Arlberg line closed in November 2026: bus and Zurich

1. When the line is closed, and until what time

Arlberg closure, 18 to 23 November 2026

Starts: 18 November, 9:15 am Ends: 23 November, 4:00 am (poster) Ötztal – Bludenz Replacement bus

According to the ÖBB works page, the Arlberg railway line is closed in full between Ötztal, in Tyrol, and Bludenz, in Vorarlberg. The closure also serves works at Schönwies station (ÖBB and Land Tirol, more than €12.5 million, completion at the end of 2027, October 2025 announcement). ÖBB itself describes the work as maintenance. The closure starts on Wednesday 18 November 2026 at 9:15 am. The ÖBB poster says it ends on Monday 23 November at 4:00 am, and the SBB Europe timetable gives the same end date. So we write 23 November at 4:00 am. The ÖBB page, however, says Sunday 22 November at 4:00 am. Both dates appear in published documents: for a train that leaves or arrives on the morning of the 23rd, confirm the time with ÖBB.

Closure dates by source, checked on 25 October 2026

Source	Start	End indicated
ÖBB works page, Arlbergstrecke	Wednesday 18 November, 9:15 am	Sunday 22 November, 4:00 am
ÖBB poster	Wednesday 18 November, 9:15 am	Monday 23 November, 4:00 am
ÖBB SEV sheet title (PDF)	18 November 2026	22 November 2026
SBB Europe timetable grid	18 November 2026	23 November 2026

Source: ÖBB works page, ÖBB poster, ÖBB SEV sheet and SBB, Europe timetable changes, checked on 25 October 2026.

This is not the autumn 2025 closure. That one lasted 29 days, from 6 October to 3 November 2025, according to a notice relayed by regional press. There was also a weekend closure, from 25 April 2026 at 8:30 am to 26 April at 4:00 pm. If you read an article about autumn 2025 or April 2026, those are not the November dates.

Pixidia tip: a local ÖBB notice says one service does not run on 18 November. Check the timetable for your connection the evening before you leave, not only when you book.

Jungfraujoch: Top of Europe Day Trip from Zurich Programme and conditions on the Viator listing.

See the tour and available dates

2. The replacement bus: which routes, which trains

The ÖBB service sheet for this closure is titled “Arlbergsperre von 18.11.2026 bis 22.11.2026”. It describes a daily bus link, called SEV 400, between Sargans in Switzerland and Ötztal in Tyrol. It is not an express: it makes intermediate stops. A local ÖBB notice says one service does not run on 18 November, and another still runs on 23 November. Check the number of your connection before you travel. The title of the ÖBB sheet points to an end on 22 November: buses are probably planned until that date, but ÖBB does not state it explicitly.

Source: ÖBB works page, ÖBB poster and SBB, checked on 25 October 2026.

Night trains, Nightjet and EuroNight, do not appear in the ÖBB documents we could read for this closure. We cannot therefore tell you whether they run, or by which route. Ask before you book a couchette. For the regional trains REX1 and S4, the SEV between Ötztal and Landeck-Zams serves other stops, including Roppen, Imst-Pitztal, Imsterberg and Schönwies (ÖBB poster).

3. The replacement bus stops between Sargans and Ötztal

The ÖBB SEV sheet lists nine stops, from Sargans to Ötztal. The table follows its order. Stop-by-stop times are not repeated here: the PDF we read has badly extracted text, with mixed-up columns, and no source we read gives the bus journey time. The sheet and the ÖBB journey planner remain the only references for departure times.

Source: ÖBB SEV sheet Sargans – Bludenz – Ötztal (PDF), ÖBB works page, checked on 25 October 2026.

Imsterberg is not one of the nine stops on the Sargans – Ötztal sheet. On the SEV for REX1 and S4 between Ötztal and Landeck-Zams, the change at Imsterberg is made by minibus, according to the ÖBB poster: if your journey goes through this stop, allow one extra connection. Westbahn, for its part, no longer serves four stations during the closure, including St. Anton. To reach St. Anton from Sargans or from Innsbruck, the replacement bus is therefore the only public transport option planned in the documents we consulted.

4. Zurich to Innsbruck, Vienna or Graz during the closure

Zurich HB, the starting point of the link

About 3 hours 30 by direct train, normally Railjets cancelled 18 to 23 November Bus Sargans – Ötztal

In normal times, Zurich and Innsbruck are linked by direct train in about 3 hours 30, according to Seat61’s calculation from published timetables. During the closure, Railjets between Zurich and Ötztal are cancelled from 18 to 23 November 2026, according to SBB. SBB also indicates a bus between Sargans and Ötztal. On the Swiss side, the link to Zurich is by bus as far as Sargans, then by IC3 train to Zurich HB (ÖBB poster).

We do not give a journey time for the bus. No source we consulted publishes one for this closure. Allow for a trip well over the 3 hours 30 of the direct train, and check the connection time at Sargans on the SBB timetable.

