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-   European Rail Travel (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/european-rail-travel-654/)
-   -   OBB Railjet booking late Dec 2019 (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/european-rail-travel/1992322-obb-railjet-booking-late-dec-2019-a.html)

alpenlupe Oct 22, 2019 12:09 am
OBB Railjet booking late Dec 2019
 
Hi all

I'm looking to book a trip Budapest - St Anton am Arlberg (RJX 162) in late December 2019. I think it's possible to book a ticket on oebb but not make a seat reservation as 'the timetable data for the 2020 timetable year are not yet complete. Changes are still possible.'

Does anyone know when the timetable will be completed and I'll be able to reserve seats?

:D! Oct 22, 2019 9:37 am
I would have thought it was today, as apparently today is when you will be able to book DB tickets on Eurostar again.

alpenlupe Oct 22, 2019 10:41 pm
Thanks. As of now (23 Oct) it's still not possible.

Edit: I did find further info on oebb.com 'local passenger rail transport in the eastern region (Vienna, Lower Austria, Burgenland), in the regions of Salzburg, Upper Austria and Tyrol as well as in long-distance passenger transport.. are not yet completed' so I guess the timetable setting for that part of the network is different to some of the rest.

:D! Oct 22, 2019 11:49 pm
I don't know if a seat reservation is really necessary but anyway if you can't book one nobody else will be able to either.

Fanjet Oct 29, 2019 11:34 pm
Originally Posted by alpenlupe (Post 31653759)
Hi all

I'm looking to book a trip Budapest - St Anton am Arlberg (RJX 162) in late December 2019. I think it's possible to book a ticket on oebb but not make a seat reservation as 'the timetable data for the 2020 timetable year are not yet complete. Changes are still possible.'

Does anyone know when the timetable will be completed and I'll be able to reserve seats?
The ÖBB website lets you book an international ticket starting in another country to Austria? I thought that was only possible if it is the return portion of a roundtrip ticket (originating in Austria).

alpenlupe Oct 30, 2019 3:43 am
Yes, it lets you book an international ticket originating in another country.

Fanjet Oct 31, 2019 12:40 am
Originally Posted by alpenlupe (Post 31681078)
Yes, it lets you book an international ticket originating in another country.

They've still not finalised the new timetable so I'm still not able to reserve seats for the trip late Dec so I have held off booking my ticket.
Wow. That's a nice improvement. I wonder if the DeutscheBahn website has made the same change. It's been a few years since I've booked with ÖBB online. I've just been using FlixBus and RegioJet to travel between Austria and the other Central European countries. It's a lot cheaper than ÖBB, and their schedules are pretty good.

BMWMOT Oct 31, 2019 2:24 pm
I just booked a one way today with OBB Budapest to Vienna for April. I got the timetable not set yet notice but it did let me book it. It did not give me the option to reserve a seat so I'm not sure how to do that if it's even possible.
What concerns me is I printed the tickets but it shows no date or time when I booked a specific date and time (9:40 RJX). It does show that I booked 1st class at least.
My ticket has a * under time and date.
I'm a novice at European train travel so I sent a note to OBB asking how this works. Can I take any train/any time? (Not that I want to. I wanted the 9:40).
How do I reserve a seat etc.
It would be nice to have a departure time on my ticket. Do they send me a notice once the schedule is set? Do they send an updated ticket?
Hopefully they respond.

alpenlupe Oct 31, 2019 11:11 pm
Ordinarily you can reserve a seat & you can even choose a specific carriage / seat while making a the reservation. If you do a dummy booking for a date prior to the proposed new timetable (about 14 Dec 2019) you'll see how it works.

For dates beyond the not yet finalised timetable change you can make a booking but not reserve a seat. I thought this would get you a place on a specified train but from your experience it looks like you just get an open ticket for any train.It seems to me that rather than do that they shouldn't be taking bookings, what's the point? I guess they're doing it as some trains might not run when the new timetable is finalised.

