How to take the rail journey from Wien/Vienna to Klagenfurt

Until December 13 2025

Final Destination: Villach or Venedig/Venezia or Lienz

All trains also call at: Wiener-Neustadt and Bruck an der Mur

These trains also continue beyond Klagenfurt to call at these Wörthersee resort towns:
Velden am Worther see
Portschach am Worther see
Krumpendorf am Worther see

From December 14th 2025

When the new timetable commences on December 14th the timetable on the Wien/Vienna to Klagenfurt route will be transformed.
As these trains will take a different route via Graz, travelling between there and Klagenfurt on a new railway!

There will in effect be two sets of departures from Wien Hbf:

1. Hourly trains which will be 20 mins faster than the current service in a journey time of 3hr 34min and will have nine station stops including Wien Meidling, Graz and the brand new stations at Weststeiermark and St. Paul im Lavanttal
2. Additional trains in most hours which will only make three station calls and will therefore have a journey time of only 3hr 10min - the fastest ever service by more than 40mins!

This doubles the services compared to the older timetable

The slower set of departures will solely comprise Railjet trains which will be heading to Villach, Lienz, Salzburg or Munchen.
The trains which depart Wien Hbf in the even hours will commence their journeys in the station at Wien Flughfafen / Airport.

The slower set of departures will solely comprise Railjet trains which will be heading to Villach, Lienz, Sor Munchen.

Departing from Vienna/Wien:

Trains depart from Wien/Vienna in even hours.

If your journey in Vienna is commencing in the south west corner of the city, or the area on the ring road around the Opera House; then it's likely that you'll have a faster and more convenient journey if you join the train at Wien-Meidling station.

Wien Meidling is connected to line U6 of the Vienna Metro, which serves the western side of the city centre.

A few of these trains commence their journeys at Wien Flufghagen/Vienna Airport station.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

The discounted tickets are the 'Sparscheine' tickets and they can be booked online up until the day of departure, but they can't be booked at stations, so booking last minute at the station is always more expensive.

Though you'll usually need to book the 'Sparscheine' tickets at least a couple of days ahead to obtain them at the cheapest possible price.

Trains departing at different times can also be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.

It can pay off to take a look at the guide to Austrian train tickets - it should help you save time and money and confusion.

Exchanges and Refunds

Book a Non-Flex ticket or a Semi Flex Ticket and it will be specific to the departure you selected when making a booking
Meaning that if you arrive at a station too late to board a train because your taxi got stuck in traffic, or there was a fault on the tram etc, you will have to pay the full price at the station for a replacement ticket.

The only scenario in which these ticket types can be used for an alternative, later departure is IF your journey involves more than one train AND a delay to an OBB train causes you to miss the departure you were booked on to.

Non-Flex and Semi Flex Ticket tickets also can't be exchanged to an alternative departure pre-travel.
However, if post-booking you subsequently change your travel plans, you can cancel a Semi Flex ticket and receive 50% of your payment, but Non-Flex tickets can't be refunded at all - And that is the key distinction between the two types of ticket!

These terms also apply if you want to use Semi Flex and Non Flex tickets to travel in First Class!

If you will want to have the freedom to both refund your ticket and take any train on your travel day, you will need to pay extra for a Flex ticket.

Seat reservations

Reservations are available, but optional for journeys for journeys within Austria by Railjet trains.

Therefore, seats on the train you will be travelling are NOT absolutely guaranteed if you haven't reserved.
Though the OBB online booking service now indicates whether a specific departure is proving to be exceptionally busy.

Reservations in both 1st class and 2nd class cost €3 per person when booking Non-Flex and Flex tickets, but are included as a complimentary benefit when booking Semi-Flex tickets

Reservations for travel in Business Class cost €15 regardless of the type of ticket booked.

Note that reservations will also be required any children aged 5 to 15 - children aged 4 and under don't require tickets, but the expectation is that they will be travelling in the adult's lap.

Child tickets

When booking 'Sparschiene' tickets each adult (aged 15 and over) can take up to four children aged 14 and under for free!
These children will still require tickets, but there will be no charge for them.

When not booking 'Sparschiene' tickets;

• Children aged 5 and under travel for free
• Children aged 6 – 14 travel at half-fare

Bike tickets

You will need purchase both a bike ticket AND a reservation for your bike prior to boarding; more info on how to do this is available on the [bikes on trains guide](/travel-info-and-tips/taking-a-bike-on-a-european-train/).

Dog tickets

If your dog is too large to be taken in a pet carrier you will need to add a dog ticket when making your booking;

Using rail passes

If you have a valid Eurail or Interrail pass you can opt to make reservations for this journey, but you can simply board with a pass and hope that seats will be available.