Trains to Rothenburg ODT cancelled late March, how do we get there?

Take the replacement bus?

there's no replacement bus listed

Driving in Bavaria is not much different than driving here in the US. In fact, I find it less stressful. Europcar has an office at Lortzingstr. 10 which is convenient and out toward the edge of the city. I just checked on the AutoEurope website and you can rent a compact from 9AM on 3/29 till 5PM 3/31 with $0 deductible for under $100.

If you drive to Rothenburg, you could stop at Dinkelsbuhl, another charming, less crowded, RR town on the way. On the way back to Munich you’d also be able to make stops in the UNESCO protected city of Bamberg and then Nuremberg. It would make a great long weekend.

Gute reise!

SEV = Scheinen Ersatz Verkehr = Rail Replacement Transport (i.e. a bus)

When lines are closed there is usually "SEV", but I can find no mention of it on the DB website ( https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml ), either in English or German. The cancellation is in the last section, the branch from Steinen to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, so no other route is possible. There must be some sort of replacement, they don't just cut off access to a town. I would ask in the info office at Munich station.

I also don't see any mention of an SEV for Steinach to Rothenburg (very unusual for German Rail). However, there are regular buses from Dombühl Bhf to Rothenburg. Dombühl can be accessed from Ansbach (one stop away by rail), which is on the same line from Treuchtlingen to Würzburg as is Steinach (just one stop earlier coming from Treuchtlingen).

On the Bahn Query page, put in Munich to Rothenburg, and Dombuehl as an intermediate stop.

Nördlingen is a very nice Romantic Road town that is accessible by train - still populated by everyday Germans rather than international visitors and not completely given over to the tourist industry - and a good alternative to Rothenburg.

Old town center with intact wall: http://unterkunft-reise.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/10.N%C3%B6rdlingen.jpg

http://a4.pbase.com/u10/rsub8/upload/41355764.IMG0034ries.jpg

https://www.stadtbild-deutschland.org/forum/wcf/images/photos/photo-3995-7db519cd.jpg

Defensive ramparts: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/N%C3%B6rdlingen_Blick_von_Stadtmauer_Deininger_Tor_Richtung_Rei%C3%9Fturm.jpg

I have just phoned the regional DB service center ("3S") in Nuremberg: in their internal data base normal operation on the Steinach-Rothenburg line is indicated for your travel days; there is an erroneous entry in the public version of the database system. Please check the connections again in a few days, the error should then be corrected. You can also check yourself with the 3S before traveling: 0911/2191055.

(All 3S services numbers can be found under www.bahnhof.de in the entry of the respective station).

Hi Philip
Thanks for looking into the car. My husband's driven in other cities in Europe, we usually just end up in this very tense situation between us that we would like to avoid lol. Maybe I can convince him with your information. I think the benefits of a car would be taking stops like you've suggested, which would be too much of a hassle with a train (luggage etc). This option could be more interesting than our original plan.

Thank you, Chris F and Lee, for double checking and confirming that I did not misinterpret the schedules. I did search with Dombühl Bhf as an intermediate stop, which did work. Most of the routes had two or three buses, which seems daunting with all the luggage. It will add a fair amount of time to the trip, but that may be the way we have to go.

Russ - Thanks for the ideas. If we drive I will definitely look into Nördlingen, as well as the places Philip recommended.

Another forum member named DJ, from a different post of mine, suggested that I contact the Rothenburg odT tourism office, and they just let me know that there will be a bus and that a new time table will be posted within the week.

Meanwhile, sla019 generously pursued the case for me, called and verified that this whole thing was an error which will be corrected soon. Thanks sla019, that was so helpful!

I am so grateful to all of you for your help. You've made planning this trip so much easier! Thank you for being so generous with your time!
hel2662

"If we drive I will definitely look into Nördlingen,"

You were looking at traveling Munich - Rothenburg... Nördlingen can be reached by train from Munich in 2 hours on a Bayern Ticket - that's doable, much shorter than the train trip to Rothenburg.

"...the benefits of a car would be taking stops like you've suggested, which would be too much of a hassle with a train (luggage etc)."

If you visit Nördlingen as a day trip by train from Munich, you can stop over in the Romantic Road towns of Augsburg, Donauwörth or Harburg without your luggage. If you travel only one way to Nördlingen, stopping by train in Augsburg is easy - use the station lockers for bags.

Note also that the Romantic Road Express bus stops at RR towns briefly on its way from Munich to Nördlingen (and subsequently to Rothenburg) - the trip to Nördlingen takes about 3 hours with stops.

I am a big fan of Rothenburg but I agree with Russ that Nördlingen is better day trip by train from Munich. It is very attractive walled city about 2 hours from Munich with only one connection.

https://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Germany-April-2016/Nördlingen/

Thanks Russ and Gary Mc

I'm going to run it by the gang. The only thing is that my daughter-in-law is dying to go to Rothenburg odT, and it's her first choice (we're trying to be sure to do everyone's #1), but I think we could put some time in at Nordlingen on the way up or down. I appreciate your giving me more options
hel2662