Vienna to Salzburg
Trains from Vienna to Salzburg (2018 timetable):
Austrian Railways (ÖBB) RailJet trains with minimum stops & 2:22 travel time till Salzburg:
| RJ 368* | RJ 260 | RJ 160 | RJ 262 | RJ 162 | RJ 60 | RJ 564 | RJ 62 | RJ 166 | RJ 64 | RJ 168 | RJ 66 | RJ 760 | RJ 68 | RJ 762 | RJ 42 | |
| Wien Hbf. (Vienna Central Station) | 5:30 | 6:30 | 7:30 | 8:30 | 9:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 |
| Linz | 6:46 | 7:46 | 8:46 | 9:46 | 10:46 | 11:46 | 12:46 | 13:46 | 14:46 | 15:46 | 16:46 | 17:46 | 18:46 | 19:46 | 20:46 | 21:46 |
| Salzburg Hbf. (Salzburg Central Station) | 7:54 | 8:52 | 9:52 | 10:52 | 11:52 | 12:52 | 13:52 | 14:52 | 15:52 | 16:52 | 17:52 | 18:52 | 19:52 | 20:52 | 21:52 | 22:52 |
Austrian Railways (ÖBB) RailJet trains with 2:53 travel time till Salzburg:
| RJ 540 | RJ 542 | RJ 662 | RJ 690 | RJ 548 | RJ 640 | RJ 642 | RJ 644 | RJ 646 | RJ 692 | RJ 740 | RJ 742 | RJ 744 | RJ 746 | RJ 748 | RJ 840 | |
| Wien Hbf. (Vienna Central Station) | 5:55 | 6:55 | 7:55 | 8:55 | 9:55 | 10:55 | 11:55 | 12:55 | 13:55 | 14:55 | 15:55 | 16:55 | 17:55 | 18:55 | 19:55 | 20:55 |
| Linz | 7:30 | 8:30 | 9:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 |
| Salzburg Hbf. (Salzburg Central Station) | 8:48 | 9:48 | 10:48 | 11:48 | 12:48 | 13:48 | 14:48 | 15:48 | 16:48 | 17:48 | 18:48 | 19:48 | 20:48 | 21:48 | 22:48 | 23:48 |
WestBahn trains from Vienna West train station & with 2:26 travel time till Salzburg:
| WB 900* | WB 902 | WB 904 | WB 906 | WB 908 | WB 910 | WB 912 | WB 914 | WB 916 | WB 918 | WB 920 | WB 922 | WB 924 | WB 926 | WB 928 | |
|
Wien WestBahnhof. (Vienna West Station) |
5:43 | 6:43 | 7:43 | 8:43 | 9:43 | 10:43 | 11:43 | 12:43 | 13:43 | 14:43 | 15:43 | 16:43 | 17:43 | 18:43 | 19:43 |
| Linz | 6:56 | 7:56 | 8:56 | 9:56 | 10:56 | 11:56 | 12:56 | 13:56 | 14:56 | 15:56 | 16:56 | 17:56 | 18:56 | 19:56 | 20:56 |
|
Salzburg Hbf. (Salzburg Central Station) |
8:28 | 9:08 | 10:08 | 11:08 | 12:08 | 13:08 | 14:08 | 15:08 | 16:08 | 17:08 | 18:08 | 19:08 | 20:08 | 21:08 | 22:08 |
WestBahn trains from Vienna Central train station & with 2:32 travel time till Salzburg:
| WB 950 | WB 952 | WB 954 | WB 956 | WB 958 | WB 960 | WB 962 | WB 964 | WB 966 | WB 968 | WB 970 | WB 972 | WB 974 | WB 976 | WB 978 | |
|
Wien Hbf. (Vienna Central Station) |
6:06 | 7:06 | 8:06 | 9:06 | 10:06 | 11:06 | 12:06 | 13:06 | 14:06 | 15:06 | 16:06 | 17:06 | 18:06 | 19:06 | 20:06 |
|
Wien Meidling (Vienna Meidling station) |
6:14 | 7:14 | 8:14 | 9:14 | 10:14 | 11:14 | 12:14 | 13:14 | 14:14 | 15:14 | 16:14 | 17:14 | 18:14 | 19:14 | 20:14 |
| Linz | 7:26 | 8:26 | 9:26 | 10:26 | 11:26 | 12:26 | 13:26 | 14:26 | 15:26 | 16:26 | 17:26 | 18:26 | 19:26 | 20:26 | 21:26 |
|
Salzburg Hbf. (Salzburg Central Station) |
8:38 | 9:38 | 10:38 | 11:38 | 12:38 | 13:38 | 14:38 | 15:38 | 16:38 | 17:38 | 18:38 | 19:38 | 20:38 | 21:38 | 22:38 |
* run only on Monday
Trains Tickets from Vienna to Salzburg? When traveling between the Austrian capital & beatiful Salzburg potential passengers can buy different types of train tickets, choosing the right kind of ticket can save you a good sum of money:
- easy & cheap option is the discounted ticket called Sparschiene (one-way fare in 2nd class seat start from only 19 euro) offered by Austrian Railways (ÖBB). Sparschiene Austria ticket can be purchased for any ÖBB long-distance train (e.g. Railjet, IC or even EuroNight) connecting Vienna & Salzburg. However you should keep in mind that the number of such discounted tickets is limited per each train departure, thus it means that there is certain quota of such cheap Spar tickets per each train, once the quota is sold out next price level (e.g. 24 euro instead of 19) kicks in. So earlier you buy your ticket the better chances you have to catch those cheapest spar tickets. Sparschiene tickets (we have step by step guide on how to purchase train tickets via Austrian Railways website) Vienna-Salzburg can be bought as early as 6 months before your travel date, but at the latest 3 days prior to departure (obvioulsy unless quota of such ticket are not sold out yet). Sparschiene tickets are issued for the specific train & date (exchange or refund is not allowed)
