I will be travelling with friends to Austria in March and I have a few questions regarding train travel. (I have only taken one train trip in Europe and it was a nightmare since I didn't know what I was doing!) <BR> <BR>1. We are travelling from Vienna to Salzburg, then to Innsbruck and then back to Vienna. I understand the Vienna to Salzburg is an Intercity train (IC) and the others are Eurocity (EC). What does this mean? Will we have to change trains? <BR> <BR>2. Since we are flying over on a carrier who only allows 1 carry-on I will have a 26inch rolling suitcase along with my duffel bag. Is this too big to carry on the train? Will I have to check it? Do they even have checked baggage? <BR> <BR>3. We will be buying Austrian rail passes here for 3 days worth of travel. Do any of these routes have a surcharge we will have to pay, such as express trains? <BR> <BR>Please help me make my second train experience better than the first one. <BR> <BR>Thanks

You can ride either an IC or an EC train between Salzburg and Vienna. It just depends on which one you take. <BR>For example we rode into Salzburg last year on the Maria Theresia (EC 161) which originated in Zurich. There is really little difference as nearly as I can tell. <BR>I priced an EC ticket from Innsbruck to Vienna and an ICE ticket. The cost that the Austrian train web site gave was the same(The ÖBB is the Austrian National Train System. Österreich is Austria in German; the BB stands for Bundesbahn.) <BR>Whether or not you have to change trains depends on which train you get on to start with. I see no reason to change because many trains during the day go all the way from Innsbruck to Vienna West. As to whether or not you can take your larger suitcase on the train is purely a function of how strong you are. <BR>I prefer to tote my on so I have it with me. The only problem I see is that the luggage racks are overhead and some arm strength is required to lift. But ususually there is some willing male around to give you a hand. <BR>There is a checked baggage service, but I do not know the details because I never used it in France, Switzerland, Germany or Austria. <BR> <BR>I don't know the answer about the surcharge because I never used an Austrian Rail Pass. If there is one, it is reasonable I would think. <BR> <BR>Sorry you had a problem riding trains before. What went wrong? I am curious because I have ridden in France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with no appreciable difficulty, other than getting on and off of the train. <BR>At many of the stations you have to be in position to move because the train only stops for 2 or 3 minutes.

Fodors <BR> <BR>I'm sorry you had a poor time on your one rail trip in Europe, and congratulate you upon trying again. The Austrian rail web pages are in German, but the same or similar trains run in Germany, and you'll find a full sketch of IC and EC trains on: <BR>http://www.bahn.de/home/db_reise_tou...ns_ic_ec.shtml <BR> <BR>1. Vienna to Salzburg, Sazburg to Innsbruck, and Innsbruck to Vienna trains. are through trains: you do not change trains. They care called EuroCity (EC) if they run to another country, and InterCity (IC) if they stay in Austria. Nesarly all have restaurant cars: the few others have buffet cars, with a cchyeaper and shorter menu. Menus are in English and you can pay by credit card: most waiters, waitresses, and train conductors speak English. <BR> <BR>2. I travel with a 26 inch rolling suitcase -- no problem. They fit onto luggage racks in trains. Trains in Austria have no luggage thieves. You won't have to check it: they don't even have checked luggage, except hotel to hotel, rather expensive. <BR> <BR>3. Are you sure you want a railpass for so few and simple journdeys ? In January the second class one-way fare from Vienna to Innsbruck, with a stopover in Salzburg, was 48 US dollars, and the journey back from Innsbruck to Vienna was also 48 dollars. Whether you have these tickets or a pass you also pay a surcharge of five dollars a journey on EC abd IC trains. <BR> <BR>I'd add that with little or no rise in fare you can vary your route between Salzburg and Innsbruck by changing at Bischofshofen. The usual route runs through the meadows of Upper Bavaria, and the Inn valley (which are beautiful), while that through Bischoshofen takes you into some splendid Alps. <BR>Indeed, you can vary (and lengthen) the whole journey eastbound if you leave Innsbruck at 1125, change at Bruck an der Mur from 1654 to 1702, and reach Vienna South station at 1856. Both are IC trains with restaurant cars. <BR> <BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome back to Europe. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR> <BR>

