train from Munich to Salzburg,Austria

holly, The "short answer" to your question is "NO", since it doesn't include Austria. You would have to pay extra for the Austria portion of the journey. One other point to note is that reservations are compulsory on some trains on that route, and those are NOT included in the Railpass. You'll need to pay "out of pocket" for the reservations. That is also true of the other countries covered by your Railpass. Especially in Italy, if you're caught without valid reservations you'll be fined on the spot and it won't be cheap! I noticed last year that Conductors in some countries are now carrying wireless debit / credit card Terminals, so the fine will be out of your account before you even get off the train! The "Saver Fare" on that route is only €19, so it might be easier to just buy P-P tickets for that trip. Hopefully Lee will spot this Thread, as he will be able to provide more details on the discounted tickets. Happy travels!

If you are determined to use a day of the rail pass, take a train (probably regional) that stops in Freilassing. The fare from Freilassing to the Salzburg Hbf is €3,40, 1st cl. On the other hand, if you're taking a regional train, you can use a Bayern-Ticket for €21 Single, €29 up to five people, and save the railpass day for another time. The Savings fare that Ken mentioned is a train specific, non-refundable ticket for advance purchase online. It starts at €19 for the first person, €10 for each additional co-travelers, ie, €29 for two. That's one way. There is also something call a Freizeit-Ticket for €30 pP. It's always available at that price anytime from automats or online or for €5 more at the counter. It is less restrictive than the Sparpreis. It's non-train-specific. You can use any train, even a RailJet, at any time, as long as you do RT in a day.

Thank you Ken and Lee,
Where do I find the 21 Euro ticket. I am not able to find it on the de.bahn website.

You'll find it described on Bahn.de under Länder-Tickets. In Bavaria it's called the Bayern-Ticket. The Bayern-Ticket is a pass for unlimited rides on regional trains in Bavaria. It's only for regional trains, so on the Bahn Query page, check "local transport only". It will show up under Saving fare opposite connections that qualify. You can always buy them from Automats. It's one of the buttons in the column. When you press it, the screen will give you the choice of Bayern-Ticket, Bayern-Ticket Single, and Bayern-Ticket Nacht. Then it will give you a calendar with choice of date, so you can buy it in advance. The Bayern-Ticket is valid from 9 AM workday, midnight weekend days, until 3 AM the following morning, and is also valid for all the conveyances of the MVV (Munich metro).

Thanks again Lee.
BTW I just called Rail Europe and they said that my Eurail pass covering Germany but NOT Austria can be used for my journey from Munich to Salzburg, Austria as well.

I knew once upon a time that border stations were covered... "If you are already in Europe, your rail pass covers you to the border city of the country in which you are traveling." (from RailEurope website) So you're fine. ***Holly, the Sacto Area Helpline Group is meeting this Sat, March 19 at Panera Bread in Natomas. Please look for my post under the topic heading "General Europe" for the details! Hope to see you Saturday...! PM me with any questions...

I think I tend to agree with Ken. RailEurope (or at least people that work there) has been known to be wrong. Nowhere on the Eurail list of country bonuses or on RailEurope's list of bonuses (www.raileurope.com/rail-tickets-passes/eurail--pass/travel-bonuses.html) does it say travel to Salzburg is valid on a Eurail pass. Travel to Salzburg is included with the German (not a Eurail) pass. German Rail runs the trains (maybe owns the tracks?) from the border into Salzburg Hbf. Same with Kufstein, AT, and Basel, CH. But I think Eurail considers Europe to be a collection of countries, with borders. Passes are valid within the countries you chooze. But, ask at the station in Munich. If they say it's ok, it's ok. If not, they will probably sell you a ticket for a few Euro from Freilassing to Salzburg.

Holly, you're in. Salzburg is included as a border station. When Eileen referred to them as "border stations", I went to the Eurail site and did a search for "border stations", and there is was, www.eurail.com/countries/germany/germany-train-travel. Why couldn't they just come right out and say it. I guess they get more people to add Austria if the don't. It would be convenient if Strasbourg were a border station. They also don't mention Kufstein, which is a border station for the German Rail Pass.

Take Lee's advice about these things: Buy a Lander ticket at the Munich Bahnhof for 29 euro, and that should take you all the way in to Salzburg. And it will let you save your railpass for another, longer trip. Since the ticket is for up to five people for the day, it should also cover your ride back to Munich. But do confirm this information with the ticket agent in Munich. Even if you have to leave the train at Freilassing, you can take the local transport on into Salzburg for very little money.

Thanks Guys. You all have been a great help.

I wonder if the "border stations" policy is something new? This is the first time I've heard of it (but will certainly make a note for "future reference"). holly, One other point to mention... If you need to buy tickets or need information on any rail travel in the Munich area, you might visit the Euraide office in the Munich station. They have English-speaking staff and I've found them to be VERY helpful! Cheers!

I don't know how long Eurail has designated "border" stations, but I believe that the German Rail pass has long included Basel, Switzerland, and Salzburg, Austria, as border stations. In 2000 I used my German Rail (not a Eurail pass) pass to go from Freilassing to Salzburg. But border stations have long been a feature of Länder tickets, both border stations in other countries and in other German states. The Bayern-Ticket includes Salzburg and Kufstein, Austria, as well as Ulm, Baden-Württenberg. Mannheim and Karlsruhe are border stations for the Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket, as is Bonn, in Nordrhein-Westfalen. You also have Ludwigshafen, across the river from Mannheim, and Wörth, across from Karlsruhe, as border stations for the 3-Löwen-Ticket (Baden-Württemberg). In addition to border stations, you have sections of track outside the Länder that can be use with that Land's ticket. For example, with a Bayern-Ticket you can go from Memmingen to Wangen via Kißlegg, through B-W, and from Pfronten to Garmisch-Partenkirchen through the Tirol on the Ausserfernbahn. People with the 3-Löwen-Ticket can go from Karlsruhe to Mannheim down the left bank of the Rhein via Wörth and Ludwigshafen in RL-P, and people with a Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket can go from Wörth to Ludwigshafen via Karlsruhe and Mannheim. Unfortunately, Strasbourg is not a border station for any Eurail or German Rail pass or for any Länder -Ticket.

Another thing to consider. Germany has a lot of privatized rail lines, some operating under contract with the Bahn on Bahn tracks, like ALX in Bavaria, or TR on the middle Rhein, others independent, like Bob, in Bavaria. Not all of these line accept the Eurail pass. Here is the list. Most notably, TR and ALX accept the Eurail pass. ALX runs the trains from Munich and Nürnberg to Prague via Schwandorf. I was surprised that BOB ( Bayerische Oberlandbahn), which run trains from Munich to Holzkirchen and then to Bad Tölz, Tegernsee, and Bayrischzell, doesn't accept Eurail passes. I'm sure they accept the Bayern-Ticket. I don't know if they accept the German Rail pass, but I suspect they do. I've been searching various websites for confirmation, but to no avail. I can say that the Hohenzollernbahn line from Sigmaringen to Hechingen via Gammertingen doesn't take the Eurail pass, but took my German Rail Pass. That's something to consider if you have a Eurail pass and want to go to Schliersee. You can go to Holzkirchen by S-Bahn, but from there you will have to buy a BOB ticket.

I know our pass covered border stations in '98, and a few times since then...but it's so extremely rare to actually need to stop JUST over the border; typically, you're going to at least the next town, so you've had to purchase a ticket for that portion of your trip anyway... Salzburg is the biggie exception here. And Basel. But they don't make some of this stuff very easy to find... And they certainly like to change their rules and regs from year to year...