What is railjet?
Railjets are Austrian Railways (ÖBB's) premier high-speed trains, capable of 230 km/h (143 mph) where the route allows.
What's the Munich-Salzburg-Vienna-Budapest journey
like?
Where do railjets run?
Munich Hbf - Salzburg - Linz - Vienna Hbf - Budapest Keleti
Zurich HB - Innsbruck - Salzburg - Linz - Vienna Hbf - Budapest Keleti (see the Arlberg Railway page)
Vienna Hbf - Klagenfurt - Udine - Venice Santa Lucia (see the Vienna to Venice page).
Prague Hlavni - Vienna Hbf - Graz (some trains on this route are blue Czech Railways railjets)
What are railjet trains like?
Railjets have 3 classes, economy class, first class & business class, all with free WiFi. Business class is a premium first class, originally called Premium class until 2012. The trains are all non-smoking. Wheelchair-accessible toilets and several wheelchair spaces are available in each train.
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Railjet from Munich... A morning railjet about to leave Munich for Vienna & Budapest. Munich Hbf is 15 minutes walk from Munich's famous Dom & Marienplatz. |
Railjet from Switzerland... A railjet about to leave Zurich HB for Innsbruck, Salzburg & Vienna. Railjets are push-pull, with a locomotive at one end & a driving cab (shown here) at the other. |
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The railjet has landed... A railjet has arrived spot on time in Budapest's historic Keleti station, built 1881-1884 |
Economy (2nd class)...
Economy (2nd) class has open-plan seating arranged 2+2 across the car width, most unidirectional but with some tables for 4. All seats have power sockets and a fixed or drop-down table. Large luggage racks are located at various points within the seating area, see the photo of the luggage rack in 1st class below, it's the same in all classes (in fact there's a luggage rack in the photo below left, behind the table for 4). See larger photo. See the seat numbering plan here.
1st class...
1st class has reclining leather seats arranged 2+1 across the car width, with tables for 2, tables for 4 people and some unidirectional seats. There are power sockets & tables at all seats. Food & drink orders are taken from the restaurant menu & served at your seat, although meals aren't included in the fare. See larger photo. See panorama photo. See the seat numbering plan here.
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There are luggage racks like this in all classes... |
1st class with tables for 2 & 4 and unidirectional seats. Larger photo. |
Business class (premium 1st)...
You pay an extra €15 on top of any 1st class fare to get a business class seat, which automatically includes a reserved seat. Most railjets have only 14 business class seats (half of one car): A carpeted corridor runs down one side of the car, off which open several spacious 3 or 4 seat semi-compartments, semi because the compartments have no door and partitions are not ceiling-high. Each semi-compartment has very comfortable reclining leather armchairs with adjustable footrests & fold-out armrest table. On a few of the latest railjets (including those used on the Vienna-Venice route) there are just 6 business class seats, arranged open-plan 1+1 across the car width at one end of the train. There are power sockets & reading lights at all seats. A complimentary welcome drink of wine or fruit juice is included. Food & drink orders are taken from the restaurant menu and served at your seat, although meals aren't included in the fare. If you don't mind the extra cost, business class is highly recommended! Note that only certain booking sites can book business class (for example www.oebb.at where you select a 1st class fare then choose a business class reservation), but if you have a first class ticket you can find any empty seat and ask to pay the €15 supplement on board. See larger photo. See panorama photo. See the seat numbering plan here.
Bistro-restaurant car...
Anyone in any class can buy food & drink at the counter to take back to their seat or you can sit down in any free seat in the small restaurant area which has table service. However, in 1st & Business classes there's no need to go to the restaurant car, a steward will take your order and serve you from the restaurant menu at your seat - or you can order food & drink on on your smartphone, see the travel tips section below. Food is served on proper china with metal cutlery - no airline plastic here. The Austrian wines are excellent, as is the beer. You can find the current menu at www.oebb.at/en/.../im-zug/bordservice - please let me know if that link stops working.
Travel tips...
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Fares & tickets... Seat reservations are optional on railjets, there's a small extra charge for a reservation if you want one, otherwise you just find any empty unreserved seat. That means you can always buy a full-price ticket and get on the next train, railjet trains can never sell out. However, a seat reservation is a good idea for a long journey and you will find much cheaper fares if you are willing to commit to a specific train with a limited-refund, limited-changes ticket booked in advance as shown below. Booking now opens up to 180 days before departure depending which website you use to book, but significantly less than that when the mid-December timetable change is involved. Which website you use to book depends on where your journey starts, see the how to buy tickets section below.
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Boarding: As with most European trains, there's no check-in, you just walk into the station, look at the indicator boards to find your train and get on, any time before it leaves.
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Luggage: You take your bags with you and put them on any suitable luggage rack near your seat. If you can carry it you can take it, as within reason there are no baggage limits. Anything up to backpack size fits on the overhead rack directly above your seat, larger items fit on the luggage stacks both at the car entrances and inside the seating areas.
