Ski Resorts in Austria by train

Three good reasons for travelling to the most popular ski resorts in Austria by train:

1. You can take long-distance express trains direct to a resort - St Anton has exceptionally easy access
2. The number of international trains to Austria has increased in recent years.
3. Many stations offer exceptionally easy train to cable car / ski lift transfers.

At these rail stations, the cable cars up to the winter sports areas are within a few minutes walk from the trains:

• Kitzbühel Hahnenkamm Bahnhof - direct trains to/from Innsbruck
• Hopfgarten im Brixental Berglift Bahnhof - direct trains to/from Innsbruck
• Zell am See - direct trains to/from Innsbruck, Salzburg and Wien
• Bad Gastein - direct trains to/from Salzburg and Wien

Much of the 2026 Austrian rail timetable, which will be in place until the second Sunday in December, has been drastically altered compared to the previous version.

The two changes which have had the biggest impact on travel to and from ski resorts are:

(1) In addition to the main east <> west route which links Bregenz - Feldkirch - Innsbruck - Worgl - Salzburg - Linz - St Polten - Wien; There is now a Salzburg - Bischofshofen - St. Johann im Pongau - Schwarzach St Veit - Bad Gastein - Villach - Klagenfurt - Graz - Bruck an der Mur - Wien route.

Long-distance trains which used to take a Salzburg <> Graz route along the Enns Valley Railway through Radstadt, Schladming and Selzthal have been switched to the route via Villach and Graz.
As a consequence St. Johann im Pongau and Bad Gastein have gained additional long-distance express trains, but there are fewer of these trains calling in Radstadt and Schladming.

(2) A new category of train service, the Inter Regio / IR, has been introduced, to provide semi-fast longer-distance services at regular timetable intervals - hourly or every other hour.
These IR trains now link Innsbruck with a multitude of both resorts and gateway stations including Hopfgarten im Brixental, Kirchberg in Tirol, Kitzbühel, St. Johann in Tiroll, Zell am See, St Johann im Pongau, Radstadt and Schladming.

The Salzburg - Tyrol Railway provides easy access by train to the multiple ski resorts which it passes through.
At its eastern end is Salzburg Hbf, the city's main railway station, which is linked to Salzburg Airport by trolleybus line / route 2.

At its western end is the railway junction station, Wörgl Hbf.
Some years ago the express trains which travel along the Wien/Vienna - Linz - Salzburg - Innsbruck route, were diverted away from the Salzburg - Tyrol Railway on to a faster route which takes them through Germany, but connections are available to and from these trains at Wörgl.
The trains on the München / Munich - Innsbruck - Brennero - destinations in Italy route also call in Wörgl.

Though there are now also typically at least hourly trains which start / finish their journeys in Innsbruck and call at Wörgl as they travel between the city and the stations on the Salzburg=Tyrol railway.
Innsbruck Airport is linked to the rail station every 20 mins by bus route / line F.

Kitzbühel and Kirchberg are neighboring resort towns, which combined give access to 'the Kitski', which is one of the largest skiing areas in Austria.
Kitzbühel has three railway stations and from east to west they are;

1. Kitzbühel Schwarzsee Bahnhof, which lives up to its name as it's within a five minute walk of the lake, pictured above.
2. Kitzbühel Hahnenkamm Bahnhof, which is adjacent to the base station of the Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel - KitzSki cable car, so it's a good station to head to if you won't be staying in Kitzbühel or Kirchberg, but want to take an easy day trip to the slopes.
3. The main station in Kitzbühel, which is to the north of the town centre - and it's around a 15-20 minute walk to the base station of the KitzSki Hornbahn I cable car.

The station in Kirchberg im Tirol is connected to the town's two main ski lift / cable cars, the KitzSki Sesselbahn Gaisberg and the KitzSki Maierlbahn by bus route / line 4004.
Taking the bus is the alternative to a 20 -30 minute walk from the station, but there are gaps of more than an hour between each bus departure.

