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Another Salzburg to Munich set of questions...

Posted by (Marina, CA, USA) on

So we are scheduled to take the train (already have tickets) from Salzburg to Munich on Oct. 9. The news about the trains between Salzburg and Munich being stopped is obviously a concern. I have a few questions:

  • What other options do we have to get from Salzburg to Munich? Will all the buses be completely swamped, and impossible to get tickets? I looked on the Postbus site, and it appears that all the buses going to Munich are sold out already...and which bus should we try and take? I'm concerned if we go to Salzburg, we'll be stranded with no way to get to Munich, except for going all the way back to Switzerland to go around the Austria-Germany border...
  • Do we have any options for getting a refund on our already purchased OEBB tickets from Salzburg to Munich? How would one go about getting a refund from OEBB?
  • Are only trains from Salzburg to Munich affected? For example, could we possibly go from Salzburg to Innsbruck, and then Innsbruck to Munich?
  • Should we dump our plans for going to Salzburg altogether, and head directly to Munich (or somewhere else in Germany) from Lucerne?

I'm hoping the situation gets resolved in the next couple of weeks, else we'll have a nice little problem to overcome quickly....
Thank all in advance...

Posted by
8353 posts

You've got almost 3 weeks before your trip. If you're not a refugee, you'll make it to Munich without having to go around the world.

As of now, I understand the Salzburg-Munich trains and buses are starting just west of Salzburg--just over the German border. This is subject that's to be continued. . . . . . . . . . .

Posted by
35 posts

After doing a bit more research (and hopefully it is correct), it appears that if we can get to Freilassing by bus (line 24 apparently) or taxi, we can take the train from Freilassing to Munich. Bit of a pain, but not as draconian as going back via another route....even though it is a short 12 km distance, I am just not sure how long it will take to cross the border given the additional controls - want to leave enough time to catch the train in Freilassing in the event the trains are not running yet between Salzburg and Munich in 2 weeks.

Wade

Posted by
8889 posts

Salzburg to Innsbruck takes the same route out of Salzburg as if you were going to Munich. It goes via Germany!
The route is T shaped. Salzburg top right, Innsbruck at the bottom and Munich top left. Look it up on a map.

These are all major routes. It causes problems (economic, commuters etc.) keeping them closed, but if you have crowds of thousands overwhelming the station and spilling onto the tracks you have to do something.

Posted by
51 posts

My only advice to people traveling from Germany to see Salzburg for just a day or two is don't go. It's just not worth the hassle of going in and out of Germany . Stay in Germany . But if you are going from other countries and your final destination is Germany I would carry on. We did have to hire a driver from Budapest to Vienna but that was not a big deal. It's getting into Germany that just takes extra time and patience.

Posted by
15095 posts

Hi,

Going from Salzburg to Munich by train? How much of a flanking diversion are you willing to do? What about going through Passau, if that train station is open? Is the bordering crossing at Passau open? If so, then take Salzburg to Wels (yes, it's backtracking), then change Wels to Passau. In Passau change to Munich Hbf.

The ICE trains take the Linz-Wels- Passau route, ie, the border crossing at Passau (Grenzübergang). The RailJet trains use the Salzburg-Munich route.

Posted by
1744 posts

Just a minor point, it looks that the idea of going through Innsbruck would work. Austrian trains run over Germany territory but make no stops there, so they were not blocked and are apparently running normally. So Salzburg-Innsbruck-Munich would be possible.

Too bad the trains do not stop at Kufstein so there is so much backtracking. But also the itinerary Salzburg-Zell am See-Wörgl-Kufstein-Munich would be possible.

Posted by
1744 posts

Well, I have some free time and I am doing some armchair observations on the ÖBB pages showing trains moving in real time:

http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/help.exe/dn?tpl=showmap_external
http://zugradar.oebb.at/bin/help.exe/dn?tpl=livefahrplan

It looks that some trains are actually running in the direction Munich > Salzburg. It is 11am in Salzburg now and RJ63, Munchen-Salzburg-Wien-Budapest has just crossed the border and in three minutes will be at Salzburg Hbf.

It looks like there are no refugees willing to go from Germany to Austria, so this train is allowed. Makes me think how they are going to balance trains sets. Are they running empties over the border?

Yes, it looks like they are running empties. RJ 262, Wien-Salzburg-Munchen has just crossed the border in the opposite direction and running past Freilassing. Anybody on the spot to confirm my armchair deductions?

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