Westbahn: Austria’s First Open-Access Train

Westbahn: Austria’s First Open-Access Train

Good afternoon folks, and welcome to Innsbruck, in the heart of the Austrian Alps. The station was first built in 1853 but was later bombed during WWII. The current station building dates from 1954. Simple and functional. Not my taste, but I’m curious to hear yours. Nevertheless, it’s always a pleasure to be back in Innsbruck. Today is a first for me, as I’ll travel to Vienna not with the state operator ÖBB, but with Westbahn! This is Austria’s very first open-access operator, founded in 2008. The company started operations in 2011 in direct competition with ÖBB on the country’s busiest rail corridor, the Westbahn between Salzburg and Vienna (hence the name, at least partially). The service proved quite popular, and they’ve since extended their network to Innsbruck and Lindau, as well as recently into Germany, to Munich and Stuttgart. Westbahn competes head-to-head with ÖBB and its Railjet service, which for now uses push–pull trainsets. Back in 2011, Westbahn did something quite rare for long-distance services at the time: they operated an EMU. Westbahn operates exclusively with Stadler KISS trainsets. These trains are now well known for being reliable and comfortable. I’ve made a couple of videos on the KISS, and it’s always excellent! Back then, the KISS was mostly considered a regional/commuter train, not for long-distance use. Westbahn proved it was possible — and they’re still here almost 20 years after their inception. One of the main advantages of an EMU over a classic push–pull train is faster acceleration and braking. This is particularly useful on routes like the Westbahn, with many stops and high-speed sections. Even though Westbahn has been relatively successful, they still had to sell some of their trains back in 2019 to Deutsche Bahn. These double-decker trains have a top speed of 200 km/h. I’m a big fan of the livery applied here. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below! See this little coffee logo here? Westbahn doesn’t have a proper dining car like classic operators, but rather several snack zones scattered through different coaches. Westbahn offers three travel classes on its trains: Standard (2nd class equivalent), Comfort (2nd class with larger seat pitch), and First (1st class). Since I’m on a budget today, I’ll go for Standard, which cost me €39 — a very fair price for a four-hour journey to Vienna. The blue of the Westbahn livery blends perfectly with the wet, icy landscape in the background. Enough talk, let’s see what Westbahn has to offer! One of the snack zones I was telling you about. Classic 2+2 seating arrangement. As always with Stadler, the first impression is excellent. Even though it’s a double-decker, it feels spacious and welcoming. Even though we’re in the cheapest class, we still have leather seats. They feel premium. The lighting and choice of materials surely help, but the first impression is outstanding. The seat pitch is quite good for a second-class product. Large table, enough to hold a laptop — but that’s about it. Windows are perfectly clean! One power outlet per seat, in a perfect location — easy to reach without bothering anyone. And the seats are actually good. Usually, new rolling stock is synonymous with less comfort — but not at all here! All in all, nothing revolutionary, but a solid interior that feels welcoming. Here’s the true competitor of Westbahn: the ÖBB Railjet service! Both services are quite similar but complement each other — that’s why competition can be a good thing sometimes! This one is going to Vienna Airport and will stop at Vienna Main Station. Ours won’t, but instead goes to Vienna Westbahnhof. Looking at frequency and prices: ÖBB wins on frequency by offering more trains per day (and slightly faster), but Westbahn usually wins on price, as you can see. More choice is always beneficial. For example, when Westbahn started running to Salzburg in 2013, total ridership increased. Even ÖBB Railjet saw a 7% increase in ridership that year. Let’s treat myself to a coffee. No staffed dining car with Westbahn — just self-service coffee and vending machines. It honestly took me a minute to understand what was going on, since my German was bad back then. An international vending machine would be welcome! 