Zürich / Zurich to Innsbruck by train

How to take the rail journey from Zurich to Innsbruck

Few rail journeys between European cities are as fabulous as this!
For virtually the entire journey by train from Zurich to Innsbruck, you can enjoy delightful vistas from the windows.

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Routes

From Zürich HB / Zurich main station to Innsbruck Hbf

Travel Information

These trains* will depart from the platforms/tracks by the street level concourse in Zurich HB station (gleis 3 - 18)

*The train which is usually scheduled to depart at 08:40 is the EC train, all of the other departures are by Railjet trains.

Final Destination: Wien or Budapest or Graz or Innsbruck or Bratislava

All trains also call at: Feldkirch connect for Bregenz

Some trains also call at: St Anton and or Landeck-Zams

From Zurich Flughafen/Airport:

There are no direct trains between the station at Zurich Flughafen/Aiport and Innsbruck.
You will have to change trains at Zurich HB station.

Making the transfer will be much easier if you take a train from Zurich Flughafen to Zurich HB which uses the same part of Zurich HB station (platforms/tracks/gleis 3 - 18) that the trains on to Innsbruck depart from.

So when taking a train from the airport target either;

  • the trains on route S24 heading to Zug - every 30 mins.
  • the IR trains to Luzern - every 30 mins.
  • the IR train to Basel via via Brugg - 1 x train per hour.

6  x Railjet trains per day
1 x EC train per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 180 days* ahead of the travel date
*There's no need to book 6 months ahead to obtain the cheapest tickets.

If you look for tickets around 3 - 4 months ahead then the cheapest 'Sparschiene' tickets can actually be available on more trains.

The prices of the tickets are usually cheaper on OBB, particularly as its cheapest 'Sparschiene' tickets can now be booked up until the day of travel (if they haven't sold out); previously Sparscheine tickets had to be booked at least 3 days ahead.

However, it's worth comparing prices with SBB, but remember that the price on SBB will be in Swiss Francs and not euros.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
OBB from €19

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.

SBB *

SBB Guide

SBB is the main national rail operator in Switzerland, but tickets for journeys by the other significant operators including BLS and SOB can be be booked on the SBB website.

SBB also sells tickets for journeys to many destinations which involve a combination of SBB trains and services provided by the many independent operators who serve the Alpine resort towns.
However, if you will be making a long-distance return day trip, look out for he possibility of SaverDay passes being cheaper than tickets.

Though if you download the SBB app, booking tickets on SBB's mobile services can be simper than using the website.
Also watch out for the fact that booking international tickets can be comparatively quirky.

Trainline from €19

Trainline Guide

Happyrail from €19

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.

Trainline from €19

Trainline Guide

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLake viewsMountain views

Good to Know

Lake Zurich comes into view around 12 mins into the journey Lake Zurich comes into view around 12 mins into the journey
The trains travel along the shore of the Zurichsee for more than 20 mins The trains travel along the shore of the Zurichsee for more than 20 mins
A final glimpse of the lake after Pfaffikon station A final glimpse of the lake after Pfaffikon station
Around 20 mins later the spectacular Walensee comes into view Around 20 mins later the spectacular Walensee comes into view
The views over the Walensee are also on the left The views over the Walensee are also on the left
After the train has passed through Liechtenstein it heads into Austria After the train has passed through Liechtenstein it heads into Austria
The best of the views have switched to the right, but the train has reversed direction The best of the views have switched to the right, but the train has reversed direction
The views of the Arlberg Pass have to be glimpsed through the trees The views of the Arlberg Pass have to be glimpsed through the trees
Between the tunnels near St Anton Between the tunnels near St Anton
The views switch to the left on the descent into Landeck The views switch to the left on the descent into Landeck

Step on board one of Europe's most epic rail journeys, with amazing views of two Swiss lakes AND a passage through the stunning Arlberg Pass.
This journey has arguably fewer 'nothing to see' moments than any other journey of this length.

Sit on the left (when facing the direction) of travel) on departure from Zurich for the best views.

Within 10 minutes of departing from Zurich there are a series of stunning views of not one, but two lakes, the Zurichsee...

...and then the Wallensee.

  ...can both be seen from the left of the train.

The best of the views as the train travels through the Arlberg pass will be over on the right, but the train will reverse direction on departure from Buchs.

Between Buchs and Feldkirch the train will travel through Liechtenstein, then after departure from Bludenz, the train threads through the stunning Arlberg Pass - though in summer the trees can get in the way.

In the pass, the best and most spectacular views of the entire journey are over on the right; even on a grey day

But after St.Anton the best of the views are over on the left, with the final spectacular highlight of the journey being the descent to Landeck station.

This journey is so fabulous that it's included on Rough Guides' list of the Best Scenic Train Journeys in Europe.

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