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Take the new direct train from the Austrian capital to one of Germany's most fabulous cities
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From Wien /Vienna to Stuttgart by train
A new epic railway journey has been added to the European railway timetable, as one of the daily ultra-smart Railjet trains from Wien to far-western Austria has had its journey extended into Germany, thereby providing a new direct journey by train from Vienna to Stuttgart.
Though the faster daytime option is to make a connection in Munich.
The other direct option is to travel overnight on a sleeper train
Routes you can take to go from Wien / Vienna to Stuttgart
When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.
Choose one of the following options:
Looking for connections?
Route Information
Option 1: direct during the day
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
9hr 35min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
1 x train per day
Purchase Tickets
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.
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.
On journeys within Germany and on most international journeys from and to Germany on trains operated by DB:
- For journeys by the express trains, EC. IC and ICE trains an adult (on German railways an adult is a person aged 15 and over) can take up to four children aged 6 - 14 with them at no additional charge.
- Tickets need to be booked for children aged 0 - 5, but there is no charge for them.
- Those aged 65 and over can take journeys at a discounted rate.
- Dogs, which are too large to be placed in pet carriers, require tickets which cost 50% of the adult rate.
When booking both types of the discounted 'Sparpreis' tickets seat reservations are an optional extra, so need to be added when booking if you want an assigned seat(s).
Travel Information
Final Destination: Frankfurt (Main)
The train also calls at: Lindau-Reutin; Friedrichshafen-Stadt and Ulm hbf
The train is now usually scheduled to depart from Wien/Vienna daily at around 10:30 and arrive into Stuttgart at 20:05
Departing from Wien/Vienna
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.
The alternative daytime options
The two plus points of taking this train are a lack of a need for connections and the scenic route taken, but if travelling to Stuttgart as quickly as possible is of greater importance to you, the much faster alternative is to travel via Munchen Hbf and make a connection between trains at that station.
For example, it's possible to depart from Wien 35mins after this direct train; and with a comfortably timed 54 min connection into the ICE train, typically scheduled to depart from Munchen/Munich at 15:28, it's possible to be in Stuttgart at 17:45; with an end-to-end journey time of only 7hr 15min.
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
The train will reverse direction on departure from Friedrichshafen Stadt.
The best of the scenery kicks in around 5hrs into the journey, once the train has passed Innsbruck; this train will take the faster, but less scenic route between Kufstein and Innsbruck.
Though near Kuftstein station it will travel beside the River Inn.
Between St.Anton and Feldkirch, the train threads the stunning Arlberg Pass; though in summer the trees can get in the way.
If possible sit on the left (when facing the direction of travel) on departure from Vienna/Wien.
The best views of The Arlberg Pass are from this side of the train, as are the view of the Bodensee between Bregenz and Lindau, and on to Friedrichshafen.
The train will reverse direction on departure from Friedrichshafen
Tickets
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.
Seat reservations
Seat reservations are optional on this Railjet - take note if you will be using a rail pass.
Though in general reservations are highly recommended for this journey, particularly if you'll be travelling 2nd class; it's worth it to ensure that you have an assigned seat for the entire trip.
Booking on the DB website
You can find this trains more easily by making a proactive selection of 'Direct Trains Only'.
But if you can't see it (because the schedule is being disrupted' look again without this option,
Or to see all the combinations of trains and journey options, some of which may be cheaper, take off the 'fastest connections' default
Route Information
Option 2: direct by night
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
8hr 10min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
1 x train per night
Purchase Tickets
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.
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.
On journeys within Germany and on most international journeys from and to Germany on trains operated by DB:
- For journeys by the express trains, EC. IC and ICE trains an adult (on German railways an adult is a person aged 15 and over) can take up to four children aged 6 - 14 with them at no additional charge.
- Tickets need to be booked for children aged 0 - 5, but there is no charge for them.
- Those aged 65 and over can take journeys at a discounted rate.
- Dogs, which are too large to be placed in pet carriers, require tickets which cost 50% of the adult rate.
When booking both types of the discounted 'Sparpreis' tickets seat reservations are an optional extra, so need to be added when booking if you want an assigned seat(s).
Travel Information
Final Destination: Stuttgart
The usual arrival time is around 08:40 with easily timed connections by IC and ICE trains available on to Bonn, Frankfurt (Main), Heidelberg, Koblenz, Mainz and Köln / Cologne - the direct night train from Vienna/ Wien typically departs at around 20:10 and arrives into Köln Hbf before 07:00.
The train also calls at: St Polten - usually departs around midnight; and **Linz ** - usually departs at around 01:00.
Departing from Wien/Vienna
The train is usually scheduled to depart from Wien Hbf daily at around 23;30 - the train commences its journey in Budapest.
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.
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Check the 'Train Guide' for details of the accommodation options.
Note that this is not a Nightjet sevice - the train is operated by the Hungarian national rail operator, MAV.
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open:
6 months ahead of the travel date on OBB
3 months ahead of the travel date on DB Bahn
'Kalaman Imre' is the name given to this train that is provided by Hungarian Railways (MAV) - the train will have commenced its journey in Budapest.
OBB Nightjets are not used on this route.
It comprises
- Compartment Seats
- Couchettes ; 4 berths AND 6 berths
- Sleeping cars with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins (there are no deluxe sleeping cars with showers in the cabins available on this route)
The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.
Click the train info below for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:
Rail pass users must reserve before boarding this train.
