Train question, Salzburg to Lucerne

What date is your travel.

There should be more than one single transfer departure from Salzburg to Luzern, but of course on your travel day (which we do not know) there might be an issue.
Als trains on the route of course will have lots of stops.

Anyway, buying train tickets half a year in advance is not needed. So my first advise is: Do not jump the gun on train tickets. If you book in www.oebb.at you can however select your seats from a map. Be aware that you cannot reserve seats on Zurich - Luzern. That is just a commuter train.

I'm booking tickets for Wednesday, Sept 16. I meant to say, just one transfer, not just one stop. Is there a benefit to waiting? Will the price change?

Thanks,
Laurie

SBB and OeBB websites should show exactly the same trains (and it is the case). It does not matter where you book, just compare the prices and other options.

I checked using a random date in September (9th), and there is only one connection having just one change, and it will depart at 6:56am. It can be found on both the OeBB and SBB website. The prices are about the same.

What kind of half fare card do you have? If you go with the non-refundable bargain offer ("Sparschiene") no other price reduction will be applied.

For a more precise information the exact travel date will be required.

My travel date is 9/16. I'll be purchasing a Swiss Half Fare Card. I didn't realize that the non-refundable rate would negate a discount using the HFC for the Swiss portion of the trip. I'll have to do some more playing around on the websites.
Thanks,
Laurie

The 6:56 AM train ( with 0ne transfer at Zurich ) is tight ( 7 minutes ) Zurich Hauptbahnhof is a huge station and that short a window is very difficult as I see it . Remember you will be contending with luggage and pedestrian traffic in the station . Since trains from Zurich to Luzern are frequent , you can take a somewhat later train to Luzern

There is no reason to worry about the short transfer in Zurich. Trains run from Zurich to Luzern every half hour, so if you miss the connection you take the next one. But the transfer is an easy one. You'll arrive at track 31, and need to get to track 4. These tracks are above each other so all you do is take two escalators (or the elevator) up.

In September there are indeed works on the route, that mean that for most departures you do part of the trip in a bus, except for a few trains that get routed around the interruption (and that takes a lot longer than usual because of this). There is one early in the morning at 6:56, and another one at 12:56.

The reason for not jumping the gun on tickets is simply that these tickets are non refundable. It is true that they will not get cheaper, but it is also true that you do not need to book half a year in advance to get the cheapest price.

The 1st class flex ticket is quite a bit more, but I really want to make this trip as stress-free as possible. Maybe I should do that in case I end up missing a connection? If I get non-flex or semi-flex and I miss my connection, it could be a problem, right?

It looks like I'm not able to pick my own seat on the SBB app. They also only offer 2nd class and business class. No 1st class. On the OBB app they offer 2nd class, 1st class, and business class.

So many options to work through.....

Which connection are you concerned about missing ? The only one I see is the departure from Salzburg . The transfer at Zurich is no problem

That you cannot pick your seat yet is probably because you are to early. The train probably doesn't have its rolling stock assigned yet. But you can buy a ticket now, and get seat reservations later. You should be able to get those without issues a lot closer to your departure. Note that SBB will offer 1st class, but probably not business class, as that does not exist in Switzerland.

1st or 2nd class has no bearing on your rights when you miss a connection. Basically even with a non flex ticket if a delay in a previous train makes you miss a connection you can just get on the next train. There is even no need to get another ticket.

You can see what business class looks like on OEBB Railjets at Seat61. 4 seats in a semi-compartment. They appear to be the same size as 1st class seats, and the compartment walls would somewhat limit the views, if that is what you are looking for.
https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Vienna.htm#Vienna-Austria
https://www.seat61.com/reference/trainseatplans/railjet-newgen-seat-map.pdf

You can buy the tickets and get your seat reservations on The Austrian Bundesbahnen ( State railway ) website https://shop.oebbtickets.at/en/ticket/offer/reservation Going through the booking process will take you to seating charts where you can pick the seats

I was concerned about the seven minute connection in Zurich. Are you saying that even with a non-flex ticket, if I miss the connection through my own fault of not getting to the train on time I can still just take the next train that comes along? In that case, I guess there's no point in buying a flex ticket (assuming I don't oversleep and miss my first train!)

Thanks, Sam. From the photos, I think we're better off in 1st class than in business.

Yes ! As I recall , the run from Zurich to Luzern is a Zentralbahn regional train . No reservation , just grab a seat https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/train/types/

No, Zurich - Luzern is SBB.

With regard to "missing through your own fault". Why would you? If you are able to follow signs you will not miss your connecting train.

Expanding on Wengen K's instructions for the train change at Zurich, the first escalator takes you to the under passage, a hallway that runs beneath the ground level tracks. You walk along that hallway to the escalator marked "Platform 4" (it might be right in front of you). You take that escalator up and your train is right there. It should take you about 2 minutes.

WengenK - Sorry . Thanks !

Thanks, everyone! So I guess I'll wait a bit and then get the non-flex 1st class tickets. I really appreciate your help.
Laurie

Just to clarify the different seating categories, because OeBB chose not to follow the usual scheme airlines had adopted.
Airlines: First Class, Business Class, Economy Class.
OeBB: Business Class, 1st Class, 2nd Class.

Thanks. What was confusing me was that on the SBB website, even though it's the same train, they only offer 1st and 2nd class - unless I'm missing something. Doesn't matter though because I'm going to book 1st class on the OBB website anyway. I think.

In Switzerland (SBB) there is no Business Class, so their ticket reservation system does not provide this option, I assume.

What you have to understand is that ÖBB does not operate trains in Switzerland. So when that train from Salzburg arrives in Switzerland the Austrian train crew gets off, and a Swiss train crew gets on, and from there on the train operates under Swiss rules. So Swiss domestic tickets and passes are valid, and you may even find local commuters boarding. It is then for all practical purposes an SBB service.

And in Switzerland those "Business Class" seats (which are very nice btw.) at the front of the train are considered just normal 1st class.

But don't overthink this. This is mass transit. Don't break your head over it. Buy a ticket when you are sure you will make that trip, but know that you do not need to buy tickets half a year in advance. Its a train, not a Taylor Swift concert. Tickets don't sell out and seat reservations will be available even close to departure, probably even on the departure day itself.

And regarding business class being above first class on trains: The same thing is done by other railways. Trenitalia also has a "business" class, and so does SNCF...