We will be travelling from Brussels to Koblenz via train and would like to stop in Aachen for a few hours. Does the Aachen train station have lockers or arrangements for left luggage? Should we purchase a ticket for the entire trip (Brussels to Koblenz) or a separate tickets from Brussels to Aachen and then Aachen to Koblenz? Thank you!
Posted by
Green Bay
20089 posts
You can specify a stopover of a given amount of time when you buy a ticket from Deutsche Bahn. On the trip planner, click on "Change other data", then scroll down to "Stopovers" click on that and you'll see option to pick 1 or 2 stops. Pick "1 intermediate stop" and the station (Aachen Hbf) and the time you want to be there. Then you purchase one ticket with an intermediate stop at the same price as a through ticket. https://www.bahn.com/en
Yes, there are luggage lockers at Aachen Hbf.
Posted by
Paradise
6640 posts
Aachen's main (Hbf) station has lockers.
I would ticket from Brussels to Koblenz at the DB site. Instructions:
Specify a stopover in Aachen. Enter a stopover time of 1:00 hour.
Then click on "Types of Transport" and find the Brussels > Aachen box with a pull-down arrow. Don't change those options below the box - just click on the arrow for Aachen > Koblenz and then deselect the top three train types (High-speed, Eurocity, Interregio, etc.) for that travel leg. NOW you can hit "search."
This procedure should yield itineraries that use the fast trains to Aachen; you must use only the specified train at the specified time for this first Brussels > Aachen journey when you have discount saver fare tickets.
For the rest of your trip (Aachen to Cologne to Koblenz) you will see the slower regional trains; look for RB and/or RE on the right side of the itinerary box. Why do you want the regional trains? Because once you get off your high-speed train in Aachen, your time is your own. Shop for whatever time you wish in Aachen. Your ticket should show a stopover time of about 1 hour, but you can ignore that... Whenever you buy a ticket that includes the regional trains, you are not tied to using those specific regional trains that are on your itinerary. You can board ANY sequence of regional trains you like that same day to reach Koblenz.
Posted by
Paradise
6640 posts
I see Sam and I were writing at the same time...
Sam's instructions will get you a ticket but they may yield train connections between Aachen and Koblenz which include the high-speed trains - and if you ticket such journeys, you will need to make sure you get back to your platform after whatever stopover period of time you scheduled so that do not miss those specific trains at the times stated in your itinerary.