The closure of 2026 and 2027
Austrian Federal Railways is rebuilding the viaducts, bridges, track and platforms of the S-Bahn trunk line through the city. The section between Praterstern and the Hauptbahnhof was due to close on 7 September 2026; a cable fire at the Praterstern signal box closed it three weeks early, on 14 August. It is to remain shut until the end of October 2027.
The consequences, as set out by Wiener Linien, the city's transport operator:
- The S-Bahn station at Wien Mitte is closed. The underground station there, Landstrasse, on lines U3 and U4, is open.
- The S7 to the airport runs only from St Marx, not from the centre.
- The City Airport Train is replaced by buses between Wien Mitte and the airport, up to five an hour.
- Regional express REX 7 is diverted to reach the airport by way of the Hauptbahnhof.
- Trams stand in for the railway. Line O runs between Praterstern and the Hauptbahnhof every five minutes; line 18 is extended to the Stadion underground station and runs every six; line 62 is diverted to Quartier Belvedere.
- The underground runs more often at peak times on lines U1, U2, U4 and U6.
A transport planner at the Vienna University of Technology, quoted by the national broadcaster before the closure, expected the trams in particular to be overloaded.
From the airport
Vienna International Airport is at Schwechat, outside the city boundary. During the closure the routes are:
- Long-distance trains to the Hauptbahnhof. Railjet and InterCity services of the federal railways run direct between the airport and the main station and are not affected. From the Hauptbahnhof, line U1 reaches the centre in a few minutes.
- The S7 to St Marx, with trams onward.
- The replacement buses of the City Airport Train to Wien Mitte.
- Airport coaches. The national broadcaster reported additional services from Praterstern and Karlsplatz from 7 September 2026.
Arriving by rail and road
Almost all international trains arrive at the Hauptbahnhof, the through station that replaced the old southern and eastern termini and has been in full operation since December 2015. It has direct services from Budapest, Prague, Munich, Bratislava and Zurich, and night trains from further afield.
Driving into the city is possible and seldom practical. Since 1 March 2022 short-stay parking rules have applied in every district: on weekdays street parking is limited to two hours and must be paid for. Park and Ride sites at underground stations on the edge of the city are the alternative.
The network
Wiener Linien runs the underground, the trams and the buses; the federal railways run the S-Bahn; and one ticket covers all of them within the city.
- The underground has five lines: U1, U2, U3, U4 and U6. There is no U5. It is under construction, and in November 2025 its opening was put back on grounds of cost from 2026 to 2030.
- Trams cover the inner districts and the Ringstrasse. Lines 1, 2, D and 71 each run along part of the Ring on an ordinary ticket. The yellow Vienna Ring Tram is a separate sightseeing service with its own fare.
- Buses fill the gaps, including the narrow streets of the old town.
- At night the underground stops at about half past midnight and night buses take over. On Friday and Saturday nights, and on nights before public holidays, the underground runs through.
Tickets
The fare structure changed on 1 January 2026. The 48-hour and 72-hour tickets were withdrawn, as was the reduced single ticket for older passengers. What remains for a short stay is the single ticket, the 24-hour ticket and the 7-day ticket. Tickets bought online or in the operator's app are priced below those from a machine or counter, and fares are to be revalued each January from 2027.
There are no zones within the city: a single ticket covers one journey in one direction across the whole of Vienna, with changes.
The two rules that produce fines
The airport is outside the city zone. City tickets, including the 24-hour and 7-day tickets, are valid in the core zone, which ends at the city boundary. The journey to Schwechat needs a ticket of its own or an extension.
A paper ticket must be stamped. There are no barriers anywhere on the network. A paper ticket becomes valid only when it has been stamped in one of the blue machines at the entrance to an underground station or on board a tram or bus, once, before the first journey. Tickets bought in the app are valid from the time shown on them and are not stamped.
Inspectors work in plain clothes. Travelling without a valid ticket incurs a surcharge, and an unstamped ticket counts as no ticket.
The Vienna City Card and sightseeing buses
The Vienna City Card is sold by the tourist board, not by the transport operator. It combines travel on the network with discounts at museums and other attractions, and is issued for 24, 48 or 72 hours — which, since the withdrawal of the operator's own 48-hour and 72-hour tickets, makes it the only two-day or three-day travel product on sale.
Hop-on hop-off sightseeing buses are run by private companies. They are not part of the public network, and no city ticket is valid on them.
On foot
The Innere Stadt can be crossed on foot in about twenty minutes, and much of what visitors come to see lies inside it or just beyond the Ring. Public transport is needed chiefly for the longer journeys: to Schönbrunn on line U4, to the Prater, and to the wine villages on the edge of the city.