Can I check German train fare online ?

I'm not familiar enough with the bahn.de website to know why it's not working. I tried the other way from Bacharach to Frankfurt and it works fine. So it appears to be a problem with that particular route. Hope one of the German train experts sees this and has an answer for you.

I tried a random check for the next few days. Yes, the other direction is available with price and online booking but not all trains of the day.
Is it usual for many Germany routes not to go online for sale ? If they not not available for online booking, they should at least show the fare.

The message you get is this:

Preisauskunft nicht möglich Es gilt vsl. Verbundtarif
Bei der gewählten Verbindung handelt es sich vsl. komplett oder für einen Teilbereich um eine Fahrt innerhalb eines Verkehrsverbundes, für die online kein Preis ermittelt werden kann. Innerhalb von Verkehrsverbünden gelten Verbundpreise, auch wenn es sich um einen Nahverkehrszug (z.B. Regionalexpress) der DB handelt. Fahrkarten erhalten Sie vor Ort am Fahrkartenautomaten.

Roughly translated, it says the chosen journey is wholely or partially within a fares union. Within the fares union area, fare union prices apply to local trains (not DB prices). Tickets can be obtained from the ticket machine.

I.e. DB doesn't set the fare, they are providing the trains under contract. It is a regional train so there is no discount for advance purchase.
To find the price you need to go to Frankfurt area fares union site: http://www.rmv.de/auskunft/bin/jp/query.exe/en?application=TARIFFONLY
And the price is €14.50 adult single.

Looks like there will be a price increase effective Jan 1. The price will be 15.00 euro next year, but if you want to go from the airport, the price is only 11.20 euro in 2014 and 11.60 euro in 2015.

"If they not available for online booking, they should at least show the fare."

DB and most European railway web sites only show the prices of tickets for sale at that time on that site. They are ticket machines, not complete pricing databases. For instance, some countries don't sell regional tickets online; only in the station. DB is a pretty complete schedule database, however, for all of Europe.

The trains run by the Bahn in Germany are the Intercity Express (ICE), Intercity (IC), and Eurocity (EC), and the rare Interregio (IR). Any connection using one of these trains will show a ticket price (and be purchasable) on the Bahn website. That's what you saw for trains from Bacharach to Frankfurt.

Regional trains are the Regional Express (RE), the Regional Bahn (RB), and it's privatized versions (MRB, ALX, Meridian, VIA, usw, as well as the S-Bahn. For connections on one of these trains between stops entirely in a Verkehrsverbund (transit district), tickets are sold by the transit district, not by the Bahn. Verkehrsverbund (VV) connections can also include U-Bahn, trams, and buses within that VV. There are maps available (I have one) for the boundaries of the Verkehrsverbünde (pl of Verkehrsverbund).

In the case of Bacharach, it is not actually in the same VV as Frankfurt. It is in the Rhein-Nahe-Nahverkehrsverbund (RNN), but in a fare area shared with it and the RMV (Frankfurt metro district), so tickets are available from the RMV and the RNN jointly, but not from the Bahn.

It would be nice if the Bahn included a link to the VV website where you could purchase tickets, but they do not.

Of note, Oberwesel, the next stop up the line from Bacharach, it not in the RNN shared district. You can purchase tickets from Frankfurt (or anywhere in the RMV) to Oberwesel (or the more popular St. Goar) from the Bahn.

st,

Just curious, are you planning to travel directly from the Frankfurt airport to Bacharach? If so it's important to note that there are two stations at the airport, a Regional and Fernbahnhof (longer distance trains). You'll likely be using the Regional station which is across the street from the terminals as I recall. You can easily buy your tickets there, either from a Kiosk or staffed ticket office. I wouldn't be too concerned about the cost since you'll have to pay whatever it is if you want to get to Bacharach. It's a very easy trip from Frankfurt to Bacharach, about 1.5 hours. There may be one change in Bingen, but that's also easy.

Thank you Ken,
I wonder if reservation or advance booking necessary or compulsory ? If it's full, is there standing room allowed ?

No reservations are possible, it is a regional train. Think of a subway car, pack em in until they can't move if that is what you have to do. In reality, that is not likely to be the case, but you get the point.

Sam,
I don't understand you except for your first sentence. Do you mean passengers can always get into the train unless there is no more space to stand ?

That's what he means.

To add to Ken's post. You can change trains in Bingen or in Mainz. Depending on how the schedule is set up, it's sometimes faster to catch the train in Bingen. Either connection can be a little tricky.

In Mainz, trains to Bacharach leave from track 11, which is actually a stub track that shares a platform with track 1 and ends against the station building. It's not out beyond track 10 (there isn't a track 10).

In Bingen, the station is on an island between two sets of three tracks. Track 101 is on the platform next to the station, on the right side as you come in from Mainz. Tracks 102 and 103 are on their own platform next to track 101. Tracks 201, 202, and 203 are on the left side of the island with 201 next to the station. Tracks 201-203 are generally used by trains to/from Bad Kreuznach and Saarbrücken.

One tunnel under the station connects all the platforms (there is actually a 2nd tunnel farther down the tracks).

Thank you for the details. I guess i need not worry on the locations. Will there be stations staffs who can show me the way if I show them a ticket ? With a Eurail pass, do I get a ticket first(like Japan) or do I just walk into the train without a need for ticket ?

st,

If you're using a Railpass, you'll need to stop at a ticket office when you first arrive and present your Passport and the Railpass to be validated. You can't use it until it's been validated.

Regarding Regional trains, I wouldn't be too concerned about finding a seat as they're usually not packed to the rafters.

Ken,
I know it needs to be validated but how about riding on the regional trains ? Do i need a ticket or just walk in ?

With regional trains, your rail pass IS your ticket - just get on. But if it is a pass for a specific number of days, you must fill in the date before boarding the first train you use that day.

In Germany, on all trains except the rare ICE Sprinter, your rail pass is your ticket - just get on. Long distance trains (ICE, IC, EC, IR) have reservable seats, but reservations are not mandatory.

Thank you again.