Innsbruck to Stuttgart by train

How to take the wonderful rail journey from Innsbruck to Stuttgart

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Routes

From Innsbruck Hbf to Stuttgart Hbf

Travel Information

Final Destination:
The IC train = Munster (usually)
The Railjet train = Frankfurt (Main)

These trains also calls at: Ulm

One of the daily ultra-smart Railjet trains from Innsbruck on the beautiful route to far-western Austria, has had its journey extended into Germany, thereby providing a new second daily journey by train from Innsbruck to Stuttgart.
This Railjet train is now usually scheduled to depart from Innsbruck daily at 14:47 and arrive into Stuttgart at 20:05.

The long-standing IC service comprises the morning departure, it typically commences its journey in Innsbruck at 08:50 and arrives in Stuttgart at 15:00.

2 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

It can be particularly worthwhile comparing prices on the national ticket agents for this journey - when the cheapest tickets have sold out on the DB (German railways website), they can still be available on the OBB (Austrian railways website) and vice versa.

Seat reservations:

Reservations are highly recommended for this journey, If you book a First Class ticket on DB your seat(s) will be assigned, but OBB will charge a reservation fee for First class tickets because they are typically optional when travelling by this train.
You will therefore have to pay to add a reservation when booking second class tickets, no matter which ticket agent you use.

But this is a journey when travelling 1st class can pay off, you'll have greater opportunities to switch sides across the coach on the train - to ensure that you're always seeing the best of the views!

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB from €19.90

DB Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.
Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Two types of ticket have recently been made available;

  1. Cheaper 'Young' tickets which can only be booked by those aged 15-26 on the travel date.
  2. Flexi Plus tickets, which are now the most expensive type of ticket, but they're the only type of 2nd class tickets which DO include a seat reservation.
OBB from €19

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 from €19.90

Trainline Guide

Omio from €19.90

Omio Guide

Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

The three key advantages of using Omio are

  • it offers prices in multiple currencies
  • it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
  • when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.

The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLandscape (Hills / Mountains)Lake views

Good to Know

From December 11th there will also be a new daily Railjet service available on this route.

Heading towards St Anton Heading towards St Anton
Through the Arlberg Pass #1 Through the Arlberg Pass #1
Through the Arlberg Pass #2 Through the Arlberg Pass #2
Approaching Feldkirch Approaching Feldkirch
Between Bregenz and Lindau Between Bregenz and Lindau
Departing from Lindau Departing from Lindau

There are incredible views between Innsbruck and Feldkirch; after St.Anton the train will travel through the stunning Arlberg Pass.

The journey also has other scenic highlights, particularly either side of Lindau, to the south of Lindau the train will travel by the Bodensee.

Sit on the right* on the train (when facing the direction of travel).

The train will reverse direction on departure from Lindau.

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