EC (Italy - Austria - Germany)

OBB (Austria’s national rail operator) provides the coaches used on these two routes:

(1) Munchen - Kufstein - Worgl - Innsbruck - Brenner - Bolzano - Trento - Verona - Padova/Padua - Venezia/Venice

(2) Munchen - Kufstein - Worgl - Innsbruck - Brenner - Bolzano - Trento - Verona - Bologna

So both externally and internally these trains are identical to Austrian IC trains.

On its domestic routes within Austria, OBB has replaced these trains on its top tier services with Railjets - but these older style of coaches are still used on these EC trains

It doesn’t mean that these trains aren't comfortable, the seating saloons are more spacious than on a typical high speed train.
Their old-fashioned layouts mean that virtually all of the seats line up with the windows, a big plus for the beautiful journeys that most of these trains travel on.

The 2nd class seats are usually only placed in open plan saloons, but in 1st class some coaches are open plan, - while others are in compartments with doors to a corridor.

As these trains are comparatively old, they lack state-of-the-art touches such as Wi-Fi - but as you will be glued to the windows most of the time, it won’t particularly matter.

Travelling between Austria/Germany and Italy (both directions):

When booking tickets for journeys between Austria/Germany and Italy, seat reservations will automatically be included, irrespective of whether you will be travelling 1st or 2nd class.

Travelling between Austria and Germany (both directions):

Reservations are now included when booking 1st class tickets for journeys between Germany and Austria on the DB website
However, reservations will not be automatically included when booking 1st class tickets on the OBB website, or at stations in Austria,

In 2nd class (and for rail pass users in 1st class and 2nd class) they're available, but optional.
They can be added when making a booking or purchased separately either online or at the station.

If you have not reserved the availability of seats is NOT guaranteed - if need be walk through the train to find available seats.
The optional reservation fee in 1st or 2nd class for journeys between Austria and Germany is €4.

If your Eurail or InterRail pass is valid in Austria, Germany and Italy you can travel to and from Italy on these trains - if you pay a reservation fee prior to boarding.
And these fees have recently been increased by more than 30%, so the charges are comparatively expensive for rail pass users.

Though if you'll be happy to make connections on a longer end-to-end journeys, it's usually comparatively straightforward to avoid travelling to and from Italy on these trains.
There are alternative journey options when travelling to Austria or Germany from Bologna, or from Venice/Venezia.
And when travelling in the opposite direction from Munich and Innsbruck.

These rail pass reservation fees also apply for any journey by these trains solely within Italy - and the fees are more expensive than on Italian Intercity trains.
So particularly avoid these trains if you have a rail pass and will be travelling WITHIN Italy to northern cities including Bologna, Bolzano, Padova/Padua, Venice/Venezia and Verona.

Travelling to Italy FROM Germany:

The best option is to book the reservations for journeys to Italy by these trains, at the Reisezentrum desk at Munchen Hbf (or at any hauptbahnhof in Germany).
You won't be charged a booking fee.

If you book a reservation online on the DB (German Railways) website, it won't include the 'supplement' that's charged for journeys to Italy.

Travelling to Italy FROM Austria:

Book the reservations for journeys to Italy by these trains, at the Reisezentrum desk at Innsbruck Hbf (or at any hauptbahnhof in Austria).
You won't be charged a booking fee.

OBB sells reservations for these trains online, but they won't include the 'supplement' that's charged for journeys to Italy.

Travelling from Italy TO Austria or Germany:

The rail pass reservations for journeys from Italy by these trains, can be booked at at ticket offices in Italy - no booking fee will be charged.

They're not available from the Trenitalia ticket machines, but they are also sold online by Italiarail.
The instructions for booking these reservations online is on our Using Rail Passes From Italy guide.

If you'll be taking these trains from Verona Porta Nuova, or passing through Verona Porta Nuova, these rail pass reservations can also be booked at the DB Reisezentrum desk in Verona Porta Nuova station.

These trains have storage areas for non-folding bicycles, when boarding in Germany and Italy bike tickets must be purchased at the station prior to boarding, but when travelling from Austria they can be purchased online -add the bike reservation when booking tickets on the the OBB website.