A detour via Salzburg exists, but it is longer: according to SBB, the Zurich – Salzburg journey is lengthened by about 1 hour 15 minutes from 15 October to 12 December 2026. On the Austrian section, EC Transalpin trains between Graz and Zurich run with a set without a panoramic car as far as Ötztal, according to the ÖBB page and SBB. The detour through Germany is also disrupted: works on the Passau line until 12 December 2026, back to normal on 13 December (ÖBB). Its itinerary for November 2026 is not verified.

Ways to link Zurich and Austria during the closure, checked on 25 October 2026

Option	What is established	Source
Direct train Zurich – Innsbruck	Cancelled between Zurich and Ötztal from 18 to 23 November 2026	SBB
Bus Sargans – Ötztal	Runs during the closure, with intermediate stops	ÖBB SEV sheet, SBB
Train Sargans – Zurich HB	Rail link, timetable to check on the SBB site	SBB
Usual journey Zurich – Innsbruck	About 3 hours 30 by direct train	Seat61 (secondary)
Detour via Salzburg	Zurich – Salzburg lengthened by about 1 hour 15 minutes, 15 October to 12 December 2026	SBB

Source: SBB, Europe timetable changes, Seat61, Zurich to Innsbruck via the Arlberg, checked on 25 October 2026.

Pixidia tip: if your connection at Sargans is tight, take the next train rather than betting everything on the first one. During an earlier closure, ÖBB advised arriving at Bludenz half an hour early for the Railjet at Ötztal, because some buses leave earlier than the normal timetable (Tiroler Tageszeitung, advice from that time). For November 2026, the sources we read give no connection guarantee.

5. Step by step: from Zurich to Innsbruck

Here is the order of steps for a journey that crosses the gap. Each step points to a published document, and points not yet confirmed are marked as such.

1. The day before you leave, check your connection. Some connections do not run on certain days: a local ÖBB notice says one service does not run on 18 November. Check the number and the timetable on the ÖBB website or in its journey planner.
2. Take the train from Zurich to Sargans. This is where the SEV bus to Austria starts. The train time is on the SBB website.
3. Keep a valid ID to hand. This is standard advice: we found no confirmed 2026 border rule for this section.
4. Follow the intermediate stops. According to the SEV sheet, the bus serves Buchs SG, Feldkirch, Bludenz, Langen am Arlberg, St. Anton, Landeck-Zams and Imst-Pitztal before Ötztal.
5. At Ötztal, take the connection to Innsbruck. The documents we read do not close the section between Ötztal and Innsbruck. Check the exact connection in the ÖBB planner before you go.

Option: if you take the REX1 or S4 between Ötztal and Landeck-Zams, change to a minibus at Imsterberg (ÖBB poster).

6. Bikes, luggage, tickets, wheelchairs: what is not confirmed

Only the rules from the SEV sheet (PDF created on 24 September 2026) are included here. Rules from the April 2026 or October 2025 closures, or from old Westbahn guidance, do not carry over without checking. The table sorts the rest under “to check”.

Source: ÖBB SEV sheet (PDF) and ÖBB works page, checked on 25 October 2026.

On delays and compensation, ÖBB pays out from 60 minutes of delay on long-distance trains, including RJ, RJX, IC, EC, NJ and EN. Its passenger rights page does not mention replacement buses. The Vienna Arbeiterkammer, a consumer and workers’ rights body, describes a “very limited” right for the bus in Austria. This is not an official text, and it says nothing specific about this SEV.

7. Skiing: getting to St. Anton during the closure

St. Anton am Arlberg: arriving by bus, pistes opening

Opens: 2 December 2026 Closes: 18 April 2027 SEV stop

The SEV bus serves St. Anton am Arlberg, and Westbahn no longer stops there during the closure. The pistes at St. Anton, St. Christoph, Stuben, Lech and Zürs open on 2 December 2026, and the season runs until 18 April 2027 according to Ski Arlberg. Warth and Schröcken open a little later, on 4 December 2026.

Ski Arlberg notes that all these dates carry the wording “limited operation possible” and are indicative. The 2 December opening is therefore not guaranteed to the day. If you come from Switzerland, the bus leaves from Sargans. The rule for skis and ski bags on the bus is not published in the documents we consulted, so ask ÖBB.

Pixidia tip: if your stay starts on 2 December, keep a cancellation option on your accommodation until the resort confirms its pistes are open.

8. By car: the S16 road tunnel and its toll

The closure affects the railway line, not the road. No official source we consulted announces a closure of the S16 road tunnel for November 2026. The toll is €13 per trip for 2026, according to Wikipedia and several resellers; it was €12.50 in 2025, according to ADAC. We could not consult the ASFINAG website, which runs the network: check the official rate before you go.

If your route continues on Austrian motorways, see our guide to the Austrian e-vignette 2027.

9. By traveller profile

The table only keeps the profiles where missing information or a change would affect the decision.

Source: ÖBB works page, Ski Arlberg, checked on 25 October 2026.

For a small budget, the most important point is the ticket: no SEV fare table is published in the sources we read. For a car trip, allow for the S16 tunnel toll and fuel, and compare with the train fare on the SBB timetable.

What other guides don’t tell you

• The time of the first train after the closure is not published in any source we read. Check it in the ÖBB journey planner before you go (ÖBB, works page, accessed 25 October 2026).