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I want to take my bike on the train from Udine to Villach (and onwards to Linz) on the 2nd of August 2024.

The Austrian railways (ÖBB) show me a train RJ132 which supposedly allows (limited) bicycle transport (reservation required) but don’t allow me to buy a ticket (neither for myself, nor for the bike). From Villach onward towards Vienna they do offer the ticket.

Trenitalia also show me the RJ132 and allow me to buy a ticket for myself but as soon as I select “travel with bike” they no longer offer any connections at all from Udine to Villach.

I assume that physically the bicycle space exists (unless ÖBB’s information is wrong or they attach a whole carriage for bicycle transport in Villach) but I can’t buy it due to a software limitation. Any ideas?

ÖBB route details screenshot

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  • If you are near a railway station with a ticket window that might be a solution. Sorry, I do not know how to do it online.
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented Jul 22 at 15:08
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    It could be that the bicycle spaces are already booked, but you'll have to call or do what Willeke suggested.
    – mkennedy
    Commented Jul 22 at 15:09

3 Answers 3

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Bicycle reservations are available on some dates on this train, the first being August 19th, but on that date only for one bicycle. I would therefore very much assume that they are actually already sold out the day you intend to travel and most other days over the next couple of months. That is not unusual. There is only room for 7 bicycles on each train, and these are on popular routes sold out often very long in advance.

If it does not have to be the 11:44 departure from Udine, there are several other departures on the same day, where there is still room for bicycles.

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  • Oh damn, I fear you are right. I suspected as much and looked a few days before and after the 2nd of August but didn’t go as far as 19th. Looks like I’ll have to ride from Udine to Villach by bike (~125km) and stay for a night in Villach. Bicycle in a cardboard box would be too big for the 90 cm x 60 cm x 40 cm luggage size limit. Not the end of the world but really a bummer how difficult train travel sometimes is :(
    – Michael
    Commented Jul 22 at 15:58
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    @Michael Travelling by long distance train with a bicycle is indeed difficult and must be planned well in advance, preferrably with quite a lot of flexibility. The last time I travelled with a bike on a train in Germany, I also planned many weeks in advance and had to postpone my trip by two days, as all trains from Frankfurt to Munich were full. And that was outside the holiday season. In your case, there are, as I said, several other trains on the same day. Why not use one of them? Remember that it is not only 125km from Udine to Villach, but also a 1000m climb to get over the mountain pass.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Jul 22 at 21:23
  • In Germany it is always possible to try one's luck with regional trains which cannot be reserved. The train may be full so that you cannot get in though, and you'll have to switch multiple times between short connection trains which also increases the risk that something goes wrong. And the weekend does not help.
    – Peter - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Jul 23 at 3:22
  • @Tor-EinarJarnbjo: Thanks for pointing out the other trains, unfortunately they go at bad times. The one at 7:14 is too early (I actually stay in Trieste and wanted to ride the 70km along the coast to Udine, would be hard to be there in time) and the one at 17:22 is too late for traveling onward to Linz. I’ll still keep them in mind, if the weather happens to be horrible or something they might still be a good option.
    – Michael
    Commented Jul 23 at 7:39
  • @Tor-EinarJarnbjo I feel the need to qualify that it is only difficult in some countries, like Germany and Austria. Across France, Belgium, The Netherlands and pretty much all of Eastern Europe, it is a trivial matter.
    – user156549
    Commented Jul 23 at 18:27
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It turned out that the Alpe Adria Cycle Path was both the cause and the solution of the problem.

Since I couldn’t book a train I ended up cycling from Udine to Villach which put me on the Alpe Adria Cycle Path. I had never seen so many cyclists in my life. Most of them cycling from Austria towards Italy and probably taking the train back, which explains why the train was fully booked for weeks into the future.

The cycle path was super nice. On the Italian side it runs on an old train line which means a smooth 1 to 2% grade to climb up to 810m of elevation through beautiful landscape.

I’m actually happy I was “forced” to do this extra day of cycling.

Unfortunately in Villach there was a huge festival (Kirchtag) which meant chaos and expensive hotels.

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Foldable/folded bicycles are usually allowed for free on Italian regional trains, with the assumption they do not take space in the bicycle rack; if you manage to remove wheels and pack somehow the bicycle, maybe you could get away with it, but if the train is crowded it could be a problem just to get on...

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  • Yes, I played around with the idea of getting a cardboard box (the ones pre-assembled bikes are shipped in) from a bike shop. But apparently they are at least 110 x 28 x 82cm in size while luggage is limited to 90 x 60 x 40 cm.
    – Michael
    Commented Jul 23 at 12:52

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