As you may guess from the name, the Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn is centred on Saalbach, a village without a railway station, but it is linked to Zell am See station (see below) by the bus route / line 680.
The buses also finish / start their journeys in Hinterglemm

Leogang has a railway station though it has a rural location at the end of a country lane, so booking ahead for collection by a local car service is pretty much essential.
Though if you're staying in a location with trains to Leogang and want to make a day trip to the Skicircus, the base station of the Steinbergbahn Leogang cable car, is around a 20 minute walk from the the rail station.

The SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental, Tirol claims to be the largest ski area in Austria.
Two resort towns to the south of it, Brixen im Thale and Hogfgarten, have railway stations and lifts / cable cars up to the slopes.

Though the railway station in Brixen im Thale is at the opposite end of the village to the base stations of the SkiWelt Brixen im Thale - Bergbahn Brixen i Thale AG cable car and the Skiweltbahn - Talstation cable car.

In contrast the rail station named Hopfgarten im Brixental Berglift Bahnhof, lives up to its name - as it is less than a five minute walk from it to the the base station of the Hopfgarten Bergbahn cable car.
So if you want to take a day trip to the ski slopes, this station offers exceptionally easy access, particularly from Innsbruck.

Hopfgarten also has a railway station in the centre of the village.

Heading east from Kitzbühel two stops along the Salzburg - Tyrol Railway is St. Johann in Tirol, so staying here can be a good option if room rates in Kitzbühel are eye-wateringly high.
The station is within an easy walk of the centre of the village and the main cable car in Kitzbühel is a 10 minute train ride away at Kitzbühel Hahnenkamm Bahnhof.

The base station for the main cable car in St. Johann in Tirol - the Bergbahnen St. Johann in Tirol, is around a 10- 15 min walk from the rail station.
As most of the hotels in the village are between the two 'stations', St. Johann in Tirol is a location where taking the train to a ski resort is a particularly logical option.

For a climate friendly ski holiday this area ticks a lot of boxes:

• Zell am See is the main rail station on the Salzburg - Tyrol Railway.
• There are two cable car base stations within easy reach of the rail station, the Ebenbergbahn is a three minute walk away.
• the Pinzgauer Lokalbahn railway links the main station in Zell am See to a station named Schüttdorf Areitbahn, which is adjacent to the base station of the areitXpress cable car.
• Bus route / line 660 connects the rail station / bahnhof in Zell amd See to the village of Kaprun every 30 mins.
  The base station of the cable car in Kaprun gives access to the Kitzsteinhorn ski area.
  These factors plus the glorious lakeside location has led to Zell am See being a playground of the wealthy.
  Though the rail services on the Salzburg - Tyrol Railway (see below), make its possible to stay in alternative locations and access the skiing areas in Zell am See on day trips.

The timetable for the regional and local trains on the Salzburg - Tyrol Railway has been simplified due to the introduction of new IR (InterRegio) services. (not all station calls are included below)

In addition to local trains which head easy and west from Zell am See the four core services are now:

• Innsbruck - Jenbach - Wörgl - Hopfgarten im Brixental Berglift - Brixen im Thale - Kirchberg in Tirol - Kitzbühel - St. Johann in Tirol - Leogang - Saalfelden - Zell am See ↔ Schwarzach St Veit - St. Johann im Pongau - Bischofshofen - Radstadt - Schladming - Stainach-Irdning - Selzthal - Leoben - Bruck an der Mur - Graz; every two hours by IR train (the IR Ennstal service)
• Wörgl - Hopfgarten im Brixental Berglift - Brixen im Thale - Kirchberg in Tirol - Kitzbühel - St. Johann in Tirol - Leogang - Saalfelden - Zell am See ↔ Schwarzach St Veit - St. Johann im Pongau - Bischofshofen - Salzburg; every two hours by IR train (the IR Pinzgau service)
• Hourly S-Bahn trains which call at all stations on an Innsbruck - Wörgl - Hopfgarten im Brixental Berglift - Brixen im Thale - Kirchberg in Tirol - Kitzbühel ↔ St. Johann in Tirol - Leogang - Saalfelden - Zell am See route
• Hourly regional 'Rex' trains on a Saalfelden - Zell am See ↔ Schwarzach St Veit - St. Johann im Pongau - Bischofshofen - Salzburg route

Long-distance trains

These long - distance trains also make calls in Kirchberg in Tirol, Kitzbühel, St. Johann in Tirol and Zell am See.