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Bikes & dogs: Bikes are now carried on railjet trains, with 5 spaces now available per train, see the bikes by train page. You can take a dog or pet on a railjet, see the dogs by train page.
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For a railjet seat numbering plan, see the train seat plan page.
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Power sockets for laptops & mobiles: Railjets have sockets at all seats or pairs of seats in all classes.
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Free WiFi: Railjets now offer free WiFi in all classes. It works in Austria, it should now also work in neighbouring countries too.
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Station first class lounges: If you have a first class international ticket you can use the ÖBB first class lounge at Vienna Hbf, the ÖBB first class lounges at Salzburg & Innsbruck, and the MAV first class lounge at Budapest Keleti. Note that you can use the German DB Lounges with a 1st class flexpreis fare, but not with a 1st class railpass or sparpreis or supersparpreis fare.
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Order food & drink & check the train's progress on your smartphone! In first & business class the restaurant car steward takes your orders for food & drink and serves them at your seat. But you can short-circuit this process by logging onto the railjet's free WiFi, the ÖBB portal opens up (https://railnet.oebb.at ) with an option to order food for delivery to your seat. You order from the online menu, enter your car & seat number, and hey presto, the steward shows up shortly afterwards with your order. You pay him when he arrives. Works well, unless he is rushed off his feet and misses the online order!
You can find the current restaurant menu at www.oebb.at/en/.../im-zug/bordservice - please let me know if that link stops working.
The intranet also allows you to keep track of the train's speed and whereabouts on your smartphone, and check arrival times.
How to buy tickets...
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Book in advance for the cheapest fares. If you book ahead, you can find cheap fares on these railjet trains from as little as €29 from Munich or Zurich to Vienna or Budapest, €14 from Vienna to Budapest or €14 Vienna to Prague.
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For journeys starting in Germany, buy tickets online at German Railways www.bahn.de. Alternatively, for journeys to Austria you can also book at www.thetrainline.com which can sometimes be cheaper as it links to the Austrian Railways system as well as the German. Booking now opens up to 6 months ahead on both these sites.
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For journeys starting in Austria, buy tickets online at either www.thetrainline.com (easiest to use) or Austrian Railways' own site www.oebb.at (same prices, a bit more fiddly). For journeys to Germany, you can also use German Railways www.bahn.de. All these sites now try to open bookings 6 months ahead. For journeys to Prague you can also use www.cd.cz, booking opens 3 months ahead.
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For journeys starting in Switzerland, you can buy tickets at either www.thetrainline.com (easiest to use) or Austrian Railways' own site www.oebb.at (same prices, a bit more fiddly). However, to book a journey to Budapest see the advice here as you'll need to split the booking.
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For journeys starting in Budapest, use the MAV (Hungarian railways) website www.mav-start.hu with booking opening 90 days ahead. You collect tickets from the yellow self-service machine at Budapest Keleti. Alternatively, you can book Budapest to Germany tickets at www.bahn.de and Budapest to Austria tickets at www.thetrainline.com which can be easier, booking on these sites opens up to 6 months ahead. To buy a ticket from Budapest to Switzerland you need to split the booking, see the advice here.
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For journeys starting in Prague you can book at either www.cd.cz up to 3 months ahead or www.thetrainline.com up to 6 months ahead.
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If you want to book business class, book at www.thetrainline.com or www.oebb.at. On the Vienna-Prague route, www.cd.cz can now also book business class seats.
What's the Munich - Salzburg - Vienna - Budapest journey like?
The train soon leaves the Munich suburbs behind and snakes through pretty Bavarian countryside, past tiny villages nestling in green valleys, picturesque chalets and Bavarian churches with tall, slender spires. Approaching Salzburg the Alps come into view, making a great backdrop to your train ride, often with snow on the highest peaks even in June. Just before arriving at Salzburg the train crosses the Salzach river - look to the right for great views of Salzburg's citadel & castle (see the photo below). Soon after Salzburg the train leaves the Alps behind and snakes through hilly Austrian scenery, past Austrian churches with their bulbous spires, so different from those in Bavaria. The train calls at Linz before reaching its maximum 200 km/h (125mph) speed on the fastest part of the journey, then it slows down again through more green hilly countryside into Vienna's new main station. From Vienna to Budapest the landscape is flat, wide open farmland, now sporting more wind turbines that you've ever seen before, allegedly over 200. Just before arriving in Budapest the train crosses the Danube, although a modern road bridge obscures the view along the river. The train normally keeps good time, so expect an on-time arrival into Budapest's historic Keleti station, built 1881-1884.
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Bavarian scenery between Munich & Salzburg... |
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Salzburg... This is the view of Salzburg as the railjet crosses the Salzach river approaching Salzburg station... |
TV screens show the arrival times at the next station stops, the train's current speed, and maps show your current location... |
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Pleasant farmland scenery in Austria... |
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Between Vienna & Budapest it's largely flat. This photo pretty much sums up that whole route! |
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A railjet driving trailer end... |
A meal served at one's seat... |


















