Skiing Near Vienna Using Public Transport

„A car is a fundamental requirement for good backcountry skiing“. So goes the argument of many backcountry skiers. There is a certain truth in this argument as most routes start at quite remote corners somewhere in a hidden side valley. However, the Vienna region was originally developed as recreational region in the 19th century when the first railway lines were constructed. Among them the famous Semmering railway which was then the world’s first high mountain railway (constructed between 1848-1854). Soon additional railway lines, some of them mainly for tourism reasons, were put in place. Thanks to this railway heritage the Vienna region still allows for good backcountry skiing by using public transports such as trains and buses.

Today two major railway lines allow for easy and fast access to the skiing. The first line is the Southern railway line which connects Vienna with Graz, Austria’s second largest city. It traverses the main ridge of the Alps at the Semmering and opens the access to the Rax-Schneeberg-area, the most prominent backcountry possibilities of the entire Vienna region. An important hub for changing train connections is Wiener Neustadt, some 40 minutes train ride to the South of Vienna. A secondary line connects Wiener Neustadt to Puchberg, the entry point to the fabulous skiing at the Schneeberg.

The second railway line is the Western railway line which connects Vienna via Linz with Salzburg ( and Munich) and consequently with the Western parts of Austria. Thus it is the main access line to the high Alpine environments of the Western provinces of Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg. A major hub along this line is St. Pölten, from where a secondary railway line leads to the South opening the access to the mountains around Ternitz and Annaberg.

Train conncections can be searched by using the route planner at the website of the Austrian Federal Railways.

Here are some major railway connections offering access to interesting backcountry skiing near Vienna on a daily basis:

Schneeberg area:

Vienna Südbahnhof: dep 6.56 OBB IC OIC 553
Wiener Neustadt: arr 7.28
Wiener Neustadt: dep 7.37 R 6407
Puchberg/Schneeberg: arr 8.23
Puchberg/Schneeberg: dep 8.25 Bus 1720
Losenheim/Chair lift: arr 8.39

Return travel

Losenheim/Chair lift: dep 4.15 p.m. Bus 1720
Puchberg Schneeberg: arr 4.30
Puchberg Schneeberg: dep 4.38 R 6426
Wiener Neustadt: arr 5.23
Wiener Neustadt: dep 5.33 OBB OEC 256
Wien Südbahnhof: arr 6.05

Rax Cable Car area:

Wien Südbahnhof: dep 7.08 R 2209
Payerbach-Reichenau: arr 8.35
Payerbach-Reichenau: dep 8.45 Bus 1745
Hirschwang-Raxseilbahn: arr 9.00

Return travel:

Hirschwang-Raxseilbahn: dep 4 p.m. Bus 1748
Payerbach-Reichenau: arr 4.15
Payerbach-Reichenau: dep 4.24 OBB R 2354
Wien Südbahnhof: arr 6.00

Semmering-Stuhleck area:

Wien Meidling: dep 7.18 R 2209
Payerbach-Reichenau: arr 8.35
Payerbach-Reichnau: dep 8.39 R 2949
Semmering Pass: arr 9.07
Spital/Semmering: arr 9.16

Return travel:

Spital/Semmering: dep 4.54 p.m. EZ 1838
Semmering: dep 5.05
Wien Meidling: arr 6.42

Türnitz-Annaberg area:

Wien Südtiroler Platz: dep 7.00 Bus 552
Annaberg: arr 9.30

Return travel:

Annaberg: dep 4.35 p.m. Bus 552
Wien Südtiroler Platz: arr 7.05