(1) On Friday evenings from December 22nd to March 15th, Swedish train company Snälltåget offers a direct overnight train to the Austrian Alps.
It departs from Malmo and calls at Høje Taastrup station in the suburbs of Copenhagen / Kobenhavn, at Odense and in Hamburg Hbf.
Though it does not call in Kirchberg in Tirol.

(2) The 'Transalpin' EC train departs from Zurich HB station daily.
This train typically departs from Innsbruck at around 12:20pm.

(3) On Fridays from late December to late March an ICE train takes a Hamburg - Hannover - Wurzburg - Nurnberg - Munchen - Wörgl - Schwarzach-St.Veit route.

(4) On Saturday and Sunday an IC train takes a Wien/Vienna - St Polten - Linz - Salzburg ↔ Bischofshofen - St. Johann im Pongau - Schwarzach St Veit - Zell am See - Worgl route.
It typically departs Wien Hbf after 08:45.

(5) There are now also 3 x Westbahn trains per day taking a Wien Westbahnhof - St Polten - Linz - Salzburg ↔ Bischofshofen - St. Johann im Pongau - Schwarzach St Veit - Zell am See - Saalfelden route.

Additional International Connections

• The nightly Nightjet trains from Amsterdam, Hamburg and Koln/Cologne to Innsbruck all call in Wörgl.
• Every two hours the EC trains on the Munchen - Verona route call in Wörgl.
• There are hourly trains on the Salzburg - Villach - Klagenfurt (- Graz) route which call at Schwarzach-St.Veit
• Also calling at Schwarzach-St.Veit are new daily ICE trains on routes between multiple German cities and Graz.
• There are two Railjet trains per day taking a Munchen - Salzburg - Schwarzach-St.Veit - Villach - Klagenfurt - Graz - Wien route.
• There is a daily ICE train on a Berlin - Leipzig - Erfurt - Nurnberg - Augsburg - Munchen - Wörgl - Innsbruck route.

The Arlberg Railway provides the access to the ski resorts in The Tyrol, as it provides an east to west route from Innsbruck to Feldkirch and beyond - to the Swiss border, to Bregenz and on to the German border at Lindau.

So Innsbruck is very much the gateway city to the popular resorts listed below - Innsbruck Airport is linked to the rail station every 20 mins by bus route / line F.

But the train can be the the logical choice for accessing the winter sports areas to the west of Innsbruck, as this railway is used by long-distance trains from and to multiple cities, including Koln, Salzburg, Stuttgart, Wien/ Vienna and Zurich.

The largest skiing area in Austria also has second to none access of any ski resort by train.
Ski Arlberg has the village of St. Anton am Arlberg on its southern edge. It is the location of a rail station, which is exclusively served in every hour during the day by long-distance express trains!
The station is within a 5 - 10 minute walk of the centre of the village; and within a 10 - 15 minute walk of three state-of-the art base stations of cable cars, which lead up to the slopes:

1. The base station of the Galzigbahn cable car, which is the main connection to the wider Ski Alberg area
2. The base station of the Gampenbahn cable car
3. The base station of the Rendlbahn cable car, which leads up to a seperate set of slopes to the south of the village.

Ischgl doesn't have a rail station, but it is linked to Landeck-Zams station every 30 mins by bus route / line 260 - in a journey time of 53 minutes.

