Seat reservation train Hallstatt to Salzburg

I have checked the connections between Hallstatt and Salzburg for August 23rd. The lowest fare is a Sparschiene bargain ticket for €9.99 (2nd class). From Hallstatt to Attnang-Puchheim it is a local train (2nd class only, no seat reservation), from Attnang-Puchheim to Salzburg it is an express train (RailJet, 2nd, 1st and business class, seat reservations possible, recommended, but not required).

I don't know, why the seat resevation is not possible at the moment, maybe it has not been decided yet how many cars the train will have. Anyway, I would buy the €9.99 ticket for the connection which is convenient for me; note, that this bargain ticket cannot be cancelled, changed or refunded, i.e. you must stick to the train for which it was bought for.

You can buy the seat reservation at any time later. So I would not worry too much.

I emailed OBB and they let me know that the reason I couldn't get a seat was due to either planned construction or not knowing which carriage material will be used. They said to keep checking back.

Track repair works east of Attnang-Puchheim will affect trains going to Salzburg, i.e. they may be cancelled or will be delayed. As long as there is no decision about the final timetable, seat reservations will not be offered to you. OeBB does not want to sell you seats which you may not be able to use. Just wait and check from time to time.

I'll be in those parts at the same time!

When the OBB says that a seat will not be guaranteed without a seat reservation they mean just that: There is a non zero probability that more people will board that train then there are seats.

That does not mean that like in eg. India you need to book this months in advance. That is never needed in this part of the world. You can in fact safely wait till you are Austria, and getting the reservations at the station a few days ahead of time.

When the OBB says that a seat will not be guaranteed without a seat reservation ...

The whole discussion in this thread of posts is not about this case, but about the fact that OeBB has blocked, i.e. does not offer, for the time being seat reservations for particular trains.

Yes, and I wanted to explain what that is not a reason to worry. At least not now.

There are countries where if you do not book your train months in advance you will not be able to travel (India for example). But in Europe that is not the case. A lot of non-Europeans seem to be unaware of that, and suffer from seat anxiety. I am just trying to explain why there is no need to be anxious, and that you can indeed just wait.