Hooray, she’s here! With the WESTbahn to Innsbruck

I travel a lot by train, and I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. On Sunday, December 11, the time had come: I was there at the start of the WESTbahn in the direction of Innsbruck.

For a long time, rail passengers have wished that the WESTbahn would not only run from Vienna to Salzburg. The climate ticket, which has been available since October 2021, has only strengthened this wish. When the WESTbahn announced in the spring that it would also continue from Salzburg to Munich, people were full of hope that Innsbruck would perhaps soon also appear on the trains as a destination.

Now the time has come! At the beginning of summer 2022, the company applied for approval and recently received the green light! Since the timetable change on December 11, the WESTbahn has been running to Innsbruck - three times a day!

I was thrilled, I have already used the services of WESTbahn several times and for me as a frequent traveler, it is a pleasant alternative to the top dog ÖBB.

WESTbahn was founded in 2011. Following a 2009 agreement with ÖBB Infra on track capacity, long-distance services between Vienna and Salzburg were launched. The departure point is always the Vienna Westbahnhof station. From 2017 to 2019, the WESTbahn also operated from Vienna Praterstern station.

Since its inception, the vehicles of WESTbahn have consisted exclusively of the KISS series from the Swiss Stadler Rail Group. The name „KISS“ stands for "comfortable innovative high-gauge commuter train". The double-decker railcar sets offer space for 526 passengers on two levels. The barrier-free trains reach a top speed of 200 kilometers per hour. The trains are divided into three classes: Standard, Comfort and First. The large doors of the low-floor carriages allow easy and quick boarding and alighting. On board, passengers enjoy free Wi-Fi in very ergonomic leather chairs. Each seat is equipped with a power outlet. A so-called WESTcafé offers a coffee vending machine, cold drinks and snacks. For passengers with limited mobility, there are two wheelchair spaces in the central section of the train, which can be reserved free of charge.

Since December 11, the WESTbahn now also runs to Innsbruck. It runs three times a day from the federal capital to the Tyrolean capital. Additional stops are made in Wörgl and Kufstein in the Tyrol.

Departure times Vienna West Station: 7:08/11:08/17:08
Departure times Innsbruck Central Station: 6:31/12:31/16:31

Stops from Innsbruck to Vienna Innsbruck–Wörgl–Kufstein–Salzburg Hbf–Vöcklabruck–Attnang-Puchheim–Wels–Linz Hbf–Amstetten–Sankt Pölten–Wien Hütteldorf–Wien Westbahnhof

Tickets are available online, at WESTshops (+€1) and participating tobacconists (+€2).

You can travel particularly cheaply with the WESTsuperpreis, which is only available online, from €18.99.

More information can be found in the WESTbahn app or at westbahn.at.

With the Klimaticket Austria, you can travel with WESTbahn in the Comfort Class, and the seat reservation is free of charge.

On the premiere day I was on the road from Vienna to Innsbruck and made you a little video.

All photos: © Danijel Jovanovic Photography - www.djphotography.at
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