The plane is faster door to door. Fastest train 4h09 (München Hbf → Wien Hbf (via Salzburg)), ~23 direct trains/day all operators. Checked 2026-11-01.
The comparison
| Fastest train | 4h09München Hbf → Wien Hbf (via Salzburg) |
|---|---|
| Trains | ~23 direct trains/day all operators (pickthetrain open-data average 23.4/day)ÖBB Railjet, DB ICE, WESTbahn, ÖBB Nightjet (early-morning legs) |
| Flight | ~1h10 MUC-VIE (pickthetrain typical-for-distance; Austrian and Lufthansa fly nonstop). Airports add travel, check-in and security time. |
| Door to door | The plane is faster door to door |
| Air & rail | Austrian AIRail (ÖBB trains to Vienna Airport with Austrian flight booking) serves Linz, Salzburg, Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, not Munich. |
pickthetrain.com door-to-door model (its own assumptions: 1h30 airport check-in/security, 20 min to exit, typical-for-distance flight time, public-transport access estimates): plane faster by 34 min (4h32 vs 3h58). Nightjet runs listed reach Vienna ~10:00 from Munich Ost, not an overnight option for this pair.
Questions
Is the train faster than flying from Munich to Vienna?
The plane is faster door to door. The fastest train takes 4h09 city centre to city centre; the flight is ~1h10 MUC-VIE (pickthetrain typical-for-distance; Austrian and Lufthansa fly nonstop). Airports add travel, check-in and security time..
How often do trains run from Munich to Vienna?
~23 direct trains/day all operators (pickthetrain open-data average 23.4/day)
Can I book the train with an airline?
Austrian AIRail (ÖBB trains to Vienna Airport with Austrian flight booking) serves Linz, Salzburg, Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, not Munich.
Sources: pickthetrain.com, oebb.at
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