🙂 Nevertheless, I still got a fresh coffee. Even though I’m a fan of dining cars, I really enjoy these snack areas scattered throughout the train. You don’t need to walk through several coaches or worry about your belongings while going far. Nice cup! We left Innsbruck with a small delay of five minutes. Let’s take a closer look at our route today! I’m excited to travel through Austria during daytime — I usually pass these areas at night on night trains. Early November is beautiful: a dusting of snow on the mountains and trees changing colors! You can find free Wi-Fi on all Westbahn trains (called WESTlan, for WLAN). Don’t worry, it worked perfectly after. All good! Beautiful Lower Inn Valley. Riding next to the Inn. By the way, our train doesn’t run entirely in Austria — part of the line goes through Germany. But the German and Austrian railway systems are almost identical: same catenary, almost identical signaling. That’s some nice scenery out there. As you can see on the map, to reach Salzburg we need to pass through Germany. Arriving in the heart of Westbahn’s core city: Salzburg. An ÖBB Cityjet (S-Bahn brand) facing a Westbahn! The sun is about to set over Wallersee! That’s one disadvantage of filming in November — we won’t see the rest of the ride until Vienna. But no big deal — we’ve already seen the most scenic part! Let’s take a quick tour of our train, shall we? This is Comfort Class (2+2), similar seating but with larger seat pitch. I’m not too convinced. I have to say, I’m impressed by the ridership — the train is packed, it’s crazy. We’re now in Standard Class. Each Westbahn KISS trainset can carry up to 526 passengers. Quite impressive! A better view of the snack area. Some people are even using it as a bed, haha. By the way, these KISS units aren’t the originals from 2011 — they were delivered to Westbahn in 2017, part of the KISS 3 series. Westbahn has always maintained a relatively young fleet, and now they’re looking ahead to buying EMUs from China, built by CRRC. The new trains have been under testing for years now, since it takes time to approve a brand-new overseas train in Europe. If you have any information about this, I’d love to hear it! Let’s try the vending machine. Haha, still in German! I won’t be fooled twice. It worked perfectly this time — I paid €2.80 for a Coke Zero. As far as I know, Stadler trains are the only ones where you can find two types of toilets in the same space — and I have to say it’s quite convenient. It was much cleaner than conventional train toilets. And everything worked perfectly! As expected — Swiss quality. Arriving at Linz Hbf. We’re now running on the Westbahn… onboard a Westbahn, haha. Top speed of 200 km/h — this is where the ÖBB Railjet can go faster (up to 230 km/h), but it only saves a few minutes. The difference between Innsbruck and Vienna is never more than 20 minutes. And just like on my ride with the DB IC, the trip is very smooth even at top speed. I’m not sure about the attendant, but I think he’s trying to sell coffee. DB does something similar on its ICEs when they have time. Our first stop in Vienna: Hütteldorf. We arrived right on time at our final stop, Vienna Westbahnhof! It was honestly a very pleasant ride with Westbahn. Sure, first class on Railjet is a bit fancier, but I only paid €39 for this journey — more than perfect for a four-hour ride. It was also nice to see so many people onboard — another proof that competition on certain routes is beneficial. Thanks for following me on this journey, folks! Don’t forget to subscribe for more, and I’ll see you next week for another adventure on the rails.

Servus!

Westbahn has been one of the most requested videos in Europe and finally I got the chance to review this wonderful open-access operator between Innsbruck and Vienna… and for the price I paid, it was more than worth it!

Map realized with Viaduct, more at https://viaduct.world/

– TRIP INFORMATION –
Date: November 2024
Railway company: Westbahn
Route : Innsbruck Hbf to Vienna Westbahnof
Time : 4h26
Price : 39€

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00:00 : Intro
00:34 : Innsbruck Hbf
01:08 : Westbahn
04:08 : Seat check
05:06 : Frontal competition
05:51 : Snack zone
06:55 : Departure & overview
07:48 : Beautiful Austria
12:03 : Mid roll ads
12:49 : Walkthrough
15:03 : New rolling stock
15:25 : Snack time again
15:54 : Toilets Time
16:28 : Westbahn on the Westbahn
17:29 : Arrival in Vienna / thoughts
17:55 : Outro