Trains connections in Germany

Posted by astagnaro.land on 08/30/18 12:55 PM

Hello,

I am traveling from Munich to Rothenburg in September on Deutsche Bahn. I saw that in some cases there may only be 3 minutes to transfer trains along the way. Should I be concerned about this short time frame? Will it be difficult to transfer without being familiar with the stations? I am simply concerned that I may miss my train.

I would so appreciate it if someone could let me know what the conditions are at the station, to give me confidence that the transition will be smooth. If not, I will look for tickets that include more time between train transfers.

Thank you so much,

Posted by Chris F

Basel, Switzerland

08/30/18 01:28 PM

8889 posts

3 minutes is short (5 is usual for a small station, 10 for a bigger one), but probably OK. The website is programmed with different minimum times for each station, depending on how big they are

3 minutes probably means the second train is waiting on the opposite side of the same platform for passengers from the first train. Or it could be following the other train into the same platform.
If you look on the DB website, it will show you the platform numbers (Gleis), then you can look on the internet for a plan of that station.

Posted by Continental

New York, NY

08/30/18 06:03 PM

3999 posts

Yes, 3 minutes is way too short especially if your train is just a mere few minutes late or the platform of the connection involves multiple stairways if there is a last-minute change in platforms. Don't do this.

Posted by Gary Mc

Salt Lake City

08/30/18 06:28 PM

1481 posts

The short connection is at Steinach bei Rothenburg. The RB train going to Rothenburg is waiting for the one from Ansbach. Everyone goes together from one platform to another. There is no problem making this connection barring a major problem on the line, in which case you just catch the next train.

Posted by Nigel

Northamptonshire, England

08/30/18 07:34 PM

32752 posts

Before saying yes or no it is important to know where the connection is and what is happening there.

As said above, this is a perfectly valid connection - I did it many years ago and people have been making that connection for years.

In this particular example 3 minutes is about 2 minutes more than actually required.

Posted by kjcleary

08/30/18 07:43 PM

1 posts

Question on train connections; we are spending the night in Frankfurt and want to take regional trains the next day to hook up with our Tour in Trier. It seems like we need to take a train from downtown Frankfurt back to the airport to catch the regional trains going to Trier. Is there an easy way to start our journey from the downtown train station rather than the airport train station?

Posted by Chris F

Basel, Switzerland

08/30/18 09:55 PM

8889 posts

kjcleary, Its best not to add extra questions to somebody else's post. Start a new post.

It seems like we need to take a train from downtown Frankfurt back to the airport to catch the regional trains going to Trier.

Not so. Go to the DB website ( https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml ). Enter Frankfurt(Main)Hbf to Trier Hbf, and your desired date and time, then click on "Search". You will see lots of trains. They all require at least one change, but not at the airport.

If you want to restrict yourself to regional trains (presumably because you intend to use a Länder ticket), just tick the "only local transport" box.