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Did my Bahn train just get cancelled?!

I bought tickets months ago from Bahn for Berlin to Amsterdam for this Sunday, April 21.

It was supposed to leave at 7:45AM from Berlin Hbf on a ICE 954, and then transfer at Hannover and go to Amsterdam on an IC 148 train.

But, I was just checking out the Bahn train website, and it looks like it got cancelled?!

The 7:45AM Berlin train to Amsterdam on the ICE 944 and IC 148 has a red X next to it with the message 'Trip is not possible' and it also says stop is cancelled next to Amerstdam Centraal.

Other trains that day also have the same red x and message that 'trip is not possible.'

But, I also see another train that's leaving Berlin at 7:45AM, transfers at Hannover, and arrives at Amsterdam as the same time as my original train. The difference seems to be that the 2nd leg is a EC 2836 train instead of a IC 148.

So, I'm guessing that that other train is replacing my train. So, do I have to do anything?

Is my original ticket pdf that I printed out still valid for this other train?

Bahn has not sent me any emails or updates so I'm just in the dark right now.

Posted by
6418 posts

Short answer: No, you don't have to do anything.

Long answer: You are overthinking this. Due to track work in Germany the schedule has been adjusted a bit and the train now doesn't stop at Berlin Hbf and a few other stations in Berlin, but starts in Lichtenberg instead. That does not affect you since you board the train in Hannover, but since the train takes a different route it operates under a different number. (Also, DB could be a bit more clear about this.)

Posted by
6650 posts

DB will permit you to use the existing ticket for the "new" Berlin - Hanover segment (of course) AND for the Hanover - A'dam segment with no further responsibilities or worries on your part.

I am guessing that if you also bought a seat reservation, it will still be valid as well for both trains.

Hi Josh - We had a similar experience when we visited Germany for Easter this year. Our two long trains (Frankfurt Airport to Freiburg and Freiburg to Berlin) were both cancelled. We learned that we could take any other train that suited us since our original trains had been cancelled. Upon arrival in Frankfurt, we just boarded the first train going to our destination. It didn’t include our seat reservations, though, so on the two trains to Berlin we had to move a couple of times as we were in seats that had been reserved by other passengers. Even with the minor blip in our plans, I’d still pre book trains because the fare we paid far in advance was 25% the cost of a same day ticket between our destinations. If you have a smart phone, consider getting the DB app. It really helped us to see other options on the fly.

Posted by
24 posts

Thanks everybody for the information and confirming what I suspected.

I took another long distance train with Bahn, and at least, they gave me 3 or 4 different emails about how that train kept getting delayed. But, no heads up about this change.

I'm still going to leave at the same time, but could I have taken any other train that day at a different time even though the train ticket prices varied depending on the departure time?

Posted by
20143 posts

DB website contains this note in red for your departiure at 9:45 to Amsterdam.

Instead of IC 148, EC 2836 is running today. Your ticket remains valid.