Hello
On the 30/07/2014 my partner and myself want to travel from Boppard to Cologne by train with a stop off in Linz. The fare i am getting on DB Bahn website is 44 euros for the 2 of us, is that the cheapest way of doing this journey ? Also would say, 5 hours be enough time in Linz, just want to stroll round and get some lunch, grab a beer etc.
Cheers
Paul
No - you can pre-purchase a saver fare ticket for €29 total for two. Leave 7:57, arrive 8:52 in Linz, depart Linz 14:24, arrive Cologne 15:22.
To pull up a schedule like this, enter "Linz (Rhein)" as a stopover and 5:00 hours stopover time at the DB itinerary page.
The saver fare requires you to use the train you schedule when booking. A penalty applies if you want a refund.
5 hours is probably too long. Try 3-4?
Not so fast.
To book a Savings Fare ticket, one leg must be a train of the Bahn (ICE/IC/EC). It doesn't look like those trains stop in Linz, so you would have to take one from Boppard to Koblenz. The only IC I can find stopping in Boppard on the way to Koblenz is just before 8 AM, so you'ld better be ready to leave early.
But, if you use Linz (Rhein) as a stopover, you will have regional trains from Koblenz to Linz and from Linz to Köln. These trains are not train specific on a Savings Fare ticket, you just have to use some regional train on that route that day. So, you can spend as much or as little time in Linz as you want and then continue on the next regional train to Köln.
Paul (and Lee): The 7:57 departure I provided works just fine. The trains are regional trains except for the IC from Boppard to Koblenz, and the fare is €29 (saver fare. ) With the saver fare you MUST take that 7:57 train to Koblenz - but then from Koblenz to Linz and Linz to Cologne you'll be on regional trains, and you can either take the regional trains on your scheduled itinerary as printed on your ticket, or you can take any other regional trains you like that same day - no one cares which regional trains you use - so you will still have the flexibility with this €29 ticket to leave Linz any time you are ready to leave.
Or you can go with regional trains only and the regional train tickets - but the price is still going to be €44.60.
To step back a little if you're confused by previous replies:
What you've run into is what I like to call the "inter-region problem" in German train travel. Long-distance trains have discount advance fares, which tie you specifically to a single departure time. Local trains also have some good discount fares available, but only in the form of day passes valid within a single German region. Unfortunately, this means that if you are travelling across a regional border on a journey that can only be carried out using local trains (in your case, from Rhineland/Palatinate to North-Rhine/Westphalia), you only have the option of a full-price fare, which can make relatively short cross-border trips disproportionately expensive.
"...if you are travelling across a regional border on a journey that can only be carried out using local trains... you only have the option of a full-price fare..."
Actually, on any day of the week, there is a cross-regional alternative. Both the "Quer durchs Land" ticket and the "Happy Weekend" ticket, day passes good only on local/regional trains, were designed for cross-regional travel - and are available at any DB ticket machine in Germany.
It's just that kapke's journey is short enough that the full-price regional fare works out better than the daypass.
kapke: If that 7:57 departure time is too early for you, it's still possible for the two of you to do your trip later in the morning for €29 on a saver fare.
Sample schedule for 7/30:
Lv Boppard 8:51 (MRB regional train)
Ar Koblenz 9:08
Lv Koblenz 9:18 (RB regional train)
Ar Linz 9:52
Lv Linz 14:24 (RE regional train)
Ar Cologne - Köln Hbf - 15:22
There is currently a 10:51 departure from Boppard to Köln Messe (just across the Rhine from the main/Hbf station) that hits the same destinations and can also be bought for €29.
But to get such a ticket, you will need to do this at the DB itinerary page:
1.) Make Düsseldorf Hbf your final destination - not Cologne
2.) Schedule a stopover in Linz(Rhein) (I used 4:00)
3.) Schedule a second stopover in Köln Hbf or in Köln Messe/Deutz (I used :50)
I'm sure you'll pull up the same trains that I got if you do this. You'll also get a final connection from Cologne to Düsseldorf on a high-speed ICE train - a train that qualifies you for the saver fare, but a train you don't need to set foot on since you've made it to Cologne on the regional trains already.
Remember that you can use ANY of the regional trains between Boppard and Cologne at any hour within the ticket's period of validity - so you can leave Linz earlier or later than the schedule on your ticket indicates.
Saver fares go up in price as tickets sell - so as long as you're sure about your travel date, it's better to buy earlier than later.
Or if the €15 you'll save doesn't seem so important to bother with, just buy the full-price regional ticket at €44.60 on 7/30 when you reach the Boppard platforms.
"...if you are travelling across a regional border on a journey that can only be carried out using local trains... you only have the option of a full-price fare."
Not true. If Bahn wwebsite shows you a connection that includes a cross border regional connection and has a Saving Fare ticket (because there is another express train in the sequence, you will get a Savings Fare ticket with those connections.
I know because I have done this, in 2012. I traveled 30 minutes by EC from Bad Schandau to Dresden, than from Dresden to Hof (cross border) by regional train, then from Hof to Freising. One Savings Fare ticket, 3 trains, 29€.
I also found a Savings Fare ticket online last night for the IC from Boppard to Koblenz and regional trains from Koblenz to Linz to Köln.
Since people seem to have misunderstood what I meant, I was talking about relatively short distance trips across region borders, where there's no possibility of doing even part of a trip by an IC/ICE. And where the 44 euros for a Quer-Durch-Lands ticket still seems excessively high.
Guys, once again thanks for the replies, will print off and have a look at the booking tomorrow.
Anyone care to give me an opinion on another query.
I booked all my tickets online with DB Bahn and got some amazing deals e.g. first class Cologne to Munich 30 euros each.
Problem is my ID Karte on the tickets is a master card ending 2715 which i have since cancelled and destroyed in favour of another card, i have the new card, a letter from my bank saying my card is cancelled, my passport and my id card for DB Regio Tyne and Wear (i'm a train driver in the UK for DB) - so do you folks think i will have problems with over officious conductors on my travels ?
Cheers and thanks again for all you input into our trip.
