Please sign in to post.

OBB Train from Salzburg to Lauterbrunnen

Hello all. Maybe this should be in the Austria forum but maybe someone here can help.
I purchased tickets for my wife and me on OBB from Salzburg to Lauterbrunnen, which the first summary pdf shows correctly. Howeverz for each segment: Salzburg-Zurich, Zurich-Bern, Been to Interlaken, they have separate tickets. But nothing for the ticket from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen.
I do have the STP so know I can get there, but what am I literally missing here? Why no ticket pdf for Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen?

Bonus:
We are actually going from Lauterbrunnen to our final destination of Wengen. With the STP, will that be easy to do when we arrive? Any tips as we will be exhausted!
Thanks!
Brent

Posted by
2493 posts

If you have the Swiss Travel Pass you should only have bought a ticket as far as Buchs. Where did you buy your tickets from btw, because normally you should have gotten just one ticket from Salzburg to Lauterbrunnen. You do not get a ticket for each separate train. That is not how trains work.

Trains work on a "proof of payment" principle. Als you have to do is, when a conductor comes, show that you have paid to be on that train. That is what a ticket does: Show that you have paid. There are no other things you need to do apart from being in possession of something that proves that you have paid.
With a Swiss Travel Pass you have paid for unlimited travel on all public transit in Switzerland, so when a conductor comes you show your STP. That is all you need to do, you do not need aditional tickets.

Travelling from Salzburg to Wengen you should have either bought (and gotten) one ticket from Salzburg to Wengen, or since you have an STP, just one ticket from Salzburg to Buchs, from which point your STP is valid.

Posted by
2493 posts

Or maybe what you have is the following:
A ticket Salzburg - Lauterbrunnen.
A reservation Sazlburg - Zurich
A reservation Zurich - Bern
and a reservation Bern - Interlaken.

There are no reservations on Interlaken - Lauterbrunnen. So that might explain why you do not have one. The reservations for Zurich - Bern and Bern Interlaken btw. are superflous. You could have saved you the few buchs they cost.

Note: When in Interlaken you need to board the first part of the train to go to Lauterbrunnen. The train is split en route and the rear part goes to Grindelwald. It is all very clearly marked though. In Lauterbrunnen you just cross the platfor for the train to Wengen. Do pay attention to the stop announcements though. To many tourists get of in Wengwald (my stop) believing they are already in Wengen...

Posted by
210 posts

Thanks Wengen. Good to hear from you. You are always such a help. Someone told me of a ticket from Salzburg to Lauterbrunnen for only 70.00 euros so I snatched it up. It is through the OBB so maybe it works differently because going from one country to another? It does go through those places I mentioned. So, maybe I just hop off at Lauterbrunnen and find transport to Wengen? Is it another train or a lift?
Since we arrive at 13:55 in Lauterbrunnen, do you know if there will be a good option to Wengen?

Posted by
210 posts

Wengen, I think you are right!
These others are reservations only. I could have saved 18 euros.
Live and learn.
However, I think I still do need to hop off the train at each of those stops to get on another.
They are listed as RJX 366, IC 716, IC 1069 and R62

Posted by
2493 posts

OBB does sell discounted tickets to anywhere in Switzerland, but in your case it would have been enough to just buy till Buchs, as you have the STP, That would have been cheaper even.

The way international trains work in this part of Europe is that the railway companies, in this case SBB and OBB, get together, pool equipment and then just run the service jointly. Because Zurich - Vienna is mostly in Austria most of the tains are doen with OBB trainsets, but there is also a service done with an SBB trainset. But all these trains have in common that in Buchs the Austrian crew is relieved by a Swiss crew, and from that point onwards it is just an normal Swiss train. And your STP is thus valid.

Its not a great loss though, as the way that discounted tickets work between Austria and Switzerland the price is not much dependent on how far in to Switzerland you travel. You probably only overpaid by about 10,- euro. Plus of course the cost of the superflous reservations in Switzerland.

Posted by
2493 posts

One last tip: You will not find train numbers on departure boards in Switzerland, just line numbers and destinations. Train travel is a bit different than air travel. However you will have no issue. Signage and information displays in Swiss Railway Stations is excellent. And there are announcements made on the train, in English, telling you where the connecting trains are. Just pay attention.

Posted by
210 posts

Thanks Wengen
As for destinations, are the places I listed earlier all last stops (destinations) or are they going to be en route to somewhere else?
I know in Germany it was often the case that my destination would be several stops in on a journey to a different city, but maybe those were regional trains?
Thanks for the help and forgive my ignorance

Posted by
210 posts

Wengen, one more question if you don't mind...
Which stop should I be looking for for Wengen?
I see several options in the SBB app from Lauterbrunnen
We are staying at the Edelweiss hotel in Wengen

Posted by
21142 posts

Its just plain old "Wengen". Short walk from the station.

Posted by
210 posts

Just arrived and went smoothly thanks to the support of this awesome group. Thank you. Stunning place!!!

Posted by
33819 posts

so glad it worked out well for you Brent

Posted by
903 posts

When you arrive in Lauterbrunnen, it should be on platform 2. Wengen should be platform 3, which is essential the tracks right behind/in front of you as you get off the train. You should not have to go anywhere other than check to see when the next train departs as you are already where you need to be.

Someone with a better memory - please feel free to correct me on this.