Personally, I'm checking every day and hopefully the timetable will be set soon so I can reserve a specific seat on a specific train. I'll post here if/when I have success.

BMWMOT Nov 1, 2019 6:31 am
OK thanks. So far no response from OBB on my email yesterday. Maybe I should have waited but everything I read says book early for better prices.

railways Nov 2, 2019 10:48 pm
Originally Posted by alpenlupe (Post 31653759)
Hi all

I'm looking to book a trip Budapest - St Anton am Arlberg (RJX 162) in late December 2019. I think it's possible to book a ticket on oebb but not make a seat reservation as 'the timetable data for the 2020 timetable year are not yet complete. Changes are still possible.'

Does anyone know when the timetable will be completed and I'll be able to reserve seats?
The problem is almost certainly that Hungarian railways (MAV) are very slow at loading the new timetable. But when it does get loaded, you might try booking on the MAV website. You can't book a ticket to St Anton, but you can book a ticket to Zurich on RJX 162, and simply get off the train at St Anton. Advance purchase fares are EUR 39 second class and EUR 59 in first, both including seat reservation. This may be cheaper than the OeBB ticket to St Anton.

Originally Posted by BMWMOT (Post 31687373)
I just booked a one way today with OBB Budapest to Vienna for April. I got the timetable not set yet notice but it did let me book it. It did not give me the option to reserve a seat so I'm not sure how to do that if it's even possible.
What concerns me is I printed the tickets but it shows no date or time when I booked a specific date and time (9:40 RJX). It does show that I booked 1st class at least.
This is an instance when booking so early is not advisable, since it seems you have been sold a full-fare flexible ticket. First class advance purchase fares on this train (when they open for booking) are EUR 39 including reservation if booked on the MAV website, which I guess is less than you have paid.

All international tickets booked through the MAV website have to be collected from station ticket machines in Hungary - you cannot self-print.

alpenlupe Nov 3, 2019 12:14 am
railways thanks for all that, very useful information. I'll compare prices on MAV for that train to Zurich when I finally am able to book.

I did just try a dummy booking on OBB Vienna - St Anton on my date (28 Dec) and I get the same message so I'm not sure the blame lies with MAV.

railways Nov 3, 2019 5:38 am
Originally Posted by alpenlupe (Post 31695527)
railways thanks for all that, very useful information. I'll compare prices on MAV for that train to Zurich when I finally am able to book.

I did just try a dummy booking on OBB Vienna - St Anton on my date (28 Dec) and I get the same message so I'm not sure the blame lies with MAV.
It is possible, for example, to reserve seats on that date on the 15:30 and 17:30 trains to St Anton, which start from Vienna, but not the 09:30, which starts from Budapest.

alpenlupe Nov 4, 2019 3:04 am
Ah,ok. MAV's issue then, thanks.

BMWMOT Nov 5, 2019 6:54 am
Originally Posted by railways (Post 31695437)
The problem is almost certainly that Hungarian railways (MAV) are very slow at loading the new timetable. But when it does get loaded, you might try booking on the MAV website. You can't book a ticket to St Anton, but you can book a ticket to Zurich on RJX 162, and simply get off the train at St Anton. Advance purchase fares are EUR 39 second class and EUR 59 in first, both including seat reservation. This may be cheaper than the OeBB ticket to St Anton.



This is an instance when booking so early is not advisable, since it seems you have been sold a full-fare flexible ticket. First class advance purchase fares on this train (when they open for booking) are EUR 39 including reservation if booked on the MAV website, which I guess is less than you have paid.

All international tickets booked through the MAV website have to be collected from station ticket machines in Hungary - you cannot self-print.
Where were you when I needed you :) The fare you quoted is less than what I paid but I'm not sure if it's full fare flexible. I got a few messages during the process that no changes were allowed.
Still no response from OBB to my email. It's been about a week. So at this point I still don't know how to use my ticket with no specific train listed.
The top left corner does say CIV 1181 (whatever that is) then below that HF 10.04.20-13.04.20. I take that means it''s valid between Apr 10-13.
Again, just take any train?


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