Wedged between eight countries including Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, Austria is an important hub for European rail travel.
The main rail workers' union had called for a 400 Euro pay rise for the sector's 50,000 employees.
After the fifth round of negotiations fell through on Sunday, it called the "warning strike" which will last for the whole of Monday and also affect cross-border rail traffic, including night trains.
(Reporting by Noele Illien; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)
