Rail travel in Germany

And granted, any company can have mechanical problems, but we've been in First Class on an Italian train where not one of the First Class carriages had working air conditioning. I would observe that even the wealthier European "welfare-states" (a term I use only for quick topic identification, not as a curse...) are beginning to feel a financial pinch. I've seen cutbacks in Germany and Belgium in 2011.

First class compartments have one less seat on each side and waiter service. As far as I can remember (only traveled 1st class twice), there isn't any extra luggage space. In the open seating area, both classes have an overhead rack and a shelf in the middle of the car. But there are usually fewer people in first class and many of them are business travelers on daytrips, so there's usually more open luggage space. BTW, even on trains where I had trouble finding a seat, I've never had problems finding a place for luggage.

Most folks trained by American airlines fear that second class is like coach on an airplane. A better example is that second class is similar to business class and first is first. For us, second class is always more than adequate with plenty of space and leg room. However, we will ride first class if we can get a deal and it is cheaper. And, of course, first is always less crowded. Have been on a couple of trains where we were the only ones in first class. Luggage space is more than adequate for both.

If you buy tickets 3 months in advance, you can get huge discounts, and first class is sometimes not much more than second, maybe even less on occasion. I traveled once in first class for an extra €10 on a 5-hour ride. The best part was the quiet, while second class was quite crowded.

Either class will have space to stow your luggage. A lot depends on the individual car. Many have luggage storage near the seats while others have a large luggage storage area near the door. First class cars are better supervised by conductors. I would feel marginally more comfortable stowing my luggage on first class. Remember you won't check your luggage and claim it later, you will carry it with you. With a suitcase and carry-on, I'd be a little worried about getting on and off trains quickly. I haven't packed more than a carry-on since the 80's. The major trains do stop in major train stations for several minutes. If you are in place before the train arrives, you should have no problem boarding or leaving the train. The local trains stop at local train stations for less than a minute. You are expected to be ready to hop on/off quickly. The train won't wait for you to make two luggage trips. If you're slow, they will leave with or without you.

Here's a page full of photos (most repeated!) of German trains: http://www.seat61.com/Germany.htm You can see clearly in some of the photos that luggage has been placed above the seats, not unlike a luggage compartment on an airplane. Also, some photos show a (mostly) glass partition halfway down the car dividing the seating compartment in two; that's more luggage storage. This type of storage rack is also typically found at the end of the car, too - it closely resembles the type of storage on an airport shuttle bus, if that helps any. Just a couple of giant, deep shelves. It's all self-service; no porters, etc., to help you.