I was thinking I would like to go from Vienna-Melk & continue on to Salzburg by train. Seems that the REX train is the most direct way to get from Vienna to Melk. Then can we just continue on to Salzburg?
I find the train schedules to be very frustrating. In the US for Amtrak or whatever you can usually type in 2 major cities & it will give you a big grid with the timetable of all the stops in between. I can't seem to get that from OBB or rail Europe.
Any Advice
I don't know about RailEurope, but the OEBB gives you a full list of stops and a map by activating »Show intermediate stops« and »Show map«. You'll find these as a tiny red text at the bottom of the box in which the details of a selected journey are given.
Consider going in the opposite direction? Vienna, Krems, Durnstein, Melk, and Salzburg. Would probably save a lot of time and be cheaper too. The boats Brandner & DDSG both go in that direction (train to Krems, boat/bus from Krems to Durnstein then on to Spitz & Melk by boat) Check OBB to find bus and train schedules.
When are you going? We took the train (Octoberfest season) from Vienna to Krems, then the boat to Melk, spent the day and night in Melk and the took the train to Salzburg. The boat trip was very scenic.
From Vienna to Melk you can take the direct REX train departing from Wien Westbahnhof, or the RailJet departing from Wien Hauptbahnhof to St. Pölten, where you change to the REX (saves you 10 Minutes).
For going from Melk to Salzburg you take a REX (or a slower R) to St. Pölten and change to a RailJet to Salzburg.
If you're just looking for schedules rather than buying tickets, it's often easiest to use the Bahn (German rail) website. Here's Rick's tutorial for it, including how to get the information you're asking about intermediate stations and how to put in a stopover: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/online-schedules
I think you want to see a schedule because you want to pause in Melk and then continue on to Salzburg? Am I correct?
If so, you are finding this frustrating because Melk is not on the train line from Vienna to Salzburg. Melk may be a major tourist attraction, but it is a very small town. You’ll need two separate tickets - VIENNA to Melk (REX train that takes an hour from Westbahnhof, but an Einfach Raus ticket on the day of travel) and then Melk to Salzburg (buy in advance for a specific train, on the OeBB website; this is a much longer journey on a faster train and will require at least one change; as it is not a journey you can take with a regional train you cannot use an Einfach Raus ticket).
PS - Never use RailEurope! Overpriced resellers with bad schedule info. They don’t even operate any trains!
Thanks everybody !! Great advice. I think I found what I was looking for on the OEBB website. If you click off to the side it'll give you the intermediate change stop & the layover time. looks like the REX from Vienna to Melk & then the Railjet or Westbahn from Melk to St. Poleten to Salzburg. It's a little bit hard to find the "english" button...it just says Deutsche & if you push Deutsche it gives you the choices. English being 1. I think I've got the hang of it.
I'm taking my mother for her 78th birthday; so we need more than 5 minutes to make our connecting train. And I think we are only going to do the Abbey in Melk. Too much running around on bicycles & buses will wear her out. We are going to do some serious countryside in the Salzburg Lake District / the Italian Dolomites / & Bavaria. We are really looking forward to our mother/daughter Hoorah !!!
Thanks for the insights. I'll let you know how it goes !!! Keep travelling!
Note that Westbahn and Railjet do not stop in Melk. From Melk to St. Poelten, you’ll take a regional train and then switch to a Westbahn or Railjet in St. Poelten.
