German Rail changes

OK, I have found one improvement. After entering you initial information, and selecting "Search", you are presented with three connection options. At the left of each option is a ">" symbol. If you click on that you get details for the connection, including a box with "i" and "Bhf".

This will give you a table of features for that station, including whether it has assistance available for the transfer or whether there are lockers (lock boxes). For major stations it also has a map of the station layout so you can see where the lockers and tracks are.

This would be particularly handy for a station like Mainz Hbf, where the trains for Bacharach leave from track 11, which is out of the normal sequence, a stub track off to one side, except the map doesn't really show it.

Having just returned from Germany, I am already planning the next trip on:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

I thought it was a little easier to input subsequent days travel as we were always leaving everyday after 9:00 (Länder-Ticket) and traveling with 4 adults. It was not a lot easier.

Prices were going up in any case. I think that we will still normally find Die Bahn the best bargain to travel in Germany. On another board Logos pointed out that his tax dollars subsidized our cheaper fares. I just want to say, thanks. If DB want to play with the screens a bit, should I complain?

Regards, Gary

On another board Logos pointed out that his tax dollars subsidized our cheaper fares.

That's one way of looking at it. The other way is that our riding the Bahn isn't increasing their cost significantly, but we are contributing to their operating revenue, which reduces his taxes!

Yes, I am sure that DB is not giving good fares like Länder-Tickets out of the goodness of their heart.

My wife has talked to me about planning a trip to England vs. Germany. Comparing the cost between the two leads me back to Germany every time, trains being a big part of the German cost effective edge.

Your repeated analysis here shows that trains are a bargain over car rentals. So, let's not argue about something that we agree about. Maybe we will meet on a train going someplace one day.

Regards, Gary

I was researching some tentative rail journeys and noticed the change in format. It was a bit confusing at first, but I'm getting used to it.

There was one improvement that I liked. After initially selecting journeys and clicking "search", the site goes to a new page. It's very easy on the new page to check different combinations of stations by simply entering a new destination and clicking the "change other data - refresh" button.

The arrow on the left to "expand" and show intermediate stops is nice also. The old method of clicking "show intermediate stops" worked, but I prefer the arrow.

Cheers!