We need to get to Basel from Fussen to catch our Rhine River cruise the same day we leave Fussen. The bus is too slow and the train route only has a 22 minute connection in Mannheim. That seems too short, especially traveling with luggage. How long does one need to transfer trains? Is driving feasible? What route would you take? The trip starts and ends in different countries, plus the route I saw involved going through Austria too. What do you suggest? What is the longest travel by car would take?
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
22 minutes is more than enough time to switch trains in Mannheim (and practically everywhere else). The tracks are all sequentially numbered and parallel to each other. You simply get off one train, walk through either tunnel that runs underneath the tracks, and move to your platform. At most, it takes 5 minutes, and it can be easily done in as little as 2.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Changing trains in a station is not like changing flights in an airport. Twenty-two minutes is a long time for a train change; even moving slowly, you'll be fine.
I don't know the Mannheim station, but the standard setup is you get off your first train, go down stairs to a passageway connecting all the platforms, and then go up stairs to your second train platform. Sometimes there are escalators, elevators, or ramps down to from the platform to the passageway, but often there are only stairs. So, do be prepared to carry your luggage up and down, and be pleasantly surprised if you don't have to.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
If you use the Bahn website, it will usually show the platform numbers involved in the connection, so you know how far you will have to walk. However, there are only 4½ platforms in Mannheim (including the (½) platform in front of the station building that only services track 1. Now matter what platforms are involved, it won't be a very long walk. 22 minutes is a lifetime in the change world.
There are escalators (station layout) from the four two-track platforms (2-10) to the south tunnel and escalators inside the station building for the track 1 platform. If you have too much luggage, there are also elevators from the four two-track platforms to the north tunnel and elevators from the station building to that tunnel.