What gives Ischl its exceptionally easy access by train + bus, is that all of the express trains on the Arlberg Railway call at Landeck-Zams station - plus there are also typically hourly regional 'REX' train services between Innsbruck and Landeck-Zams.
Therefore the journey from Innsbruck rail station to Ischl by public transport typically takes around 2hr 15mins and is available hourly.

Ötztal station is less than a 40 min journey from Innsbruck by train and many of the long-distance trains which use the Arlberg Railway also serve it.

Bus route/line 320 connects Ötztal station to Sölden every 30 minutes in a journey time of 1hr 5mins.

The only train services which travel the full length of the Arlberg Railway are express train services and all of them call in Landeck-Zams station:

The daytime services are:

(1) In most hours there are Railjet RJX express trains from Wien/Vienna some of which commence their journeys in the station at Vienna airport - and one train per day commences its journey in Budapest; and another commences its journey in Bratislava.
All of these trains also call at Linz and Salzburg.
Most of these trains also call at St.Anton or Ötztal.

(2) Every other hour Railjet trains depart from Zurich though not all of these trains call in St.Anton or Ötztal.
Connections into these trains enable a London to an Austrian ski resort journey by train in a single day.
There are also trains to Zurich from numerous other cities including Amsterdam, Koln/Cologne, Milan and Paris.

(3) There is the daily 'Transalpin' service on a Zurich ↔ Graz route which makes calls in St.Anton and Ötztal.
This train also provides a direct link to and from the ski resorts on the Salzburg - Tyrol railway (see above).

(4) There is usually a daily ICE train from Koln / Cologne which also calls in Dusseldorf, Mannheim, Stuttgart and Ulm.

(5) On Saturdays from early December to late April, a Railjet departs from Munchen/Munich in the afternoon.

By night train

The nightly Nightjet trains from Amsterdam, Hamburg to Innsbruck have connections in Innsbruck on to Ötztal, Landeck-Zams and St.Anton.

Innsbruck is the rail journey hub of The Tyrol in western Austria,
In addition to the Railjet and Westbahn trains trains from Wien/Vienna, from Linz and from Salzburg - there are international trains to Innsbruck and from Innsbruck which connect the city to multiple locations.

These international locations with direct trains to and from Innsbruck, include - Amsterdam (night train), Berlin, Bologna, Budapest, Hamburg (night train), Koln / Cologne, Leipzig, Munchen / Munich, Nurnberg, Rome (night train), Venice, Verona and Zurich.

Due to the connections available in Zurich, it's possible to travel from London to Innsbruck in a single day by train.

There are pistes just 20 mins from Innsbruck city centre, up on Nordkette - which can be accessed from the northern edge of the heart of the city on a combination of funicular and cable car.

So Innsbruck can be a great base for a winter sports holiday, as it combines a city break with access to the slopes.

Though there are also other skiing areas within easy reach of the city, by taking local trains from its main station, Innsbruck Hbf.
So once you have taken the bus from Innsbruck airport, you can transfer to trains on to multiple resorts.
Or you can spend your entire holiday in Innsbruck and take a day trip or two to the easily accessible resorts to the east of the city.

There are typically two local trains per hour from Innsbruck to the station named Brixlegg, that have a journey time of around 40 minutes.
From Brixlegg station the bus route / line 4074 goes to the base station of the Wiedersbergerhornbahn cable car.
The journey time on the bus is around 20 minutes, though buses don't meet every train from Innsbruck.

Though if you use the nationwide journey planner to work out the optimum connections, with 'Alpbach Wiedersbergerhornbahn Talstation' as the final destination - you can be making the most of the Skijuwel pistes within 90 minutes of departing Innsbruck Hbf rail station.
If Alpbach is your chosen holiday location, you can be in the village within two hours of leaving Innsbruck airport.

Connect in Wörgl if you will heading to Brixlegg by train from Munchen, Salzburg or Wien / Vienna.