- standard full fare one-way ticket Vienna-Salzburg for any Austrian Railways (ÖBB) train cost 54,10 euro, but it doesn't really make sense to purchase such ticket (see below), since it is way too expensive for less than a three hour hour rail journey in this part of Europe.
- WestBahn (private rail company) charge only 26,50 euro for the standard full fare one-way ticket on Vienna to Salzburg line, so in case you missed a chance to catch discounted sparschiene ticket sold by the state owned Austrian Railways, then instead of paying 54,10 euro you can just travel with the alternative private company - WestBahn - for only 26,50 euro. Another bonus which comes with using WestBahn is that you can purchase your train ticket even on board of the train. NB: time to time (especially during the low or mid season) WestBahn also offers certain discounted tickets, so make sure you check their website, maybe you can travel even cheaper than 26,50 euro
- besides the above mentioned options you can consider a couple totally legal ticket tricks, which might be of help to those who plan to travel between Vienna & Salzburg:
- Austrian Railways (ÖBB) offer discounted Sparschiene tickets not only for trips from Vienna to Salzburg, but also for hundreds of other domestic rail connections in Austria. So when 19 euro tickets from Vienna to Salzburg are already sold out potential passengers should keep in mind that there is still a chance that discounted tickets for some shorter trips like Vienna to Linz or Linz to Salzburg (both start from only 9 euro) are still available due to a separate quota of such tickets. What you can do here is simply purchase combination of two 9 euro tickets (Vienna-Linz + Linz-Salzburg) instead of one through ticket Vienna-Salzburg. It is possible to buy such combination even for the same train, thus you won't even need to leave the train in Linz or any other station you've chosen to "break" your ticket.
- in case you travel not alone, but with friends or family it might make sense to consider purchasing the so-called Einfach-Raus-Ticket. Einfach-Raus Ticket is basically a daily group pass for 2-5 passengers traveling together which is valid on the entire Austrian rail network, it works for all the regional trains on weekdays (Monday till Friday) from 9 am till 3 am (next day), while on Saturdays, Sundays & public holidays the validity is the entire day. Einfach-Raus Ticket for 2 passengers cost 34 euro, 3 persons - 38 euro, 4 persons - 42 euro & 5 persons - 46 euro. The main idea behind buying such day pass is that you would travel using somewhat slower regional (REX & R) trains & will have a few train changes along the way, but won't need to purchase any tickets in advance or be tied to any specific train. Since the more passengers traveling together the cheaper it gets for each, simple calculations (46 euro/5 passenger) tell us that you can reach Salzburg for as low as 9 euro per passenger, isn't it a bargain?
Alternatives? Perhaps you aren't in the mood to travel from Vienna to Salzburg using direct train, then you have a few other options to consider: a) travel with a stopover in some interesting place (e.g. already mentioned earlier Linz or St.Pölten or even make a slight detour to places like Krems); b) for those who prefer river adventure, during the summer season it is possible to travel part of the route by ferry; c) in case you in a hurry, then it's possible to fly from Vienna to Salzburg - Austrian Airlines have direct flights (only 50 min. travel time) between the two cities few times per day.