can be booked on the RegioJet Website. 

Between Austria and Slovakia 

Hourly Regional Express (REX) trains connect Vienna Hbf with Bratislava Hbf. The journey is just under 1 hour.

Note: The train line between Vienna & Bratislava Hlavna via Marchegg is closed due to renovations until June 2025. The REX8 trains to Bratislava Hlava (cheaper trains) will not operate during this time. Instead, the REX 6 is between Vienna Hbf and Bratislava Petrzalka station.

How to buy tickets

No reservations is required (you cannot reserve seats on REX trains). You can buy at the station, from the ticket office, from self-service machines or via the  ÖBB website.

Special Round Trip Ticket Offers

Bratislava Ticket (also known as EuRegio Slovakia) for a Round trip starting in Vienna, costs €18. The Bratislava Ticket also give you free use of buses & trams in Bratislava city all day on the first day of validity.
Book the Bratislava ticket HERE 

Vienna Special ticket (also known as EuRegio Wien) for a round trip stating in Bratislava costs 18€. Buy the Station ticket counter or online on the same day HERE 

Between Austria and Hungary

Hourly Railjet and EuroCity Trains connect Vienna to Budapest.  The 256 km (159 miles) journey from Vienna Hauptbahnhof ( Central Train Station) to the centre of Budapest takes ~2.5 hours

Trains to and from Budapest can be booked on the ÖBB website.

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