Salzburg, Austria Credit: Suzanne Swartz

On the direct route from Vienna to Salzburg and vice versa, the train makes several stops. Know where you can transfer and when to make travel easier.

When visiting Austria, consider places other than (or in addition to) Vienna and Salzburg! If you plan on visiting both cities, there is a train line that runs between the two, in both directions. Along the way, the train stops in several smaller towns and cities, where, if you know where to go, it’s possible to connect to trains and buses heading to some of the other amazing sites in this beautiful country.

Different Trains Along the Line

Typically, trains from Vienna to Salzburg and vice versa depart at least once every hour. The number of stops on the line depends on which train you take. Make sure you know, before boarding your train, where it will and will not be stopping. Stops in (brackets) below are ones omitted on some of the longer stretches. If the direct train is going from, say, Basel, Switzerland, over Salzburg to Vienna (usually a EuroCity, or EC, train), the number of stops on the Salzburg-Vienna stretch is fewer than the number on just a Salzburg-Vienna (InterCity, IC) direct train.

Train Stops Along the Line

• The first stop after Vienna: Wien H em>ütteldorf, a sort of “suburb” of Vienna. It’s a big city, so this is basically the beginning of the outskirts.
• Sankt Pölten: This is the capital city of the province of Lower Austria.
• (Amstetten): One of the larger towns in Lower Austria; it’s possible to connect to other towns from here.
• (Sankt Valentin): For some reason, this tiny town on the border of Upper and Lower Austria is a semi-major train junction. At any rate, there are multiple connections from here, including a connection to the beautiful Upper Austrian city of Steyr.
• Linz: The capital of Upper Austria and the third largest city in the country. Direct (and sometimes express) connections are available here to other major Austrian cities.
• Wels: One of Austria’s larger towns, the second-largest in Upper Austria after Linz.
• (Attnang-Puchheim): This stop serves two neighboring towns; from here you can connect to the popular and scenic Salzkammergut region.
• (Vöcklabruck): The final stop before Salzburg and another Salzkammergut connection.

For more information about connection possibilities, train times, and types of trains, see the Austrian rail system, the ÖBB‘s, website. The rail system is intricate, well-organized, and extremely efficient, so once you’ve familiarized yourself with the website and some of the train options, you should have no trouble creating a train itinerary convenient to your travel plans.