When Deutsche Bahn cancels a train

If you already have a ticket you do not need to do anything. You can just find the train you want to take, and get on. There is nothing special you need to do, as you already have a ticket.

The conductors on both trains wouldn’t find it odd that I don’t have a ticket for that respective train? I don’t speak fluent German to explain to a conductor that one of the trains I was to take had been canceled.

The conductors on both trains wouldn’t find it odd that I don’t have a ticket for that respective train?

No. (S)he can check in her/his device whether your original train was really canceled or delayed.
If it serves your peace of mind then go to the ticket counter and get the change confirmed. But don't miss your preferred train because of that!

I don’t speak fluent German to explain to a conductor that one of the trains I was to take had been canceled.

On an IC(E), the conductor has to be able to speak English at a (modest) level sufficient to answer questions and clarify problems. But don't expect him to have a degree in rhetoric from Oxford ;)

They should understand simple England as sla said. That happened to me, and I had my old ticket on a new train. I just showed it to the conductor and said the train listed on the ticket was cancelled, so I was taking a different one. No problem! He just smiled and walked on by.

Now that I am looking at it, it is actually the 2nd train that is canceled. The first train should depart as usual from Frankfurt airport but the train to which I am supposed to connect at Köln was canceled.

If I can pick another train and the conductor will understand that my 2nd train was canceled which is why I’m on a totally different first train, then this sounds easy.

Thanks.

What you have to understand is what a train ticket is: It is a receipt for payment. it is a proof that you have paid do be transported from FRA to Hagen on a particular day. It is not the purchase "a place in a vehicle".

The default is for this "proof of payment" to entitle you to take any train on the route on the day it is valid. In my youth we used to buy tickets for places at the other end of Europe without even knowing any train schedules.

Now Deutsche Bahn also sells discounted tickets where you commit to taking a particular train in return for a discount. The Sparpreis and Supersparpreis tickets need to be used, if possible on the trains you booked.

But from the moment that is no longer possible because of something the Railway itself did (like cancelling a train, changing a schedule, or just running late) your ticket becomes fully flexible again. So you now have a ticket FRA to Hagen that you can use on any train on any allowed route on the day it is valid. So you can really now just jump on the first train going your way once you are at the station.

The only reason to go to the ticket office is if you have a reservation for the now cancelled train, and you want to have it transferred free of charge to another train.

Now you state that you want to take the "left bank" of the Rhine. Which trains did you originally book? Most trains from FRA to Hagen take the new fast line.

Never had a train cancel on me traveling in Europe since 1971 until this time in Germany on 28 Aug, while waiting in Mannheim for the connection to Paris. This was about 8:30 PM.

The last announcement said the train would be 50 mins late. A few minutes later the words appeared in German indicating cancellation.

The number of train cancellations and also delays is increasing these days.

Reason for cancellations are nowadays also damages to property due to external influence; last weekend the connection Hamburg - Berlin was affected by arson from anti-capitalism activists.

Delays increased due to high number of construction sites in the network: over 70% of long-distance train need to pass a construction currently. Punctuality within 5 minutes was down to 63.4% and within 15 minutes 81.4% in August 2023.

Thank you all so much. I really appreciate the explanation of what a ticket really means. I did buy my ticket in advance to get the least expensive price. Now that the second of my two trains is canceled, I understand that I can take any train between Frankfurt & Hagen. I can look at the schedule on the app to see which trains go west of the Rhine. Frankly, if I am exhausted, I might take the first train that arrives.

It takes about 3 1/2 to 5 hours to get to Hagen using "west of the Rhine" regional trains, where as about 2 hours using ICE trains to Cologne. There are even direct trains at 7 past the odd hours (9:07, 11:07, etc).

I know it takes an extra hour for trains that go on the western bank of the Rhine. I’ve taken that trip previously and it’s so beautiful. I like that I have the freedom to pick that longer route or if I’m exhausted, to choose a quicker train.

This could not have been easier. Thank you everybody. A conductor never came into the train carriage to inspect tickets which surprised me. I had to move my seat 3 times because of reservations although the last time I was asked to move, there was no information letting me know that the seat was reserved anywhere between the airport and Hagen.

My flight arrived early and I took a direct train to Hagen. Each train that went along the western bank of the Rhine was running with delays. Actually, every train was running with delays. Still, it was very easy.