However, these rail pass reservations can NO longer be booked online the DB website.
If you want to reserve seats, berths in couchettes or beds in the sleeping cabins before you arrive in Austria, the best option is to pay a booking fee and use the Eurail or InterRail reservation services.
If you would rather not do this, 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.
Route Information
Via stations: München Hbf/Munich main station
Option 3: connecting in München
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
6hr 59min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
1 x optimum connection every other hour
Purchase Tickets
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.
On journeys within Germany and on most international journeys from and to Germany on trains operated by DB:
- For journeys by the express trains, EC. IC and ICE trains an adult (on German railways an adult is a person aged 15 and over) can take up to four children aged 6 - 14 with them at no additional charge.
- Tickets need to be booked for children aged 0 - 5, but there is no charge for them.
- Those aged 65 and over can take journeys at a discounted rate.
- Dogs, which are too large to be placed in pet carriers, require tickets which cost 50% of the adult rate.
When booking both types of the discounted 'Sparpreis' tickets seat reservations are an optional extra, so need to be added when booking if you want an assigned seat(s).
Travel Information
When the typical timetable is operating, every two hours during the day, in even hours, Railjet trains depart Wien / Vienna and arrive into München Hbf around 10mins before the departure of an ICE train on Stuttgart.
This will be enough time to make the transfer, if the train from Wien Hbf arrives no more than 5 mins late.
The transfer will simply involve walking from one train to the other - though the train from Wien will usually arrive into a part of the station that's a two to three minute walk to the main concourse.
If you book this end-to-end journey, with a journey time of around 6hr 15mins, and miss the connection, you can go to the Reisezentrum travel desk and have tickets and reservations reissued at no extra charge.
Though it's a potential inconvenience that's best avoided, hence the recommendation to extend the transfer time when looking up the journey on the DB website - the step-by-step guide explains how to do this.
The end-to-end journey time will then be around 7 hours and the transfer time between trains will then be an easily timed 55mins.
This journey is made up of 1 change.
Train 1
Between Wien Hbf/Hauptbahnhof and München Hbf/Munich main stationYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Munchen Hbf (or Frankfurt)
The train also calls at: St Polten and **Linz **.
Departing from Wien / Vienna
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.
These trains heading to Munchen are usually joined to other trains heading for Bregenz on departure from Wien Hbf.
The two trains are then separated from each other on arrival at Salzburg.
So if you haven't reserved, take care that you're boarding the part of the train which will be heading to Munchen.
This is a pleasant rather than wonderful journey, the best of the views are between Linz and Salzburg - so you won't miss out on a fabulous travel experience if you opt to take the overnight train.
Train 2
Between München Hbf/Munich main station and Stuttgart HbfYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Different types of ICE train are used on this route
All trains also call at: Ulm
This is a very pleasant journey, particularly between Ulm and Stuttgart.
Though what had been the highlight of the trip, the views over the town of Gelsenkirchen, have now been obscured by barriers, which protect its no doubt grateful citizens from the sound of the trains.
Though more than half of the ICE trains which travel between Munchen and Stuttgart now use the brand new high speed line to the north of Ulm.
On departure from Ulm they will spend around 20 mins travelling at more than 250 km/h before rejoining the older route at Plochingen.
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date - but this period of time is shorter when looking up journeys in August to October.
A choice of tickets
Four types of tickets are available:
Two types of discounted tickets, which will be cheaper the further ahead you book - Sparpreis Europa and Super Sparpreis Europa
Two types of non-discounted ticket - Flexpreis Europa and Flexpreis Plus Europa.
Though the ticket agents can use their own naming conventions
A key difference between these types of tickets is refunds:
- Super Sparpreis tickets are cheapest, but they can't be refunded at all.
- Sparpreis tickets can be refunded for a fee, but the refund will be in the form of travel vouchers to be used for alternative / future journeys.
- Flexpreis Europa and Flexpreis Plus Europa tickets can be refunded at no additional charge.
The other key difference is that both types of Sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific departures selected when booking, but both types of Flexpreis tickets live up to their name, as they can be used on any departure on your travel date.
Note that none of the tickets can be exchanged to a different departure.
There's no need for this to be available for Flexpreis Europa tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis Europa ticket and want to travel by a different departure you can refund it and then use the travel voucher towards the cost of the new booking.
Super Sparpreis Europa tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.
Seat reservations
For ticket holders seat reservations are always optional on this route, but if you will be using a rail pass they are now mandatory on the train on to Bruxelles when travelling between mid-June and mid-August - check the Train guide for the exact dates.
Regardless of whether you will be using tickets or rail passes they cost €4.90 when travelling in 2nd Class and €5.90 when travelling in 1st class.
They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis tickets and both 1st and 2nd class Flexpreis Plus tickets.
Specific seats can be selected from seating plans - you don't have to accept the seat(s) that you will be automatically offered.
When booking Super Sparpreis, Sparpreis and 2nd class Flexpreis tickets, you have the option of purchasing seat reservations later.
It can be worth re-looking up a journey a week or two ahead of travel, because the DB website will indicate how busy a departure will be.
Although if you do book your reservations later and your journey involves more than one train, you will then have to pay for separate reservations per train.
Specific seats can be selected from seating plans - you don't have to accept the seat(s) that you will be automatically offered.
They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis tickets and both 1st and 2nd class Flexpreis Plus tickets.
On this journey which involves two trains on which seat reservations are available, the fees cover all trains - if reservations are added when initially booking.
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