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Taking the SBB EuroCity Train from Lindau to Munich in 2nd class – Review

SBB EuroCity Zurich Lindau Munich second class train review blog joydellavita

In just 2,5 hours you can travel from Lindau at Lake Constance through the Bavaria Allgaeu to Munich. According to schedule the EuroCity 191 is running all the way from Basel via Zurich and Bregenz to Munich. A true three-county-express. By arrival of the train into the station, you can proudly spot the advertisement on the railcar – up from 2021 you can travel from Zurich to Munich in just 3,5 hours. Currently as of in 2020 the travel time for said route is 4:45 hours. This decrease in time is due to the electrification of the train tracks in southern Germany, as well as a new route. Currently you will pass the cities Kempten and Buchloe, up from 2021 the route will lead you via Memmingen to Munich. Nevertheless you will save more than a full hour of travel time.

For your train journey with the EuroCity Train from Lindau to Munich you are using a Swiss EuroCity Train, that initially departed in Basel. The route continued via Zurich and St. Gallen in northern Switzerland, via Bregenz in Austria and finally to Lindau Island in southern Germany. This „island train station“, too, won’t be used up from 2021. This, too, saves some minutes on the overall travel time, but the historic train station will definitely be missed deeply. Currently there is a new station being built on the mainland in Lindau, but no new building can compare to a train station originally built in 1853, the atmosphere, the flair, Lindau HBF on Lindau Island will definitely be missed.

Soon up from 2021: Zurich to Munich in just 3,5 hours
Soon up from 2021: Zurich to Munich in just 3,5 hours
Leaving Lindau Island Train Station, literally travelling above Lake Constance sea level
Leaving Lindau Island Train Station, literally travelling above Lake Constance sea level

Equipment of the EuroCity Zug EC191 on the train ride journey from Basel to Munich

The EuroCity trains by Swiss national operator SBB CFF FFS are only equipped with quadruple seats in second class. Each one per side, with the alley to walk in the middle. One quadruple each contains two seats in the direction of travel, the other two against the direction. Due to this arrangement there is limited space in between those itself facing seats, for smaller to medium sized suitcases or bags. Additionally there is plenty of space in the overhead-railings for Bags as well as jackets. In addition there is each one coat hook mounted in between the windows per duo. Again situated at the window seats is a table with a small trash can underneath. Those trash cans are only spacious enough for smaller packaging, coffee cups should be disposed by the end of the train or at the station when leaving the train. The small table can each be extended to the person sitting by the window. As the seats by the alley won’t have access to this table, they have each individual tables in the armrest facing the alley. A big plus is the availability of one power socket per seat. In between the duo seats are two power sockets mounted, one „Swiss“ and one „Austrian/german“ – with an adequate adapter this means two functioning sockets for double. Unfortunately there is no WiFi or anything similar to be found in the Swiss EuroCity Train by SBB. However, there is a Restaurant Car/Bord Bistro which is usually in the middle of the train. During my journey a man even walked through the whole train to verbally inform us passengers about the menu and potentially to even take orders.

2nd class aboard the SBB EuroCity Train connecting Zurich and Munich
2nd class aboard the SBB EuroCity Train connecting Zurich and Munich
Two power sockets per DUO in the SBB EuroCity Train
Two power sockets per DUO in the SBB EuroCity Train
Bathroom at the end of the SBB EuroCity carriage
Bathroom at the end of the SBB EuroCity carriage

Review: Taking the SBB EuroCity Train from Lindau Harbour/Island to Munich main station

Overall, the SBB EuroCity is already an aged model, however the seats are comfortable and this definitely counts more than a fancy new design. The only downside is the lack of WiFi, but the scenery is truly pretty, you won’t anyway miss being connected to the World Wide Web all the time and will enjoy some restful two and a half hours. But don’t forget to bring a book or music/podcasts, to make the journey a tad bit more enjoyable. Seat reservations usually aren’t necessary for the SBB EuroCity from Lindau to Munich, however you need to have a valid EuroCity Ticket. Regional tickets or the Bayern Ticket aren’t valid on this train. (If you want to save some money by using the Bayern Ticket you can take the also direct but slower alex train which runs a few times a day).

Possible connections to and from Lindau and Munich

Lindau is a quite well connected regional train station. Taking the current electrification of the train tracks in southern Germany out of consideration, there are usual direct connections to Stuttgart in Germany via Friedrichshafen, Ravensburg and Ulm, Feldkirchen via Bregenz in Austria and Basel/Zurich in Switzerland or different direct options to Munich, as well as plenty other smaller trains.

Munich is a well connected international train station, operating direct lines to Budapest in Hungary, Vienna in Austria, Verona, Rimini, Venice or Milan in ItalyItaly (night trains), as well as plenty direct trains within Germany to Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt and more.

Allgaeu passing by the Zurich to Munich EuroCity Train...
Allgaeu passing by the Zurich to Munich EuroCity Train…

About

Outdoor Lifestyle Blogger Lisa JoyDellaVita

Lisa is a Blogger for more than a decade now, sharing her adventures exploring the world on JoyDellaVita, as well as excursions into the culinary world, sustainable choices, how to live a healthy active lifestyle but overall, how to enjoy a life full of joys.