Off to the south

Off to the south

Vienna - Graz - Klagenfurt - Villach with WESTbahn from 1 March 2026

Starting March 2026 WESTbahn connects Vienna with the south of Austria

We are continuing our growthpath and starting March 1st 2026, we will connect Vienna, Graz, Klagenfurt and Villach. In line with our high WESTbahn quality, our new southern extension will offer our passengers a relaxed and comfortable travel experience.

The new destinations on our WESTbahn network 

Our network extension starting March 1st 2026:

WESTbahn Network – Southern Extension

 

Our prelimary timetable

Starting March 1st 2026, we will run 5 daily services in each direction between Vienna and Villach. Our trains start in Wien Hauptbahnhof (Vienna Central Station), with stops in Vienna Meidling, Wiener Neustadt, Semmering, Bruck an der Mur, Graz, Klagenfurt and terminate in Villach.

Prelimary timetable starting March 2026

WESTbahn Stadler SMILE

Fast, comfortable and direct connections with our new Stadler SMILE

To accomplish our network extension to Villach, we have procured 3 new state-of-the-art trains from Swiss manufacturer Stadler: the SMILE high-speed trainset with a top speed of 250 km/h and 11 carriages with a total length of 202 metres.

 

WESTbahn SMILE – Interior

The interior of these ultra-modern trains will impress with our usual WESTbahn quality and comfort:
  • 422 seats, including 288 in our Standard Class (2)
  • Leather seating with our expected high level of seating comfort
  • 230V power sockets at every seat
  • Onboard WiFi
  • Accessibility thanks to two step-free, level-access entrances and stairless access throughout the entire train  
  • Bike spaces
 

WESTbahn – excellence, hospitality and ambition

Why travel with WESTbahn

We do our utmost to fulfil our high quality standards with excellence, hospitality and ambition. Our dedicated and cordial crew will make sure our passengers can relax and enjoy their journey and time with us.

Only at WESTbahn: the WESTfixplatz free seat reservation! Our free seat reservation will of course also be available on our new services going south.

 

Start your career at WESTbahn

We are growing – come join us!

For our expansion, we are looking for new colleagues for our crew and traction units.

The vacancies for our new location in Villach are already available online! In addition, we are also looking for employees at our headquarters in Vienna. 

Check out our job portal and join Team WESTbahn!

Apply now

 

Questions & Answers

When can I book tickets?

We will inform in due time when the ticketsale starts.

Will there be more stops?

Further stops are currently under review.

Will WESTbahn run more frequently on the southern line in future?

Our 5 daily connections are just the beginning – our aim is to expand our services at a later date.

Why doesn't WESTbahn run its double-decker trains on the southern line?

Until the Semmering tunnel is completed, our doubledecker KISS3-trainsets will not be able to travel to the south of Austria for structural reasons. However, to speed things up, we have obtained 3 modern SMILE high-speed trainsets from Swiss manufacturer Stadler, with which we will be travelling from Vienna via Graz and Klagenfurt to Villach.

Will the double-decker trainsets continue to run on the western line?

Our KISS3 double-decker trainsets will continue to run on the western route between Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Bregenz and Lindau as well as Munich and Stuttgart.

Are you looking for new employees for the new southbound services?

For our expansion to the south, we are looking for new crew and traindriver colleagues.

The vacancies for our new location in Villach are already online! We are also looking for employees at our location in Vienna for this expansion step.