We leave in early June for our next trip and I have everything hammered out, except for one train connection. On June 17th, we are going from Innsbruck to Colmar. My research indicates that the easiest way to do this is using a non-stop to Zurich and then transferring to a Zurich-Colmar nonstop. I pieced this together months ago, and then sat back to wait until I was within a 60-day window to actually purchase the tickets. Now, I am well within that window and the tickets never come up for sale on any website - Swill Rail, Rail Europe, nothing! All the websites want to sell me these four and five leg journeys. I can get Swiss Rail to sell me my two tickets up through May 2nd, and I thought if I checked tickets each day, I would be able to buy a ticket for one day later each day I checked. But I am not. Tickets just stay available through May 2nd. I don't get it. The route information has these notes, indicating that the train runs through July, I think:
Duration: 3:22; runs 21. May until 28. Jul 2013 daily; not 3. until 28. Jun 2013 Am I doing something wrong? Thanks, as always!!
Posted by
Green Bay
21166 posts
Use the Austrian Rail site www.oebb.at, its called the RailJet.
Posted by
Green Bay
21166 posts
And it does make stops along the way. More properly, it is a direct train.
Posted by
OP
Pacific Northwest
2682 posts
I should have added more detail, but I thought my post was so long already:) I tried the Austrian Rail site, German, everything I could think of. I cannot find that train for sale after June 2nd.
Posted by
Green Bay
21166 posts
It shows operating in May and July, but not in June. Usually, that means there is a construction project scheduled, especially as a lot of the legs are showing bus connections. I don't see anything on SBB, but they are only showing current projects. Looks like the work is on the Swiss side.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17448 posts
I see no direct trains on June 17 from Innsbruck to Zurich. Many of the runs use a bus connection at some point. There is one single-change option. As Sam said, this suggests there is construction.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19275 posts
On May 2, the RJ runs all the way from Innsbruck to Zürich, including stops in Feldkirch and Buchs. On June 6, the same RJ runs only to Feldkirch. Later, in September (possibly sooner), the RJ again runs all the way to Zürich. I would say there is a temporary closing of the line between Feldkirch and Buchs. That route crosses the Rhein river. Possibly there is maintenance work on the bridge? Comparing connections just between Feldkirch and Buchs on those two dates shows trains in May but only buses in June. Often in Germany, when they close a section of track, they have dedicated buses, called SEV (Schienen Ersatz Verkehr = rail substitute transport), running direct between stations on both sides of the closure. However, in this case, the bus connection in June also shows up in May, so it's a regularly scheduled bus. It also makes a great number of stops between Feldkirch and Buchs, which is not usually the case for an SEV. When using the Bahn website, be sure to spell it "Zürich" (or "Zuerich"), not Zurich. Zurich will just get you the airport (ZRH). But if you add "HB" after Zurich, one of the options will be "Zürich HB", the main station in Zürich.
Posted by
OP
Pacific Northwest
2682 posts
Wow! Well, taking your collective advice, I checked July trains and see that I can easily purchase a ticket then. My actual travel day is June 17th and looking at later trains for that day, I see a note about construction , which does not show up when I search for an 8am departure. You are all amazingly helpful. I will just start over on that connection. Maybe I will do Innsbruck-Munich-Strasbourg and take a bus from there to Colmar. Other connection ideas are welcomed:)
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33861 posts
Duration: 3:22; runs 21. May until 28. Jul 2013 daily; not 3. until 28. Jun 2013 The information in your OP actually gives it all: It runs every day from the 21st of May until the 28th of July EXCEPT not the 3rd of June until the 28th of June 2013. With your travel day the 17th of June, that is exactly midway in the closed period.