In Switzerland accessing a Swiss ski resort by train typically involves making a train to train connection into a mountain railway.
In Austria that isn't as common, but there is one railway which links mainline trains to multiple winter sports locations - the Zillertalbahn.
It can be accessed at Jenbach station, which is a very easy journey by train from Innsbruck - end-to-end tickets can be booked in Innsbruck Hbf, which include the regular OBB trains and the Zillertalbahn trains.

Jenbach is also a station call for the long-distance trains which take these routes:

• Vienna airport - Vienna city centre - Linz - Salzburg - Jenbach ↔ Innsbruck - Feldkirch - Bregenz / Zurich
• Munich - Jenbach ↔ Innsbruck - Bolzano - Verona - Bologna / Innsbruck
• Zurich - Feldkirch - Innsbruck ↔ Jenbach - Zell am See - Radstadt - Graz
• Berlin - Leipzig - Erfurt - Nurnberg - Augsburg - Munich - Jenbach - Innsbruck; a daily ICE train.
• On Friday evenings from December 22nd to March 29th, Swedish train company Snälltåget offers a direct overnight train to the Austrian Alps.
  It departs from Malmo and calls at Høje Taastrup station in the suburbs of Copenhagen / Kobenhavn, at Odense and in Hamburg Hbf.
  On early Saturday afternoon it arrives in Jenbach.

At Kaltenbach

Kaltenbach-Stumm station, a 25 minute ride from Jenbach, is within a 10 minute walk of the base station of the Hochzillertal Bergbahnen 1 ski lift to the Hochzillertal/Hochfügen skiing area.

At Mayrhofen

The rail station in Mayrhofen is at the opposite end of the village to the base stations of the cable cars:

• the Ahornbahn which lives up to its name with access to the Mount Ahorn skiing area.
• the Penkenbahn - Mayrhofner Bergbahnen also lives up to its name, as it provides the access to Mount Penken.

So other skiing areas are easier day trips from Innsbruck, but for those who want to holiday within a ski resort, Mayrhofen offers a great combination of well regarded pistes, a choice of accommodation and easy access by train!

At Zell am Ziller

Similarly to Mayrhofen, the rail station in Zell Am Ziller is on the opposite side of the village to the cable car base stations.
The connection between the trains and these cable cars is provided by bus line / route 8330 which goes from the station to the stop named, 'Rohrberg Rosenalmbahn'.
An indicator of the distance between the rail station and the cable cars on foot, is that the bus ride takes five minutes.

The two cable cars by the village are within a 5 minute walk of each other:
1: The Rosenalmbahn provides the connection to the Zilltertal Arena winter sports area, and
2: The Karspitzbahn

Salzburg is located on the main railway route in Austria that connects Wien / Vienna to Innsbruck, but there are also two other major rail routes to the south of the city, which provides access to multiple popular skiing areas.
Trains head south from Salzburg towards the spectacular Tauern Valley Railway, and this route has connections with two other railways:

1. From Bischofshofen, the Enns Valley Railway heads east towards Leoben and Graz - and gives access to the ski resorts at Obertauern and Schladming-Dachstein, see below.
2. From Schwarzach-St. Veit station, the Salzburg - Tyrol Railway heads west to Wörgl.
   Multiple resort towns along this line have stations, but as explained above, those to the west of Zell am See such as Hopfgarten, Brixen im Thale - Kirchberg in Tirol, Kitzbühel and St. Johann, have more frequent trains from Innsbruck and Wörgl.

Though Saalfden and Zell am See typically have hourly trains from Salzburg.

Salzburg Hbf, the city's main railway station, is linked to Salzburg Airport by trolleybus line / route 2.

One of the three resort villages which provide the access to the Snow Space Salzburg winter sports area is St Johann-Aplendorf.
It is connected to St Johann im Pongau railway station by bus line /route 540.
The bus stop named 'St.Johann Abzw Alpendorf' is by the base station of the cable car - and the journey from the rail station only takes around 6 minutes.

