This June, we'll be taking the regional train (RB 5408) from Innsbruck to Munich to enjoy the scenery, as opposed to the faster eastern route. I'm unable to find any photos on-line of the inside of the train cars to see the 1st class vs 2nd class seats. I know that on many trains in Europe, 2nd class is just fine and that 1st class is a waste of money. Does anyone know if that is true for these regional trains? Sometimes these commuter-type trains are less than luxurious. The price difference is about $85 total for my family of four. Thanks!

It's just a personal opinion that a different class is "a waste of money." That's purely subjective, not a factual statement. Same as "second class is just fine." Of course it is "fine", why wouldn't it be? I think a meal that costs 100 euro is "a waste of money", but many people don't, for example. I always pay for first class on trips of several hours or more because it doesn't cost that much (or never has on any train I've taken) and it's worth it to me. The fact that you are debating this so much implies the extra money is a big deal to you, so don't buy it. You aren't going to be bouncing around with the chickens or anything. I don't really understand people who buy first class for kids to be honest. And I've only bought first class once on a regional train because they rarely even have classes. The time I did, it wasn't very different, but didn't cost much anyway so didn't matter. That trip is only a couple hours anyway so I'm not sure why it's even on your radar.

It is not worth the money to upgrade to 1st class - the difference is minimal. The 2nd class offers the same views, similar comfort (just a little less room but 99% of the people are happy with it) and it won't be crowded on this route.

Hi ipm,

Wowee. That's a lot to spend, if that is only the difference between the classes for your family!

Do you know about the Werdenfels Ticket? It works like a day-pass for the trains in a narrow corridor between Mittenwald and Munich, and there is an add-on, called the Werdenfels Ticket + Innsbruck, that extends the validity to Innsbruck. The cost is 27€ for the first person, and 12 € for each additional person -- making your cost for the day at 63€.

The Werdenfels Ticket is only in 2d class, so you wouldn't have the option for 1st.

I live in Garmisch and take that train all the time between Garmisch and Mittenwald and Munich, The seats are just slightly larger in 1st, but it's hard to really tell. Few folks use it. In fact, there are only a handful of 1st class seats on that train, and your family of four would take up pretty much half of the compartment.

Sorry this site is only in German, but play around with it and use Google translator to look into this ticket.

https://www.bahn.de/p/view/angebot/r...rdenfels.shtml

You should be able to see the map of validity.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Hi swandav2000 - Thank you for suggesting the Werdenfeld Ticket. It looks like it should work for us. And because our family is 3 adults and 1 child, our total cost will be 51€ , less than half the cost of buying regular tickets. Thanks so much for the tip!

Very happy to help!

Have a great trip!

s

Just a minor add-on:
The Werdenfels+Innsbruck ticket can only be purchased from German Rail points of sales or vending machines at German Rail stations or online.
But not at stations or kiosks in Austria.
So unless you travel in Germany before you get to Innsbruck, you must buy it online and print the ticket at home before you go.

Many of these group saver tickets come with the requirement to mention the names of all people travelling on that ticket somewhere on the ticket.
When you print at home, you can just write the names of all the people in your party in a dedicated empty space in the ticket or somewhere else where there is space.

If you'll have a smart phone with you, you can download the DB app...and when you buy the W+I ticket, just download it to the app. After you buy and download, you won't need any connectivity to display it to the conductor...it sits in your phone as a saved file.

I've only done this for myself, and the conductor was pretty sure that I was the person for whom the ticket was bought, so I don't know how it handles naming all the travellers. But lots of folks travel this way, so there must be a way..

s

So with the W+I ticket, I can board any train leaving Innsbruck that takes the route through Garmisch and Mittenwald, going all the way to Munich? We're looking at the 8:38am train that won't require any changes. Without a reservation on that specific train, are we sure to find seats? I like peace of mind when I travel!

Hi again,

The train mipust be a regional train, not an IC or ICE or RJ -- however, those are rare on that route.

I just looked at the schedule, and the 08.38 is REX5408, so it is fine. It appears to begin at Innsbruck, so probably there will be plenty of seats.

Have fun!

s

And there are no seat reservations on regional trains anyway. So board early and have choice of seats.

Thanks, everyone!

I found this information on another forum website, saying that kids are free only if traveling with 1 or 2 adults, but not with 3 adults. Can anyone confirm what is correct? I need to know how many Werdenfels+Innsbruck tickets to buy for us (2 adults, an 18 year old, and a 14 year old). If I have to, I'll buy one of my adult tickets separately.

"Children under 15 are only free on the Bavaria Ticket (or other state-tickets) if there are one or two adults on the ticket. So for instance:
2 adults and a 14 and 11 year old: Ticket for 2 persons
2 adults, 17 year old and 11 year old: Ticket for 4 persons
It's a bit absurd, but that's simply the way they do it. There used to be an English section for that ticket on the official Bahn website but that seems to have been deleted (or I just can't find it). I hope I have overlooked it because otherwise there is actually no way for non-German speaking visitors to know that rule.... "