EC (Germany - Austria/Croatia/Slovenia)

The same coaches that are used for many Intercity (IC) routes within Germany are used on these international services.

On some departures a mix of German IC coaches and Austrian IC coaches will be used.

On the route to Zagreb, some Slovenian and Croatian coaches will be attached to the trains on departure from Villach.

(1) Munchen - Salzburg - Bad Gastein - Villach - Ljubljana - Zagreb*

(2) Frankfurt (Main) - Heidelberg - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen - Salzburg - Bad Gastein - Villach - Klagenfurt

(3) Munster - Duisburg - Dusseldorf - Koln/Cologne - Bonn - Koblenz - Mainz -- Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen - Salzburg - Bad Gastein - Villach - Klagenfurt

(4) Karlsruhe - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen - Salzburg

(5) Saarbrucken - Kaiserslautern - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen - Salzburg - Graz

(6) Frankfurt (Main) - Heidelberg - Mannheim - Stuttgart - Ulm - Augsburg - Munchen - Salzburg - Graz

*This train is attached to a Frankfurt - Klagenfurt train for the part of the journey between Munchen and Villach.

Reservations are now included when booking 1st class journeys by these trains on the DB website.

However, in 2nd class (and for rail pass users in 1st class and 2nd class) they're available - but optional*
1st class = €5.90
2nd class = €4.50

They can be added when making a booking or purchased separately either online or at the station - at a ticket desk or at a DB ticket machine.

*The route into Slovenia and Croatia is an exception - reservations are mandatory on these journeys, so seats will be assigned when booking tickets, irrespective of whether you want to travel in 1st or 2nd class.

Rail pass users take note - you MUST reserve before boarding these trains if you want to travel to Slovenia or Croatia.
If you have not reserved the availability of seats is NOT guaranteed - if need be walk through the train to find available seats.

BIKE spaces must also be reserved prior to boarding.

You cannot absolutely guarantee that the bar/bistro counters that sell food and drink will be available on these trains .

So you will be making a long journey it's a good idea to take food and drink on board with you.

Unlike on the ICE trains, if you have a 1st class ticket there is no at seat service available.

Power sockets and Wi-Fi are not available on all of these trains.

When Wi-Fi is available it's only accessible in Germany.

A feature of these trains is that some (or all) of the 1st class seating is usually in compartments with a door to the corridor, but virtually all 2nd class seats are open plan.

Finding A Reserved Seat:

The destinations between which a seat has been reserved is either;

• marked above each seat,
• on an electronic strip at the edge of the luggage rack,
• or shown on a seat diagram on the outside of the compartment to the side of the door.

You need to check which seats are available before entering the compartment.

If you haven’t reserved, check these labels carefully, as many seats will only be reserved for part of the journey, so a 'reserved' seat may actually be available for use between your start end points

These trains can be between five and eleven coaches long, if need be, walk through the train to find available seats.

Managing Luggage:

Luggage space isn’t particularly generous on these trains and it has to be placed in the overhead racks, above the seats or in the spaces between seats.

In the compartments the only luggage storage option can be the overhead racks, particularly when the trains are busy.
Luggage cannot be left in corridors outside the compartments.