Bahn.de Train Reservations

There's no chance that train would be sold out.

I see it. No, I've never seen that before. It appears only to affect Eurocity (EC) and Intercity (IC) trains, not Intercity Express (ICE). I don't think this means the train is sold out, because they are still offering Sparpreis tickets at the initial price. They are also not making reservations with Sparpreis. It's only Sunday and Monday. It also affects all reservations, not just those without ticket purchases. I assume you want to go to the airport first thing Sunday morning for a flight out. What's the time range. Would one of the ICEs suffice? With your rail pass, the ICEs won't cost anything extra. If you are flying out first thing in the morning, you might consider going to Mainz on Saturday and staying at Hotel Königshof (www.hotel-koenigshof-mainz.de) the night before. Königshof is right across the Bahnhofsplatz from the Hbf, a 30 min S-Bahn ride to the airport.

Thanks for the replies. The train is in the afternoon, staying near the Frankfurt airport Sunday night for an early Monday flight. Any of the trains on Sunday afternoon would be okay, but I am trying to avoid making a connection, which is why we were looking at the 14:48, 16:48, 18:48 etc. trains with no transfers to make. I guess if nothing seems to get fixed, I can make a reservation for an ICE train that makes connections, and then if it looks like the IC/EC trains are still running as usual, I can just take one of those. Any other suggestions would be appreciated, and thank again for the helpful advice.

If you are taking one of the Regional trains to Frankfurt airport, then you don't need a reservation, because they don't take them for those trains. This is the nicest route anyway, as it goes straight along the Rhein. The ICE is not near as nice, lots of tunnels. Save your money and take the slower train.

Actually, Jo, there are ICEs leaving Koblenz at 8:48 and 10:48. They go non-stop to Mainz in 50 min, so they must be using the line up the Rhein - you see the same scenery, you just don't have as much time. BTW, the IC/EC trains from Köln to Koblenz show the same "reservations temporarily not possible" notice. Is there something going on in Koblenz that has all of the non-ICE express trains booked Su and Mo? I hesitated to tell him to just get on an RE, because if something did have all the ICs reserved, it might trickle down to REs, too. Anyway, since he has a rail pass, the ICEs are no more expensive, and he could reserve a seat. Just read your posting that your flight is on Monday and you are spending the night. If 8 PM is not to late to get to the airport vicinity on Sunday, there is an 18:48 ICE from Koblenz, getting into FRA at 19:59. It has reservable seats.

Even if you take one of the ICEs, for that route on a Sunday in November... you still won't need a reservation. The only advantage would be the comfort in knowing exactly where to go for the open seat waiting for you. But finding an open seat should not be a problem. EDIT: Ah, I saw that you purchased a rail pass, which often unnecessarily complicates things. You may in fact need a reservation, but I'll let others who know the rules better than I comment more on that.

Yes, I have heard reservations usually are not needed, but we've been making a few of them just for the reason you said, to know that we have seats at a specific spot and won't have to worry. It's probably overkill but it's one less thing for me to worry about! I emailed a the DB ticket center in the UK and she did not seem to think anything was amiss except for the fact that reservations couldn't be made at the time. I imagine she would have mentioned it if there were something going on in Koblenz that would make the trains crowded or completely full, but since they are still selling the low-fare tickets, I imagine it's just a glitch. Thanks to all for the help!

I have taken the ICE to Köln and tho it does stop in Koblenz, it doesn't go along the Rhine. I don't think those tracks are made for that kind of travel. Heck, the ICE would run into all those slower trains stopping at every little village. The IC runs along here, but not the ICE

"I have taken the ICE to Köln" True, some ICEs go non-stop from Frankfurt Flughafen to Köln on a special high speed track via Eschhofen (no stop), not via Koblenz, but that goes far from Koblenz. An ICE from Koblenz to Mainz could go from Koblenz to Bad Ems to Eschohhofen to Mainz, but that would be really roundabout, and you would think it would have a stop in Wiesbaden. I think they go along the Rhein via Bingen. Unfortunately, the Bahn only gives stops, and because the only stops are Koblenz and Mainz, you can't tell which route they take. Howerver, Jo, you are right there in Frankfurt. You can easily ask the Bahn (or go down to Mainz Hbf and see from which direction the train enters the station. ETA: Take a look at the ICE Netz. It looks like the Koblenz-Main ICE line follows the contour of the Rhein through Bingen to Mainz rather than joining the direct FRA-Köln lines.