Vienna Metro Map 2024 – Timetable, Tickets & Prices

After the Vienna subway system had passed its trial run with flying colors in 1976, the official go-ahead for the subway railroad was given two years later. Since then, Vienna has owed the smooth functioning of its transport infrastructure to the subway timetable. The subway network in Vienna is currently operated by Wiener Linien GmbH & Co KG and has a total route length of 83.1 kilometers with 98 subway stations throughout the city. In contrast to other subway systems in cities such as Berlin or Hamburg, the route network in the Austrian capital is linear.

Accordingly, each line follows its own route without overlapping. The current five subway lines U1-U4 and U6, some of which emerged from the lines of the former Wiener Stadtbahn, transported around 440 million passengers in 2015 alone. To make it easier for non-locals to find their way around, the lines can be identified not only by the “U” in front of them, but also by their own color code. This color can be found on the subway map in Vienna as well as on signs and the assigned subway stations.

The Vienna subway lines at a glance

• U1 (Oberlaa – Leopoldau)
• U2 (Seestadt – Karlsplatz)
• U3 (Ottakring – Simmering)
• U4 (Hütteldorf – Heiligenstadt)
• U6 (Siebenhirten – Floridsdorf)

It is no coincidence that the volume of traffic on Vienna’s subway is increasing from year to year. After all, Austria’s capital is a metropolis of international stature that is packed with sights. Impressive proof of this fact is the explosion in the number of overnight stays. Between 2006 and 2016 alone, the number of overnight stays in Vienna rose from just over eight million to well over 13 million per year.

As many cultural attractions such as the Hofburg, Schönbrunn Palace and Madame Tussauds wax museum are easily accessible by subway, the number of people who have to deal with the subway timetable and ticket system in Vienna is also increasing. Fortunately, the subway plan in Vienna is much simpler than in comparable cities.

The Viennese also have it easy when it comes to their ticket system, because while in other major cities several fare zones cause confusion, the subway map in Vienna only has a single zone. In addition, the tickets purchased are not only valid for the subway, but also for all other means of public transport in the state capital. The ticket price is therefore based exclusively on two criteria. Firstly, the period of validity and secondly, the number of journeys that the subway ticket allows in Vienna.

Additional discounts on the “Wiener Linien” ticket price are granted for senior citizens as well as for pupils, students and children between the ages of 6 and 14.

The classic one-way ticket is valid for any one journey in one direction. The validity also includes any number of changes in the direction of travel, but no interruption to the journey.

It is therefore not possible to return in the direction of the departure station. In addition to tickets for 1, 2 or 4 journeys, the ticket system also offers season tickets with a validity period of between 24 hours and eight days. This entitles the holder to any number of journeys on the subway and other public transport in the Vienna core zone.

If you are visiting Vienna for a vacation or to attend an event, you can save money compared to the price of a one-way ticket for the subway. Many tickets for concerts or sporting events are combined tickets. These combination tickets can be used two hours before and up to six hours after the event. However, if you want to be mobile and see as many sights as possible, the Vienna Card is the best choice. This serves as a ticket for up to 72 hours and also offers lucrative discounts and benefits.

In Vienna, subway tickets can be purchased both at the Wiener Linien service points and at the ticket machines on the platform. However, most tickets are also available via the online ticketing system or as a cell phone ticket via the WienMobil app. Print and mobile tickets are only valid in combination with an official photo ID.

However, a subway ticket purchased from one of the many ticket machines is only valid once it has been validated. The ticket validators, which are usually located next to the subway timetable at the entrance to the platforms in Vienna, can be easily recognized by their bright blue color. However, tickets that are valid for more than one journey only need to be validated at the start of the first journey.

As in many other capital cities, the subway schedule in Vienna is comparatively tightly timed to enable passengers to travel comfortably and smoothly. Particularly at peak times in the morning and afternoon, the standard frequency is reduced from 5-minute intervals to a frequency of 2-4 minutes between two trains. From around 8:30 p.m. onwards, however, the subway schedule in Vienna provides for a more leisurely interval of 7-8 minutes between two consecutive subway trains on all five lines.

To the timetables of the Vienna subway lines:

U1, U2, U3, U4, U6

While the subway network in Vienna comes to a standstill during the week between around 1 a.m. and around 5 a.m., night owls benefit from continuous subway service on the nights before public holidays and from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday. The subway schedule in Vienna at this time is timed so that all subway lines are served every 15 minutes. During the week, the NightLine night buses provide transportation at 30-minute intervals between 1 am and 5 am.

The attentive reader will have noticed that the Vienna subway has one or two special features. A closer look at the subway lines reveals that one line is missing, the U5. But what is the missing line all about? The fact that no official U5 line exists to this day is due to the fact that the plans that have been made for it since 1966 have been repeatedly rejected. The reason? The chosen routes always proved to be unworthy of expansion in retrospect. However, Vienna has been planning a U5 line again since 2014 to officially close the gap.

Anyone who traveled on the subway in New York will have noticed the numerous well-known artists who perform their skills at the subway stations. Since the successful completion of the pilot phase at Westbahnhof, around 40 artists have been providing entertainment in Vienna’s subway stations under the name “U-Bahn-Stars”.