If you’ve wondered how to travel by train from the UK to Austria, this blog post should answer almost all of your questions.
Austria is great for train travel as there are fast connections from major European cities and overnight options, plus many resorts have a station in the town itself.
Map of train routes to Austria
This excellent and intuitive map of train routes to Austria was created by graphic designer David Cooper and Snowcarbon. Simply click on the map to see a larger version.
Overnight trains: Nightjet
The growing fleet of OBB Nightjet sleeper trains mean that for Tirolean resorts, skiers can take the Eurostar to Amsterdam and then the Nightjet to Kufstein, Wörgl, Jenbach and Innsbruck stations.
For ski resorts in SalzburgerLand, UK-based skiers can take the Eurostar from London to Brussels or Paris, and then the Nightjet to Salzburg.
Overnight trains: European Sleeper
Regular visitors to Ski Flight Free (or listeners to The Ski Podcast) will already know about the new European Sleeper service.
The train will travel from Belgium and the Netherlands through Germany to Austria (and on to Italy), creating a new overnight-rail option for skiers to reach resorts. It will only operate on limited dates for 2025, but more services will be added for winter 2025/26.
Tickets are on sale now, with couchettes from €99 per person and sleepers from €179 per person.
Find out more about European Sleeper by listening to our interview with co-founder Chris Engelsman:
Daytime Travel to Austrian Ski Resorts
High-speed trains through Belgium and Germany or France and Switzerland mean you can reach Austrian ski resorts in 10–12 hours from London.
The ‘final mile’ – getting from the station to resort
Most Austrian resorts are close to a station, or even have a station in the resort:
Fares and how to book
Return train fares to Austrian ski resorts can cost as little as £125 if you book early. In our experience, it normally works out at £180-£200 per person.
Do bear in mind when you are making comparisons with flying, that a train will typically take you direct to, or very close to, resort, with no additional transfer required.
For booking, you can buy tickets separately via Eurostar and OBB or Nightjet. Alternatively, Rail Europe is an excellent site for buying all tickets in one purchase.
Cut your emissions
While we love train travel simply for the experience (it is SO MUCH more enjoyable than flying), the key motivation is that it is the most effective way of reducing your emissions for any ski holiday.
A flight to Innsbruck in Austria means more time in the air than flying to Geneva, which means that by taking the train to Austria you are saving even more emissions than if you were going to a French or Swiss ski holiday.
The figures below were calculated by Protect Our Winters in August 2024 and show the huge difference – taking the train generates just 3% of the emission of flying.
So, why do yourself and the planet a favour and take the train the next time you take a ski holiday to Austria…
