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Wien / Vienna to Köln / Cologne / Koeln by train
How to travel by train Vienna to Cologne
Despite the distance it's a very simple journey by train from Wien/Vienna to Köln/Cologne, thanks to direct connections between these two fabulous cities, both during the day and overnight.
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Routes
Option 1: taking the beautiful daytime journey
Journey Summary
8hr 50min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Dortmund
All trains also call at: St Polten, Linz and Mainz, Koblenz and Bonn
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.
Though we particularly recommend opting to make reservations on these trains if you want to join this train at Wien-Meidling.
5 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date, usually
These trains are usually scheduled to depart from Wien Hbf at 06:51; 09:15; 11:15 and 15:15. , so target those times when looking up this journey.
It can be worth comparing prices on the different ticket agents, the cheapest 'Europa Spezial' tickets can still be available on DB, the German railways website, when the most heavily discounted 'Sparschiene' tickets are sold out on OBB, the Austrian railways website.
And the reverse can be true, cheaper Sparschiene tickets can still be available on OBB, meaning that DB can be more expensive.
-and-rail-passes/information/2-germany)** to German train tickets - it should help you save time and money and confusion.
Seat reservations:
Book 1st class ticket journey tickets on DB Bahn and your seat reservation is included, but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.
If you will be travelling 2nd class we highly recommend opting to add a reservation when booking, the ICE trains to Germany from Austria are always comparatively busy.
So if you don't reserve, being able to remain in the same seat all the way from Vienna to Cologne, is something you definitely can't take for granted.
Note that if you opt to book 1st class tickets on OBB, your seat reservation won't be automatically be included, so you will need to be proactive and add it to your booking; so factor in the price of the seat reservation when comparing prices with DB
Alternative connections:
These direct ICE trains to Koln/Cologne from WienVienna don't use the high speed line between Frankfurt (Main) and Koln, they still take the pre-high speed route through The Rhine Valley via Bonn and Koblenz.
Therefore when looking up journeys, you will see faster journey options, than these direct trains, that have 1 x chg. of train.
These faster journey options involve connecting at Frankfurt Flughafen or Frankfurt (Main) into a train that will take the high speed line and not this longer (and much more scenic) route via Koblenz.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB Bahn | from €39.90 | |
| Trainline | from €39.90 | |
| OBB | from €39.90 | |
| Save A Train | from €39.90 | |
| Happy rail | from €39.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
If you opt to take the overnight train you will miss out on experiencing on of Europe's most scenic long distance rail journeys.
Journey description:
This is a fascinating and often beautiful rail journey of multiple phases, which can be best appreciated if you take the first departure of the day between May and September, so can experience the entire journey by daylight.
From Wien/Vienna until Wels the train will travel at up to 230 km/h (close to the high speed threshold) on the main Western Railway which crosses Austria.
On departure from Wells the train will head towards the border with Germany and to the south of Passau, the railway takes a charming route on the east bank of The River Inn, which can be seen on left.
Then between Passau and Regensburg the River Danube is on the right.
Between Regensburg and Nurnberg the train rushes across a delightful rolling landscape and then until Wurzburg the train remains on the conventional railway.
On departure from Wurzburg comes a part of the journey with a wow factor, the train will be on the high speed line for less than 15 minutes, but there are some nice views as the train crosses some long viaducts; in particular look out for when the train will burst out of a tunnel and then immediately cross the River Main.
Between this river bridge and Aschaffenburg comes another scenic part of the trip when the railway winds through some valleys.
As the train will spend less than 3% of its journey on the high speed line, it didn't see right to put this journey in the high speed (partial) category.
The train will reverse direction on departure from Frankfurt (Main) hbf and around twenty minutes later it will cross the River Rhine.
Then after Mainz comes the fabulous climax to the day's travels, the stunning views of The Rhine Gorge between Bingen and Koblenz.
(the videos were taken from a train travelling in the opposite direction).
These Rhine Valley views will usually be on the right*, but due to the reversal in Frankfurt, if possible sit on the left when boarding the train.
*The train can be diverted to travel on the opposite bank of the river.
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Option 2: Travel through the night on a Nightjet
Journey Summary
10hr 40min
Nightly
Travel Information
Final destination: Amsterdam
This train is usually scheduled to depart from Wien Hbf beween 20:10 and 20:50 and arrive in Köln Hbf before 07:00
It is a longer journey than taking the daytime ICE trains.
On departure from Wien Hbf it will be joined to another train heading to Hamburg; if you see 'Hamburg' on the departure screens, then the info will also be for this train.
Don't be concerned about joining the wrong part of the train, your reservations will be in the part of the train that will be heading to Koln.
And the train conductor will greet passengers travelling in the sleeping cabins.
This train also departs from: Wien Meidling, St Polten and Linz (at 22:16)
1 x train per night
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
This train is usually scheduled to depart from Vienna/Wien at 20:41 so target that time when looking up this journey.
Online bookings open:
6 months ahead of the travel date on OBB
3 months ahead of the travel date on DB Bahn
Our step-by-step guide to booking train tickets on the DB (German national railways) website is available HERE.
Our step-by-step guide to booking night train tickets on the OBB (Austrian national railways) website is available HERE.
The choice of accommodation - summary:
- Compartment Seats (Sitzwagen)
- Couchettes (Liegewagen); 4 berths AND 6 berths
- Standard sleeping cars (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
- Deluxe sleeping cars with showers (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
Click the yellow train button above for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:
The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.
Travelling with a rail pass:
Rail pass users must reserve before boarding this train.
However, these rail pass reservations can NO longer be booked online the DB website, but you can now book rail pass reservations without paying booking fees on the OBB website (OBB operates these trains).
Though the process for doing so isn't particularly obvious, hence this step-by-step guide.
If you'd rather not do so, rail pass reservations can be arranged and paid for at the ÖBB Reisebüro desk in Wien Hbf; ideally do this when you first arrive at Wien Hbf on the preceding train on your itinerary.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| OBB | * | |
| DB Bahn | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
On summer mornings when the sun rises before 04:30, if you happen to wake early, you'll get the chance to see some fabulous views of The Rhine Gorge and Valley.
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
