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Innsbruck to Berlin by train
An addition to the annual new pan-European rail timetable. which commences on December 10th, is this epic new journey by train from Innsbruck across Germany to Berlin.
Though if you will be happy to make a connection in München / Munich, the travel time will be more than an hour faster.
There are no sleeper trains from Innsbruck, or München / Munich to Berlin.
Routes you can take to go from Innsbruck to Berlin
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: the direct train
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
9hr 52min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
1 x direct train per day
Purchase Tickets
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Rail Europe ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option when booking international journeys with connections and for travellers who don't reside in western Europe. Use the easy options on its home page if you will be booking tickets with a railcard: Or purchasing rail pass reservations.
Exclusive for New Customers: Receive a 10% discount by using the code 24NOV on any purchase with a maximum total price of £100, until 28 November 2024 (11:59 pm CET). Limit one coupon per qualifying booking. Cannot be combined, transferred or exchanged.
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.
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
Trainline Guide
Other Ticket Providers
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).
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.
Save A Train Guide
Travel Information
Final Destination: Berlin Gesundbrunnen
This train also departs from: Jenbach, Worgl and Kufstein.
Connect in Worgl when travelling from Kitzbuhel, St Johann and the other ski resorts to the west of Zell am See.
This train also calls at: Erfurt and Leipzig and Berlin-Sudkreuz.
It is typically scheduled to depart from Innsbruck at around 08:40 and arrive into central Berlin shortly after 18:30.
Arriving in Berlin:
Check the location of your final destination in Berlin, as Berlin-Sudkreuz station is connected by local S-Bahn trains to the eastern and western edges of the city centre,
It also has direct S-Bahn trains on lines S2 and S25 and S26 which head north into the city centre and call at Anhalter and Brandenburger Tor and Postdamer Platz and FriedrichstraBe stations; amongst others.
It is also now linked by direct train to the new Berlin Brandenburg airport.
Berlin Gesundbrunnen has connections to destinations on the northern edge of the city centre.
Check your connections in Berlin on this public transport map.
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
The train will reverse direction four times during its journey - on departure from Munchen, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Leipzig!
The highlights of this journey are:
1: From Innsbruck to München:
This train will use relatively new line between Innsbruck and Worgl (that's mainly in tunnel) and which saves around 20 mins on the old route.
However, the tunnels take the trains away from what had been the scenic highlight of the journey, though the trains still run along the banks of the River Inn both north and south of Kufstein station.
2: From München to Stuttgart:
For around 20 mins immediately after departure from Ulm, the train will spend around 20 mins travelling on Germany's newest high speed line
3: From Stuttgart to Frankfurt:
Shortly after departure from Stuttgart the train will move on to the high speed line which leads to Mannheim
4: From Frankfurt to Erfurt
This is the slowest section of the journey as the railway follows a twisty, but scenic route through a series of river valleys.
5: From Erfurt to Leipzig
After departure from Erfurt travels travel at up to 290 km/h on the high speed line for around 40 minutes
6: From Leipzig to Berlin
The remainder of the journey on to Berlin is back on conventional tracks.
Tickets
This train is usually scheduled to depart daily from Innsbruck at 08:40, so target this departure time when looking up tickets.
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.
Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.
A choice of tickets on the DB website
Three types of tickets are always available: Sparpreis and Super Sparpreis and Flexpreis.
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 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 the 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 tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis 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 tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.
When travelling to and from the major cities, the Sparpreis and Flexpreis tickets also include 'City tickets', which can be used on public transport on from Berlin Hbf.
Seat reservations
Seat reservations are optional on ICE trains.
They cost €4.90 when travelling in 2nd Class and €5.90 when travelling in 1st class
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.
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.
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 train 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.
Booking on the OBB website
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.
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.
Seat reservations are optional, but they're particularly recommended for this journey.
Rail pass users:
As explained on our guide to using rail passes on German trains, a tick in the box for travelling by ICE trains, is that you won't HAVE to make a seat reservation.
