Train System

Hi Bonnie. Can I ask where you found the car hire? We need to get from Vienna to Budapest on 9/11 and then back to Vienna on 9/15. We have train tickets, but we are looking for a backup plan.

Austria is not currently running their trains from Vienna to Hungary, but Austria does own and operate these trains, so they need not come from Hungary to serve the Vienna-Salzburg route. I'm sure that OEBB and competing operator WestBahn will both keep service operating frequently, barring any new issue within Austria.

I will also be traveling by train from Vienna to Salzburg on the 15th of September so would appreciate any updates available on the train system. Thank you so much!!

Trains are running as normal within Austria and there are NO expected disruptions.

To travel between Salzburg and Vienna you have two options - Westbahn and OeBB. I prefer Westbahn. Trains run every hours, free wifi and you buy the tickets on the train.

Thank you so much for the update on the trains. I am planning on going forward with my trip as planned. If anything changes in Vienna could you please post it on here?? Thank you so much.

On Friday i tracked a couple going from Vienna to Budapest. The Austrian train crossed the border to a small station where the passengers were transferred to a Hungarian train which after another 2 hours stop did make it to Budapest. I had hoped that Saturday when the Austrians opened their borders to the migrants that things would get better and the trains would start running again. To the best of my knowledge this hasn't happened and now the Austrians are suggesting that they may reseal the border pushing the problem back to Hungary. I have some guests arriving in Budapest from Vienna mid next week and i gave up trying to be optimistic and hired a private driver to bring them. What a mess!

Bonnie & Cynthia - my husband & I are also traveling from Vienna to Salzburg (sept 14). I have already booked tickets online on Westbahn & paid for them. We were planning on taking the 8:38 am train as we need to be in Salzburg that day to begin our Rick Steves Tour. Are you still planning on taking the train?
Emily suggested in another post to have a backup plan and I have looked online at private transfers which appear to be about $500 Cad.
Emily , is there a bus that services this route or can you verify that this is what it would cost us if we hired a private driver if needed.
This is a desperate situation for these poor refugees and we don't want to take up seats on the train if there is another viable option. We have also heard that Austria may close their borders again.
Thank you for any advice anyone can offer.

A private driver seems like an expensive back up plan. I'd rent a car and drive myself. Busses aren't very common on this route. I am certain you will have no problems with Westbahn as those trains only run between Vienna and Salzburg. Refugees are not going to Salzburg. They will be on Railjet trains going to Munich.

Thank you Emily - I had read (online) an article in the NY times about trains arriving a week ago Monday in Salzburg from Vienna with hundreds of refugees. We will play it by ear & I will check into a car rental if necessary. I appreciate you taking the time to reply.

Yes, that was on trains continuing on to Munich, such as the Railjet mentioned above. Westbahn trains terminate in Salzburg, so they are of no interest to refugees.