The clear direction signage on the platforms/tracks at Wien Hbf

Budapest to Wien / Vienna by train

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Routes

From Budapest Keleti to Wien Hbf/Hauptbahnhof

Travel Information

Final Destination: Munchen or Zurich or Wien

A mix of trains are used on the railway route from Budapest to Vienna/Wien.

Raijets, provided by the Austrian national rail operator OBB, typically depart Budapest in the odd hours, while in the even hours IC trains, operated by the Hungarian national rail operator MAV, are used.
The latest type of IC trains are used on this route and the coaches are of a similar type to those used on the Railjets.

The first and last trains of the day are EuroNight (EN) trains, overnight trains which also happen to travel during the day between Budapest and Wien/Vienna.

Avoid these trains if you can, they are more likely to be delayed, have no 1st class seats, and you will be likely be sharing your 2nd class seating compartment with people that have been travelling overnight.

1 x train per hour

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: 6 months ahead of the travel date on OBB.

Bookings open only 3 months ahead on Trainline and MAV; and the cheapest tickets may still be available if you want to wait and use either of these booking services.

The other trains can be €5 cheaper than the Railjet trains and the Railjet trains are only 3 mins faster.

OBB's online booking service doesn't have a 'direct trains' or 'fast trains' filter, but avoid the journeys involving REX trains.

Seat reservations

Reservations are optional for this journey and are particularly recommended if you will be travelling at business hours or on Friday/Sunday afternoons.

However, seats will actually be assigned when booking tickets online on MAV.
But if you book at the international rail desk at Keleti station (you can book using the computer terminals), you will have to request that a reservation be added to the booking.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
OBB from €14

OBB Guide

OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.

It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.

OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.

Trainline *

Trainline Guide

MAV *

MAV Guide

MAV is the national railway operator in Hungary and its newly relaunched website is still at the 'beta' stage, but it can be used to make bookings.
The MAV website also sells tickets for the direct international trains from Hungary and it's booking path for overnight trains is particularly easy to follow.

On this journey

Good to Know

These trains will call at Budapest-Kelenfold station around 10 mins after departing from Budapest-Keleti.

If the starting point of your journey in Budapest is on Metro Line 4, or has an easy connection to Line 4, then take the Metro to Kelenfold station and join the train there.

Not only will your journey be quicker overall, the Metro transfer at Kelenfold is much easier, particularly if you have luggage.

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