orchid68

I will be taking the train from Salzburg to Vienna. Since I will be traveling solo -- hopefully, one 22" suitcase and a smaller one -- I am concerned about whether there are stairs into the station, if there are any up and down stairs to get to the train, and storing the luggage once I am on board the train. When I arrive in Vienna, will I be confronted with stairs after departing the train and then arriving at street level? Can I purchase a first-class ticket the same day of departure? And lastly. I think I read somewhere that the train from Salzburg to Vienna has a dining car. Since I am trying to use my time efficiently, I would like to have my dinner on the train. What can I expect as far as the type of food and the quality of the food? Has anyone had any experience using the dining car? Since I have some apprehension about traveling by train, I would greatly appreciate whatever information with regard to traveling from Salzburg to Vienna by train. Thank you.

moldyhotelsaregross

I can't say specifically regarding those stations, but you often encounter stairs when travelling by train. There will be a few (steep) stairs from the platform onto the train. When you board the train, you deposit your large luggage at the end of the train car and take smaller pieces to your seat with you. Some on this site will recommend a travel cord to lock your luggage to the storage area. I think they are great ideas since you can't see your bag 100% of the time.

I've never had the good fortune to find anyone employeed by the train station to assist me with baggage. I have appeared so pitiful when trying to handle my luggage and that of my mother, that a good samaritan helped us out.

Regarding purchase of tickets, I've only once had trouble purchasing my ticket for exactly the train I wanted. In that case, the trains were sold out for numerous trips and I had to cancel my side trip. If you already know your schedule, you can purchase it in advance and save yourself the worry.

Intrepid1

With the greatest of respect for "Moldyhotelsaregross" I would not count on getting any help with your baggage because you "look pitiful" since there are plenty of those people in and out of train stations all the time.

You may be able to find a luggage cart but that will not help you lifting your bags into the train itself.

And do not count on there being a storgae area "at the end of the car" either...that all depends on the configuration of the rolling stock. More likely, there will be overhead racks above the seats or possibly room for baggage between and seats that are configured back to back.

You should be able to purchase a ticket on your day of departure. Depending on how crowded the train is you may even want to purchase a seat reservation as well; if the latter is of great concern thenb you might want to purchase in advance once you first arrive in Salzburg.

bob_brown

My wife and I recall steps in Salzburg to reach the platform. If there is an elevator, we did not use it.

In Vienna at Wien Westbahnhof, we recall that the station is fairly level. If there are steps to reach the train platforms, they are minimal.

Food on Austrian trains is surprisingly good in my opinion. The trip to Vienna is about 3 hours with a few stops which gives you time to order and eat if you go to the dining car soon after boarding the train.

We were able to pay with a credit card.
The time we travelef from Zürich to Salzburg, we could pay in US dollars, euros, or Swiss francs. I am not sure what the options are for a trip originating in Salzburg.

You also need to check and see if the train has a dining car. That information is available on the Deutsche Bahn website as well as on the Austrian national site, the ÖBB - Österrreiche Bundesbahn. Although much of the Austrian site is in German, the term Bordrestaurant is fairly universal.

bob_brown

As a general rule, the EC trains that make the trip in 3 hours have a restaurant car.
The IC trains which take a little longer as a usual procedure have a snack bar only.

If there is a true Boardrestaurat, there is relatively full menu service. You will not have 20 choices, but the selection was adequate in my experience.

I don't recall prices, other that they were moderate at the time. With the weak dollar, anything is more when priced in euros.
(Or is is pound, franc, dollar, euro, etc.)

orchid68

Thank you very much for the great info.
Bob, I really want to thank you. Your reply covered just about everything, and I feel so much better about this part of my trip. At least I now know what and where I should be researching. Also, I guess I should check if I can lift my suitcase over my head to store it, if necessary.
Thanks all for your time and info. Combining everyone's comments, all of my questions have been answered.

moldyhotelsaregross

<<Author: Intrepid1
Date: 05/03/2005, 08:56 am
With the greatest of respect for "Moldyhotelsaregross" I would not count on getting any help with your baggage because you "look pitiful" since there are plenty of those people in and out of train stations all the time.>>


Just thought I'd add that I didn't solicit help from the good samaritan but he was the ONE person in my journies who has offered to help. I guess I didn't emphasize well enough how difficult it was to find help from train station employees. It is certainly a different standard in the US. When we began the trip, my mom wasn't having mobility difficulties and we both planned on being equal traveling partners. We would have certainly made different arrangements if we would have looked into the crystal ball! Despite the difficulties of maneuvering the train station, we still had a great time.

bob_brown

If you want to check connections and prices for yourself, visit the ÖBB website at www.oebb.at
The oe is the ö in Österreich, which is German for Austria.

A screen in German will appear.

Click on International Guests (in English). An English schedule finder will appear. Select the date and time first. Then type in the city names. Vienna for Wien will give you the correct station - Wien Westbahnhof.

The 7 am train makes the run in less than 3 hours.

The one at 17:00 (5 pm) is the same in terms of travel time.

This train is the one I call the fireball express from Munich to Vienna.
It stops just 2 times: Salzburg and Linz.

Of course compared to a TGV or Thalys, it is slow freight.

It hits about 75 mph on the open stretches. A TGV gets up around 170-180 mph or so.

This train runs daily.

Fozzy

Salzburg to Vienna should only be about 3-3 1/2 hours. On arriveing at Wien Westbahnhof, the only obstacle will be a small set of esculators (do Americans use that word??) from the platform to the lower level, which is not big deal. You are then on the main level of the station and have nothing more to do than go outside if you're after a taxi. The main area of Wien West is not that big. If you're after going on the metro, then more esculators are needed, but again, no big deal.

Underhill

If by escalators you mean moving staircases, then yes, we do use that term. And very nice they are, especially when they are working.

JN

Salzburg's bahnhof does indeed have steps--rather steep and lots of them, in fact. We did find a freight elevator once, though, AFTER lugging our luggage down the stairs from the arrival tracks.

platzman

Speaking of the Salzburg train station and food, there is a nice retaurant on the second floor. I had a really decent Austrian 3 course meal there with beer for a reasonable price (12-14 euro). The quality of service and atmosphere, table linens, etc, was first class.