I did a little more checking on those Austrian trains. I will be in Innsbruck, Salzburg, Linz, and Vienna later in 2001, so I have a vested interest. <BR> <BR>There is at least one train leaving Vienna that can cause you to change enroute to Innsburck: IC 642 because it ends in Salzburg. But there are so many through trains that there is no need at all to change. However, you need to know which train you are taking because the time of the trip can vary from 5 hours to 6 hours and 40 minutes. <BR> <BR>I always know my schedules in advance. Before leaving home, I print out several pages of schedules and take them with me. <BR> <BR>As Ben says there are many pretty places to see in Austria. If you are going to ride between Innsbruck and Vienna, it seems a shame NOT to get off of the train and enjoy some of them. <BR> <BR>The cost of a round trip ticket, second class, from Vienna West to Innsbruck is listed at 1320 Austrian schillings. <BR>At the current rate of exchange, that price divides out to about $89. <BR>(With the sagging dollar, it may be more by June.) <BR>Just what kind of a pass are you buying? <BR>And can you amortize the cost of it? <BR>If the only train trip you are taking is the one you describe, I agree with Ben. <BR>Will the pass really save anything? <BR>(In my trips to Europe, I have profited from a rail pass only twice. <BR>In 1998 we bought the Swiss Card and I figured it saved us a little because <BR>it gave 50% off of the cost of the trip to the Jungfraujoch and 25% off the ticket price on many of the cable lifts. Last summer, we bought the 7 Day Berner Oberland Regional Pass and it paid for itself because we rode everything within range on 3 days for no added cost -- so called "3 Free Days". None of these trips were essential, being mainly tourist attractions, but we were there to see the area.) <BR> <BR>Many of the trains have dining cars. I found the food prices to be reasonable, and the quality was good. On the Maria Theresia from Zürich to Salzburg last September, I could have paid in German marks, Swiss francs, or Austrian schillings. (I am not sure if the cashier took US dollars or not.) <BR>(And of course the cashier took MC and VISA) <BR>Now you might be wondering how Ben know as much as he does and how I know the facts I am telling you. If you don't, you should. Ben consults a rail timetable published by Thomas Cook, among other sources, and also relies on his own rich experience. <BR>For this post, I consulted the ÖBB website for fares and schedules. The German Bundesbahn Internet site also gives good information for much of western Europe. Both sites are open to the public on Internet. They are just a few clicks away. <BR>The URL below will take you to a driver site that has links to the national systems for Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Great Britain. <BR>http://www.hafas.de/index_e.html <BR>There are English versions available for the continental sites. I think you would profit by looking at the schedules and prices for the various routes. <BR>There is nothing esoteric about my facts; I just went to the site and looked them up. <BR>And one other fact you should face is this: ticket agents and travel agents don't always know their schedules. That is why I go armed with sheets of schedules, even ones I end up not needing.

Bob and Ben, <BR> <BR>Thank you so much for your lengthy, informative responses. You've given me a lot of good information. In response to some of your questions: <BR> <BR>1. My "nightmare" first train trip took place in Brussels trying to take a day trip to Ghent. My first problem was in trusting the Raileurope website. They said the train left from the Midi station. So we hoofed it all the way there (from our hotel across the street from the Central station) to find out the train also went through the Central and North stations! Waste of time. We had a lot of confusion in the station itself trying to find our train. After going to the Information booth we found out we would have to change trains in Jetta, a Brussels suburb. How in the world would we have known that? It's only a 30 minute train ride between the two cities! So we finally arrived in Ghent about 2 hours later than planned. Definitely worth it, though-a great city. <BR> <BR>2. Thanks for your suggestions about stopping in other cities along the way, but we have limited time to begin with and these 3 cities are important to us. <BR> <BR>3. The only reason we were going to buy the Austrian railpass is because the Raileurope website said it was cheaper than 3 one ways. I didn't realize I could ask for a one-way ticket Vienna to Innsbruck with a stop in Salzburg. This will definitely be cheaper than the railpass. ($104 second class) Do you suggest I buy the tickets there in Vienna? Do I need reservations for these trains? Should I trust the information on the above German rail website? (I'm afraid of Raileurope's now) <BR> <BR>Thanks for all your help.

