Wien / Vienna to Koblenz by train

How to take a train journey from Wien/Vienna to Koblenz

If the capital of Austria and the glorious Rhine Gorge are on your European travel itinerary you'll be pleased to know that not only are these two wonderful locations connected by direct train, the rail journey between then is also glorious!

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Routes

From Wien Hbf/Hauptbahnhof to Koblenz Hbf

Travel Information

Final Destination: Dortmund

All trains also call at: St Polten, Linz and Mainz

These trains are usually scheduled to depart from Wien Hbf at 11:15 and 15:15.

If your journey in Vienna is commencing in the south-west corner of the city, or the area on the ring road around the Opera House - then it's likely that you'll have a faster and more convenient journey if you join the train at Wien-Meidling station.

Wien Meidling is connected to line U6 of the Vienna Metro, which serves the western side of the city centre.

Though we particularly recommend opting to make reservations on these trains if you want to join this train at Wien-Meidling.

2 x direct trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date - usually

These trains are usually scheduled to depart from Wien Hbf at 11:15 and 15:15, so target those times when looking up this journey.

It can be worth comparing prices on the different ticket agents, the cheapest 'Europa Spezial' tickets can still be available on DB, the German railways website, when the most heavily discounted 'Sparschiene' tickets are sold out on OBB, the Austrian railways website.
And the reverse can be true, cheaper Sparschiene tickets can still be available on OBB, meaning that DB can be more expensive.

Seat Reservations:

Book 1st class ticket journey tickets on DB and your seat reservation is included - but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.

If you will be travelling 2nd class we highly recommend opting to add a reservation when booking, the ICE trains to Germany from Austria are always comparatively busy.
So if you don't reserve, being able to remain in the same seat all the way from Vienna to Koblenz, is something you definitely can't take for granted.

Note that if you opt to book 1st class tickets on OBB, your seat reservation won't be automatically be included, so you will need to be proactive and add it to your booking.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB from €39.90

DB Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.

Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

Trainline from €39.90

Trainline Guide

OBB from €39.90

OBB Guide

OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.

It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.

OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.

Happyrail from €39.90

Happyrail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - YesNot High Speed

Good to Know

There is an nightly overnight train from Wien/Vienna, but travelling by day is recommended, because that Nightjet train is usually due to arrive in Koblenz before 05:30.

Looking left as the train approaches Passau Looking left as the train approaches Passau
South of Passau the River Inn is on the left South of Passau the River Inn is on the left
After departing Passau, the Danube can be seen on the right After departing Passau, the Danube can be seen on the right
The Rhine comes into view once the train reaches Bingen The Rhine comes into view once the train reaches Bingen
A highlight of the journey is passing the Lorely A highlight of the journey is passing the Lorely
Chasing the boats through the Rhine Valley Chasing the boats through the Rhine Valley

This is a fascinating and often beautiful rail journey of multiple phases, which can be best appreciated if you take the first departure of the day between May and September, so can experience the entire journey by daylight.

From Wien/Vienna until Wels the train will travel at up to 230 km/h (close to the high speed threshold) on the main Western Railway which crosses Austria.
On departure from Wells the train will head towards the border with Germany and to the south of Passau, the railway takes a charming route on the east bank of The River Inn, which can be seen on left.
Then between Passau and Regensburg the River Danube is on the right.

Between Regensburg and Nurnberg the train rushes across a delightful rolling landscape and then until Wurzburg the train remains on the conventional railway.
On departure from Wurzburg comes a part of the journey with a wow factor, the train will be on the high speed line for less than 15 minutes, but there are some nice views as the train crosses some long viaducts; in particular look out for when the train will burst out of a tunnel and then immediately cross the River Main.
Between this river bridge and Aschaffenburg comes another scenic part of the trip when the railway winds through some valleys.

As the train will spend less than 3% of its journey on the high speed line, it didn't see right to put this journey in the high speed (partial) category.
The train will reverse direction on departure from Frankfurt (Main) hbf and then after Mainz comes the fabulous climax to the day's travels, the stunning views of The Rhine Gorge between Bingen and Koblenz.

(the video was taken from a train travelling in the opposite direction).

These Rhine Valley views will usually be on the right*, but due to the reversal in Frankfurt, if possible sit on the left when boarding the train.
*The train can be diverted to travel on the opposite bank of the river.

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