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Train from Munich Airport to Salzburg

Posted by (Burke, VA, United States) on

I will be traveling to Salzburg from Munich Airport on May 26. Are there automated kiosks that can be used with a US credit card at the airport? My US credit cards are NOT true chip and pin. US credit cards are now switching to what they call chip and signature so I am wondering if anybody has had experience using US chip and signature cards to purchase tickets from automated kiosks.

Also, if I purchase a ticket from an automated kiosk for that train, I understand that a train transfer is required. It does look like the time for the transfer is pretty short. Is the transfer usually on the same platform?

Posted by
19961 posts

You should be able to use the kiosks.
You know you can get a Bayern ticket for 23 euro for just yourself and up to 4 other people at 4 euro per person extra. You can then travel all of Baveria plus Salzburg Hbf for the rest of the day. So if you miss a train, just wait for the next one. Only the regional trains (and S-bahns, U-bahns, trams and buses) are eligible for this and you must travel after 9 am. So not the Railjet or ICE trains.
Trains from the airport alternate between the S-1 and the S-8. If its the S-1, change to regional train at Munich Hbf, if the S-8, change at Munich Ostbahnhof.
The "standard" connection is S-8 with a 9 minute connection at Munich Ostbahnhof once per hour leaving the airport at 24 past the hour. You can leave earlier and take a longer connection time. www.bahn.com says you transfer from track 1 to track 8, so that is using the undertrack tunnel at Ostbahnhof.

Posted by
19086 posts

The automat tutorial on the German Rail website explicitly explains how to use a strip card, ie, how to insert it, with the strip down and to the right. I think this implies that they will take the US strip cards.

I have used US strip cards in German Rail automats in the past without a problem. The automat did not require a signature (or a PIN).

An S-8 leaves the airport for the East Bahnhof (Ostbahnhof) every 20 minutes. If you take the last possible S-Bahn, at 24 minutes after the hour,k you will only have 9 minutes for the change, but if you use one of the two earlier S-8, you will have plenty of time. Eight minutes is still enough time if you get off the train, go down into the tunnel, and go directly to platform (Gleis) 8.

If you are taking a regional train to Salzburg (an RE, not EC or RJ) there is no advantage to taking the S-1 to the Hauptbahnhof.

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