Trains to St Johann im Pongau

• Two 'Rex' regional trains per hour from and to Salzburg in a journey time of around 55mins.
• Hourly IR trains from and to Worgl (connections with Bolzano, Feldkirch, Innsbruck, Verona and Zurich)
• Every other hour there are IR trains from and to Graz, Innsbruck and Salzburg
• Every other hour there are IC trains on a Salzburg ↔ St Johann im Pongau ↔ Villach - Klagenfurt route
• ICE trains on a Koln / Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Munchen - Salzburg ↔ St Johann im Pongau ↔ Villach - Klagenfurt - Graz route.
• Railjet trains on a Munchen - Salzburg ↔ St Johann im Pongau ↔ Villach - Klagenfurt - Graz - Wien route.

On Friday evenings from December 22nd to March 15th, Swedish train company Snälltåget offers a direct overnight train to the Austrian Alps.
It departs from Malmo and calls at Høje Taastrup station in the suburbs of Copenhagen / Kobenhavn, at Odense and in Hamburg Hbf.
It arrives in St Johann im Pongau on Saturday mornings.

A footbridge at the south end of Bad Gastein railway station connects it to the base station of the Stubnerkogelbahn cable car, which is the link between the town and the Schlossalm - Angertal - Stubnerkogel winter sports area.
So the pistes here have exceptionally easy access from Salzburg, thanks to the express trains which have a journey time of around 1hr 30mins and typically depart at least hourly.

These express train routes call at Bad Gastein:

• Every other hour there are IC trains on a Salzburg ↔ Bad Gastein ↔ Villach - Klagenfurt route
• In some other hours there are ICE trains on a Koln / Frankfurt (Main) - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Munchen - Salzburg ↔ Bad Gastein ↔ Villach - Klagenfurt - Graz route.
• In some other hours there are also Railjet trains on a Munchen - Salzburg ↔ Bad Gastein ↔ Villach - Klagenfurt - Graz - Wien route.

The elevation at Obertauern gives its skiing area an exceptionally long season. which can reward the effort required to reach it.
The access by public transport is to take a train to Radstadt station where a connection can be made with bus route / line 280.
Though the bus journey only takes around 25 - 30 minutes and there are stops by the base stations of the multiple cable cars in Obertauern.

Trains to and from Radstadt

The rail service has been simplified on the current timetable.

In every hour during the day the core service alternates between these two services which both operate every other hour

• An IR train on an Innsbruck - Jenbach - Wörgl - Hopfgarten im Brixental Berglift - Brixen im Thale - Kirchberg in Tirol - Kitzbühel - St. Johann in Tirol - Leogang - Saalfelden - Zell am See - Schwarzach St Veit - St. Johann im Pongau - Bischofshofen ↔ Radstadt - Schladming - Stainach-Irdning - Selzthal - Leoben - Bruck an der Mur - Graz route.
• A local train on a Bischofshofen ↔ Radstadt - Schladming - Stainach-Irdning - Selzthal - Leoben - Bruck an der Mur route
  Both of these services make additional calls.

The simplified timetable has removed the direct trains between Salzburg and Radstadt, connections are now required at Bischofshofen.

Three additional long-distance services enable access to Radstadt.

(1) The 'Transalpin' EC train departs from Zurich HB station daily.
This train typically departs from Innsbruck at around 12:20pm.

(2) On Fridays to Sundays there is 1 x IC train per day on a Wien - St Polten - Seltzhal - Schladming - Radstadt - Bischofshofen route.

(3) On Friday evenings from December 22nd to March 15th, Swedish train company Snälltåget offers a direct overnight train to the Austrian Alps.
It departs from Malmo and calls at Høje Taastrup station in the suburbs of Copenhagen / Kobenhavn, at Odense and in Hamburg Hbf.
It arrives in Bischofshofen on Saturday mornings for connections on to Radstadt.

Fifteen minutes east of Radstadt by train is Schladming station which is the village that provides the main access to the Schladming-Dachstein network of pistes and winter sports areas.

The base station of the Planai West cable car is within a 15 minute walk of the railway station!

The trains which call in Radstadt also call in Schladming.