How to take a rail journey from Wien/Vienna to Salzburg

Travelling by Railjet trains managed by the Austrian national rail operator, OBB.

The faster Railjet services on this route have been re-branded as 'Railjet Express' or 'RJX' services.
These RJX services only make three station calls between Wien/Vienna and Salzburg.
The slower 'Railjet' services make 10 station calls.

Departing from Wien/Vienna:

The Railjets depart from Wien Hbf and Wien Meidling stations.

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.

All of the Railjet Express and most of the slower Railjet trains also commence their journeys at Wien Flufghagen/Vienna Airport station
The Railjets are the only direct trains from Wien Flufghagen/Vienna Airport to Salzburg.

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.

Book a Sparschiene ticket and it will be specific to the departure you selected when making a booking and it can't be refunded at all if you subsequently change your travel plans and it also can't be exchanged to an alternative, later departure.
Though when an adult book a Sparschiene ticket, up to four children age 14 and under can be included at no additional charge.

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

No tickets sold for journeys by Railjet trains within Austria can be exchanged in the typical sense, instead the policy is that the more expensive type of tickets can be refunded - and then having done so, you can re-book for an alternative departure.

Refunds

• Standard-Ticket Gruppe; the most expensive type of ticket = You can also cancel and obtain a full refund at any time pre-travel date.
• Sparscheine Komfort tickets; mid-priced tickets (typically offered as an upgrade to Sparscheine tickets) = can be cancelled free of charge up to 15 days ahead of the journey, but if you cancel it with 15 days left to go, you'll receive up to* 50% of what you paid for it
• Sparscheine tickets; lowest priced, heavily discounted tickets = cannot be refunded at all.

Seat reservations

Seat reservations are optional, they have to be proactively added as an upgrade when booking tickets.

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;

Rail pass users

Rail pass users don’t have to make reservations.
However, in SMTJ's experience, it's a good idea to reserve when:

• departing from Wien between 08:00-10:00 and 16:00 -18:00 Monday to Thursday
• on Fridays
• Saturday mornings
• Sunday afternoons/evenings.

Differences with the ticketing for the Westbahn trains

• Seat reservations are included when booking Westbahn tickets up to three hours before departure
• The cheapest type of Westbahn tickets can be cancelled up to a day before departure with 75% of the price returned.
• Up to four children aged 14 and under can travel for a flat fee of €2 per child when travelling with an adult.

Final Destination: Salzburg or Munchen

The Westbahn trains leave from alternative station in Wien/Vienna to those used by the Railjets, they commence their journeys at Wien Westbahnhof.
Unlike Wien hbf the Westbahnhof is served by line U3 of the Vienna Metro which calls at city centre stations with no direct link to the main hbf station including Volkstheater

The Westbahn trains also call at Wien Hutteldorf a station not served by the Railjets, which has an interchange with line U4 of the Vienna Metro, which makes multiple stops on the southern side of the city centre, including at Karlsplatz.

Book early and save: Yes

The train service between Wien/Vienna and Innsbruck is split between Raijet trains operated by OBB and these trains operated by Westbahn.

The two train services have similar journey times*, the difference is generally less than 10 mins compared to OBB's fastest services), but the Westbahn trains depart from a different station in Wien/Vienna

Tickets for the trains operated by Westbahn are not available on the OBB ticket booking site and vice versa, tickets for the trains operated by OBB are not available on the Westbahn site, but both services can be looked up and booked on Trainline.

Differences with the ticketing for the OBB trains

• Seat reservations are included when booking Westbahn tickets up to three hours before departure
• The cheapest type of Westbahn tickets can be cancelled up to a day before departure with 75% of the price returned.
• Up to four children aged 14 and under can travel for a flat fee of €2 per child when travelling with an adult.

The potential to save money

The limited numbers of discounted 'Sparpreis' Westbahn tickets are typically cheaper than the discounted 'Sparschiene' tickets, which are made available by OBB for the Railjet trains.

Like those ''Sparschiene' tickets, the 'Sparpreis' tickets for these Westbahn trains, are specific to the departure you select when making a booking.
However, these Westbahn 'Sparpreis' tickets can sell out faster than the 'Sparschiene' tickets, so the taking the Railjets can be the cheaper option

Last minute tickets booked at the station are more expensive than either of these discounted tickets.
Though if you want to leave booking tickets until the day of travel, it's highly likely that you'll save by taking the Westbahn trains..