However, we recommend opting to make the reservation on this train, if you want to be sure of having a stress-free journey.
Route Information
Via stations: München Hbf/Munich main station
Option 2: faster, by changing trains in Munich
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
8hr 15min - 8hr 55min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
4 x optimum connections per day
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).
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.
Travel Information
ICE trains take multiple routes between München / Munich and Berlin and the slowest of these is via Frankfurt (Main) and Stuttgart - and that is the route taken by the new direct train - which continues beyond München to Berlin.
Hence the end-to end journey being faster on this indirect option.
Though because the trains on the faster route between München / Munich and Berlin don't follow a fixed pattern, the time to make the connection in München Hbf is easier when departing Innsbruck after 10:00
Of the multiple options available for an indirect journey by train from Innsbruck to Berlin, the simplest are those which involve taking an EC train + an ICE train and just one transfer in München / Munich - and those which typically involve departing Innsbruck at 06:40, 10:40, 12:40 and 14:40.
Though the first connection of the day only allows 12mins to make the transfer in Munchen.
Also if you set off before 14:00 and a delayed arrival into München Hbf causes the booked connection to be missed, you can go to the Reisezentrum travel desk and have any tickets / reservations re-issued for a subsequent train on to Berlin.
Arriving in Berlin:
Check the location of your final destination in Berlin, as Berlin-Sudkreuz station is connected by local S-Bahn trains to the eastern and western edges of the city centre,
It also has direct S-Bahn trains on lines S2 and S25 and S26 which head north into the city centre and call at Anhalter and Brandenburger Tor and Postdamer Platz and FriedrichstraBe stations; amongst others.
It is also now linked by direct train to the new Berlin Brandenburg airport.
Berlin Gesundbrunnen has connections to destinations on the northern edge of the city centre.
Check your connections in Berlin on this public transport map.
This journey is made up of 1 change.
Train 1
Between Innsbruck Hbf and München Hbf/Munich main stationYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
These trains also depart from: Jenbach, Worgl and Kufstein.
Connect in Worgl when travelling from Kitzbuhel, St Johann and the other ski resorts to the west of Zell am See.
From Apr 8th Railjet trains are scheduled to be introduced to this route.
Sit on the right for the best of the views, for much of the journey between Innsbruck and Kufstein the train travels beside the River Inn.
Train 2
Between München Hbf/Munich main station and Berlin HbfYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Multiple types of ICE train are used on this route.
Two sections of the route, München to Ingolstadt and Bamberg to Halle, are on a high-speed line, so what gives most of this journey its wow factor is its speed.
The train will travel on a high speed line for the 40 minute journey between Ingolstadt and Nurnberg.
Then after travelling through Bamberg it will then spend around 80 minutes travelling at speeds of up to 290 km/h until it switches back to the conventional railway on arrival at Halle.
The route north of Bamberg is the most scenic section of the journey.
The line uses a series of viaducts between tunnels to cross the Thuringian Highland.
Tickets
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.
Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.
A choice of tickets on the DB website
Three types of tickets are always available: Sparpreis and Super Sparpreis and Flexpreis.
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 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 the 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 tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis 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 tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.
When travelling to and from the major cities, the Sparpreis and Flexpreis tickets also include 'City tickets', which can be used on public transport on from Berlin Hbf.
Seat reservations
Seat reservations are optional on ICE trains and on the EC trains
They cost €4.90 when travelling in 2nd Class and €5.90 when travelling in 1st class - if you add them when making an initial booking the fee will cover both trains.
Specific seats on the ICE trains 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.
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.
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
To see all the combinations of trains and journey options, some of which may be cheaper, take off the 'fastest connections' default.
Booking on the OBB website
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.
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.
Seat reservations are optional, but they're particularly recommended for this journey.
Rail pass users:
As explained on the guide to using rail passes on German trains, a tick in the box for travelling by ICE trains, is that you won't have to make a seat reservation.
However, we recommend opting to make the reservation on this train, if you want to be sure of having a stress-free journey.
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