Fodors <BR> <BR>I'm glad to have been of service. <BR> <BR>Belgian rail staff don't speak English as much as Austrian rail staff do. Belgian trains are not bad, but Austrian IC and EC reach higher standards again. <BR> <BR>I see your problem over stops en route, but think that you might still go weswards via Salzburg and Bavaria, and eastwards via Buck an der Mur, just to vary the scenery. I'm afraid I've forgotten when you're to travel. So long as it's not around Easter or high summer, or on a Friday afternoon, you need not pre-book. But since you'll anyway be at Vienna West twenty minutes before your train leaves you might as well book all seats then. Or, your hotel concierge will tell you of the nearest travel agency that makes rail bookings: you need one that is on the rail computer system. You should indeed trust the information on the German Rail website. <BR> <BR>Please write again if I can help further. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines <BR> <BR>

You can buy all of the tickets that you need at the Vienna West train station, Wien Westbahnhof. It is quite large and easily reached by the U-bahn. <BR> <BR>I see no reason for seat reservations, unless you are traveling on a holiday. <BR>For example, I once tried riding the train in Italy on Easter Sunday, and I had trouble finding a seat. <BR> <BR>I see no reason not to trust these national rail sites. After all, they are the official voice of the train system in that particular nation. Thousands of people use them daily for information and to purchase tickets on-line. <BR>RailEurope is another matter. I don't use them for anything anymore. Its schedule information is incomplete, and their ticket charges can be as much as 25% more than the same ticket bought in Europe. <BR> <BR>Now that you know about these better sources of information, you can be better informed!! I have used the SCNF site (France), the Swiss site, the German site, and the Austrian site many times during the last three years and have had no trouble. <BR> <BR>Of course, like any human-fed system, errors do creep in, but I know of none. Just to be sure, I like to buy my ticket a day ahead, just in case. <BR> <BR>One more comment on the seat reservation. Last year when we rode from Zürich to Salzburg, I reserved window seats so we would be assured of a good view. From Salzburg to Vienna, I had no reservation. There were 4 of us in a 6 person compartment. And there were extra seats on the train. <BR> <BR>As Ben said, I am glad we were able to help some. I do this because I learn from it and, I enjoy thinking I might have helped someone, even though I don't know them personally. If there was more help in the world, there would be far less strife. <BR>

I agree completely with Bob. Yay for help! I just found a new website here where you can list your itinerary and it will tell you what's the best pass to get (or if individual tickets would be better). I tried it and it worked great. www.railsaver.com And if you are looking for times, I would definitely use the German rail site--it seems to be speedy and accurate www.bahn.hafas.de but I would buy my tickets there to avoid service charge if nothing else.

The problem with railsaver.com, Sue, is that its city-to-city ticket prices are "inflated" almost throughout. As a consequence, it will advise getting a pass when buying individual tickets turns out cheaper. <BR><BR>In the case at hand, railsaver.com calculates:<BR><BR>Vienna-Salzburg: $45<BR>Salzburg-Innsbruck: $25<BR>Innsbruck-Vienna: $69<BR><BR>Once this totals more than $104, it recommends getting the pass ... <BR><BR>The first mistake railsaver.com does, concerns the actual ticket prices (calculated at today's exchange rate as given by the Oanda site: interbank+2% which is typical of cc):<BR><BR>Vienna-Salzburg: $30<BR>Salzburg-Innsbruck: $25<BR>Innsbruck-Vienna: $46<BR><BR>The 2nd mistake it does is not to take into account, as Ben informs, that one may buy a Vienna-Innsbruck ticket (at $46) with a stopover in Salzburg.<BR><BR>Paulo<BR>