What do these train alerts mean?

It could be replaced by a bus or a slower train, or maybe construction will get finished early, but at two months out, they're not committing to specifics. If you tell us your route and date, we can check the same online view that you're seeing.

I just went through the Bahn schedule website for every day in September for Mannheim to Stuttgart, Köln to Stuttgart, and Köln to Ulm, and I didn't see any of those alerts. If you want us to help you, you need to give us more specific information, like what website you used and what was the exact date.

I appreciate the help but am new to this and didn't realize that much information was needed.

The short and sweet is that we'd like to leave Brugge around lunchtime on September 26th. We'd like to arrive in Munich around lunchtime on Sunday the 27th. Therefore, we need an overnight stopover. We're not specific about where that has to be. We had though Koln or Frankfurt, but had also thought about a smaller town along the way if it was convenient. I also know the ICE trains are faster but was looking at IC/EC trains because it was my understanding that the routes for those may be a bit more scenic.

So, I was specifically referencing this route:
Leave Brugge at 13:08 on the 26th on the IC 1512.
Transfer in Brussels to the ICE 17 to Koln.
Spend the night in Koln.
Leave Koln for Munich at 8:18 on Sunday the 27th for Munich on the EC115.
The EC115 is the train with the 'alerts.

I wasn't sure what those alerts meant so if someone could shed light on whether I should buy tickets or find another route that'd be great. Or if someone has a better suggestion for the route or a better night stopover suggestion that's great. Thanks.

cl,

The Alerts are simply indicating that there's an abnormal condition on a particular route at the present time. As you've noted, construction on the rail line is one typical situation that creates an Alert. Whenever I've encountered similar "abnormalities" in the past, the railway line usually arranges Coaches to take passengers around the affected section.

Is there any possibility you could travel to Köln earlier in the day? One of the shortest trips on that route is a departure at 09:08, arriving at 12:15. Tickets are currently listed for €29.

For the trip from Köln to Munich, you could also consider a departure from Köln Messe/Deutz station, which departs at 08:44 and arrives at 13:05. It's over an hour quicker than the other train you were planning to take and I don't see any Alerts at the present time on that route for Sept. 27. Discounted tickets are currently listed on the DB website. As I understand it, Köln Messe/Deutz is not far from the main Hbf. Take a Taxi from your hotel if necessary.

For booking tickets in Germany, you might have a look at www.capitainetrain.com (they also sell tickets for italy, France and a few other countries).

"... it was my understanding that the routes for those may be a bit more scenic."

From Köln to Mainz, that EC takes a route via Koblenz and Bingen, along the Rhein gorge, which is scenic, while the ICEs take a more direct high speed route that is designed to get you to Frankfurt quickly, not scenically.

From Mannheim to Stuttgart, the most scenic route would be via Heidelberg, then along the Neckar river to Stuttgart, another steep river valley with vineyards and castles, but that's not the route that EC 115 takes. The route EC 115 takes goes through Vaihingen and that route, apparently, is where the problems are.

If you put in Karlsruhe as a stopover, the Bahn will show you a slightly longer (time wise) route leaving Köln 35 minutes later on another EC, at 8:53, taking the same route along the Rhein to Mannheim, then going to Karlsruhe where you change to an IC to Munich. The IC goes from Karlsruhe to Stuttgart via Pforzheim and also avoids the problem route. You'll get into Munich an hour later, at 15:11.

As for leaving from Köln Messe/Deutz, which is right across the river from Köln Hbf/Dom, there is an S-Bahn (2 miniutes) between the Hbf and Deutz. If you enter Köln Hbf to Munich and put in Messe/Deutz as a stopover, the Bahn will write you a ticket including the S-Bahn and the price should be the same as from Messe/Deutz.

I found an ICE train that goes through Bonn, Koblenz, etc. So is it traveling the more scenic route? I found an EC train that also goes through bonn and koblenz but it is about twice the price. From the map it looks like it is going the same route but I'm not sure.

Brugge Sa, 26.09.15 dep 13:08 4 IC 1512 Intercity Direction: Genk
Aalter dep 13:23 2
Gent St Pieters dep 13:38 11
Bruxelles-Midi Sa, 26.09.15 arr 14:09 14
Transfer time 16 min.

Bruxelles-Midi Sa, 26.09.15 dep 14:25 4 ICE 17 Intercity-Express Direction: Frankfurt(Main)Hbf
Bordbistro
Bruxelles-Nord dep 14:34 1
Liège-Guillemins dep 15:14 1
Aachen Hbf dep 15:39 7
Köln Hbf Sa, 26.09.15 arr 16:15 4
Transfer time 15:38 h
Adjust the transfer time
Köln Hbf Su, 27.09.15 dep 07:53 7 ICE 1521 Intercity-Express Direction: München Hbf
Bordrestaurant
Bonn Hbf dep 08:14 3
Koblenz Hbf dep 08:48 4
Mainz Hbf dep 09:40 4
Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbf dep 10:02 Fern 5
Frankfurt(Main)Hbf dep 10:18 5
Hanau Hbf dep 10:35 103
Würzburg Hbf dep 11:32 5
Nürnberg Hbf dep 12:27 8
Ingolstadt Hbf dep 13:01 3
München Hbf Su, 27.09.15 arr 13:39

Köln Hbf Sa, 26.09.15 arr 16:15 4
Transfer time 16:38 h
Adjust the transfer time
Köln Hbf Su, 27.09.15 dep 08:53 7 EC 7 Eurocity Direction: Zürich HB

Bonn Hbf dep 09:14 3
Koblenz Hbf dep 09:48 4
Mainz Hbf Su, 27.09.15 arr 10:38 5
Transfer time 5 min.

Mainz Hbf Su, 27.09.15 dep 10:43 4 IC 2159 Intercity Direction: Leipzig Hbf

Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbf dep 11:02 Fern 4
Frankfurt(Main)Hbf Su, 27.09.15 arr 11:13 6
Transfer time 41 min.

Frankfurt(Main)Hbf Su, 27.09.15 dep 11:54 5 ICE 923 Intercity-Express Direction: München Hbf
Aschaffenburg Hbf dep 12:24 6
Würzburg Hbf dep 13:10 3
Nürnberg Hbf dep 14:06 8
München Hbf Su, 27.09.15 arr 15:09

Take the first train itinerary from Cologne you mentioned, since you don't have to make any connections. The second one has a 5 minute connection in Mainz that you might find a bit hair-raising. They both follow the same route up the lower Main valley that has nice scenery.

cl,

I wasn't able to follow what you're planning with the information in your last post. There's too much "chaff" and it takes too much time and effort to wade through it all. Could you provide a summary?

I found two route that appear to both travel along the scenic route through Koblenz. One is an EC but the other was an ICE train. The ICE train is faster and cheaper but I just wanted to make sure that it made sense that an ICE train would be following the same route. It the ICE 1521 on September 27th out of Koln on 7:53

Be prepared in Germany in regards to the "alerts" that any of the routes listed that you may encounter a disruption due to a strike, construction, or a slow down in service, that getting from A to B won't be done entirely by train, as it is supposed to be, but by a combination of bus and train (Schienenersatzverkehr), or any other changes.

Most trains that take the scenic route along the Rhein are regional trains or IC/EC, but there are a few ICEs.

It looks like your overnight stopover would have to be Köln, since one of the routes you suggest has a stopover in Köln of 15h37m, the other one 16h37m.