Hi
I have recently booked the Train from Vienna - Dusseldorf.
hopefully it works well. we usually have 10 days away and we're hoping with the night train that we can spend more time exploring.
I agree the website isnt the clearest.
here is my experience/thoughts, hopefully it helps......
as mentioned above If you haven't read the Seat61 website it is a good bank of information with pics of the Train carriages etc, i had read that telephone bookings could be made through the uk office run by the German Rail Deutsche Bahn as agents of OBB austrian rail.
at Christmas i was struggling to book on the Website of OBB, it kept saying N/A, so i phoned Deutsche Bahn UK Booking Centre for information, the operative was very helpful but i had to tell the operative that they were the agents for OBB, he searched deeper and then i was told i could book the Motorcycle carriage but the Sleeper Carriage i could only book 3 mths in advance of my trip. this infomation explained why i was struggling on line.
last week (3 mths before ETA) i phoned again, this time i was told from the Operative that Deutsche Bahn do booking on behalf of OBB but couldn't book the sleeper train and i had contact OBB direct. I emailed OBB Customer Service, waited a couple of days with no reply. so decided to book via Internet,
after reading Seat61 i was aware that you had to book the Sleeper Carriage and the Motorcycle Carriage as two separate bookings. there is 5 of us on our trip. i booked a 3 birth deluxe first, then thought i'd try to book a bike on, you have to book the bikes individually, i booked 5 bikes on, everything going well. then tried to book the last cabin, only to find my card's anti fraud system has been activated due to so many strange purchase's. following day after reactivating debit card booked final cabin and all looks good!
Few days later OBB emailed a reply to my original email.
Dear Mr. Townson,
thank you for contacting Austrian Railways on Thursday for your trip Vienna à Düsseldorf. Please excuse the late reply.
You can book everything in our Ticketshop:
https://ticketing.oebb.at/inet/pub/en/ticket but I advise that you book via our customer service, as you’d need to book every bike on its own plus the tickets for passengers.
Tickets:
· The regular full fare for 3-bed sleeper cars is EUR 154,00 pax, for double compartments its EUR 174,00. Both options are deluxe.
· We offer limited pre-order discount tickets SparSchiene with the lowest fare for sleeper cars being EUR 99,00.
· Will you be travelling with EURail or InterRail? In this case the fare is different, but depends on the pass type you use.
· The freight per bike is EUR 45,00.
Ticket collection:
As your trip starts in Vienna, you can simply print your tickets in Austria or we can send them to you if you like.
Please note: Sleeper cars are divided by gender. For sleeper cars please state the gender of each traveller. Unless you book an entire compartment, female and male are split.
Services included for for sleeper cars:
evening: mineral water, sweets, aperitif and daily newspaper
morning: wake-up service, large breakfast mixed to your liking, free refill of beverages
BOOKING FORM
Please check your time table here:
http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/en
Our customer service can book for you either via telephone: +43 5 17 17 / 0043 5 17 17 (then press 3 during the audio tape) or via e-mail:
kundenservice@oebb.at. If you wish to book via e-mail please fill out this form:
Customers‘ details
Full name
full address + telephone number
Travellers
age 0-6
age 6-15
age 15+/adults
reductions
ÖBB VORTEILSCARD, DB BahnCard, SBB HT/GA
EURail or InterRail Pass
à EURail Select Pass/OneCountry pass holders: please specifiy the countries covered
Booking
date, route, departure time or train number(s)
comfort class
night train, sleeper car: please specify the gender of each traveller
SparSchiene if available y/n
*limited pre-order discount ticket. please note the conditions: tickets only valid on the chosen connections, partial refund for day trains. no refund for night trains.
*we will always book the lowest fare available
Car or motorbike transport
driver
car or motorbike type
licence pate
trailer y/n
trailer: fabric/cloth roof or solid?
roof width
addons like bike rack (please specify where), roof railing etc
please be specific as only then we can guarantee to book the correct parkint position!
Payment
credit card type, number and expiration date
postal service – EUR 5,00 postal fee (optional)
* shipment to AUT and adjoining countries: ~7-10 working days
* shipment to continental Europe and the British Isles: usually 10-14 working days
* intercontinental shipment: please schedule at least 4 weeks.
Please note that payment is possible via credit card (VISA, American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard etc.) only.
Before your credit card is charged, you will receive a confirmation email to give your definitive OK.
After payment you will receive a customer number and your tickets/reservations will be available for pick up at every ÖBB-counter or ÖBB vending machine in Austria, for example at Wien Hbf/Hauptbahnhof, your departing station.
I wish you a pleasant day! Please contact us again if you have further questions, we are happy to help.
With kind regards
Andrea Müller
ÖBB-Kundenservice
ÖBB Customer Service
ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG
1020 Wien, Postfach 222
Tel. +43 (0)5-1717
http://www.oebb.at
After reading the email it may have worked out cheaper to book with the customer service team and it would have hopefully been hassle free. after reading a few trip reports about the train if your travelling in a group and trying to get a cost effective trip with a little luxury you don't mind sharing, i originally wanted to book a standard room next to a deluxe and it has a interconnecting door, that way we get a little bit more space and you can all use the deluxe rooms toilet and shower along with saving a euro or two. you have to speak to customer services to book this option.
in a nut shell if i had to book again i will contact OBB customer services
BTW. You MUST wear a helmet when you ride your bike on and you'll need to crouch very low. DO NOT have your flip front helmet flipped open when you do this unless you want a bad neck for the whole trip. Don't ask me how I know this 
