Deutsche Bahn easy to use?

Hi Nicole.

The German trains are a breeze to use.

They do announce the coming stop a few seconds before slowing for that stop.

It is very easy to find your train at the station. The yellow departure boards (and the big electronic boards in larger stations) tell you at which track (Gleis) your train will be and at what time you can expect it. For larger trains such as ICE's, IC's, EC's and some others there will be a "train plan" that shows at which part of the track each car of the train will stop.

As far as how many stops they make... It depends on the type of train. RB's (RegioBahns) make the most stops, RE's (RegionalExpresses) make fewer stops, ICE's, IC's, and EC's make the fewest of all.

I've never had problems with the DB until last Friday... The train drivers finally went on their threatened strike. It was my last day in Europe for this trip, and I had to hustle to find a way to the Frankfurt airport from St. Goar.

Have fun. Auf Wiederschnitzel! :-)

One more questions. If arrival of first train and departure of the second train are the same platform would I just have to walk down the same side I got off the first train on to find my second train or do I have to go to another side. How do the platforms work? is there an arrival side and a departure side.

Nicole...

In regard to your other questions...

There is no "arrival" or "departure" side of the tracks. If your connecting train is to board at the same track you got off your other train, then you basically just have to stay where you are. Sometimes, a track will be designated as "north" or "south", such as "Gleis 9 Nord" or "Gleis 9 Sud". They are both the same track, one toward one end of the platform, one toward the other.

More often, your connecting train will be on a different track from the one at which you arrived. Commonly it will be on the other side of the same platform at which you got off. Off at track 9, on at track 10, for example. If your connecting track is further away you will have time to get to it, but sometimes the timing is such that you need to hustle a little.

Have fun. Tschuess!

Hi,

I went alone last year. The DB trains I was on (between Munich and Regensburg several times) were different to me (I haven't travelled that often). They announce the terminal station for the route and each station as they approach, but frankly my German wasn't that good. Different stations were marked differently. That said, it is Germany -- stations were all clearly labelled with big blue and white signs, platforms were numbered, and the trains were on time. It the train comes to Platform 4 at 9:16, count over four platforms and look for the train pulling in at 9:16 and you

As Kent says, this site can give you a good introduction. Click on "Travel Tips" at the top of the page you're reading now. Then click on "Riding the Rails in Europe" under the Transportation heading.

Check Rick's advice on train travel. The trains in Germany are very efficient. The website gives times and tracks you need to know. Just print that out and carry with you so you can refer to it often. Be sure you know which train car to board. Some cars are dropped off along the way. See the train configuration posted at the track or ask an employee if you are not sure. The train cars have the name of the destination city too. There may be several stations in a city so be sure you know which station you need. I do not recall announcements of stations but with the website printout, none is needed.
The train stations are conveniently in mid city usually. If you have problems or questions see the information desk in the station...English is spoken most places. Relax and enjoy....

Nicole, I believe that you will find the DB trains easy to use, the staff and fellow travelers helpful and you will enjoy the ride. Many of the trains I was on this summer had a digital read of the next stop and how many minutes until arrival. Make sure you know the German name for towns like Munich (München), Cologne (Köln), Vienna (Wein), etc. and you should be able to read where you are. We like to travel with a map to follow the route.

one general rule to remember- if you are waiting for the 0916 arrival, do not expect it to arrive at 0915 or 0917. It will pull in at 0916.

One discovery we made recently was the "Bayern Takt"-- an all day, all inclusive pass for transport within Bavaria. Starts at 9 am and is good until the following 3 am, but for EUR 27 you can use all regional trains, busses, S-bahns, U-bahns, and trams (no taxis, go figure...). Good for up to 5 person on the same ticket (which may not help much for a single person), but if you have multiple stops to make, this may be worthwhile. We found it to be way cheaper than sets of individual tickets for multiple transport links....

website:
www.bayern-takt.de/public_main_modul.php?page_id=299&document_id=380

As a caveat to Bob's reminder above, if the schedule says the train leaves at 10:06, don't expect it to still be on the platform at 10:08...or even 10:07...

Hope you have a great trip!

Nicole, our train system is pretty much the most user friendly in the world. You've got nothing to worry about. And it's even all color coded: Red trains (red livery of the carriages) mean local or regional train with plenty of stops. They include S-Bahns (urban area transit), RegionalBahns, RegionalExpresses among others. White livery trains are InterCity trains, EuroCity trains or the ICE high speed trains. They only stop at major stations, larger cities. On those it's highly recommended you make a seat reservation in advance (buying a ticket does not automatically include getting a certain seat assigned. It's free seating on a first come first serve basis - unless a seat is marked as reserved). When on the platform do check in which carriage (number) your assigned seat is and compare with the Wagenstandsanzeiger board. You'll find a sketch of your train and which carriage number will stop in which section (A, B, C, D, etc.) of that platform. ICE trains are up to 450 yards long...

... and given the usually short time they only stop it makes great sense to start the walk a couple of minutes earlier. 1st class carriages usually stop close to the entrance or beginning of the platform, 2nd class may require a longer walk depending on station. If you're not traveling on a rail pass keep in mind that you can buy tickets as late as 5mins prior to the departure of the train at the red ticket vending machines in the stations or even on the platforms. There you can even make a last minute seat reservation, e.g. if you realize there are that many people on the platform that you feel getting a seat could be tight. If you buy tickets at a desk or on board the train they add a service charge. It all sounds much more complicated than it is. Millions of people use DB every year and find the system to be pretty self-explanatory...

The group ticket to which John refers is the Bayern-Ticket (not Bayern-Takt, but, the Bayern-Takt website is a good place to get information). The Bayern-Ticket is €27 (but will probably go up in Dec); the Bayern-Ticket-Single is valid for only one person and cost €19. The Bayern-Tickets are valid weekdays from 9 AM but from midnight on weekends. They are also valid on all regional trains (RE, RB, S-Bahn) in Bavaria, on all conveyances (U-bahn, streetcars, buses) of the Verkehrverbünde (metro transit districts), and on regional bus lines. They are not valid for private transportation, such as private bus lines or taxis. There are similar offers in each of the German states (Länder) and a country-wide offer (Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket) on weekends.

Some DB tips from questions I've been asked or mistakes I've made.

In addition to platform numbers, big stations have letters overhead. They aren't hard to notice if you look. If the schedule says the train is leaving from 11C, go to platform 11 and look overhead for the C. As always check the class and destination of the car you are boarding.

One night I rode from my pension to a nice restaurant in another town. When I got off the train I noted the train I intended to return on and ("wisely") the last train heading my way.

At the restaurant I ran into a group of Americans who had difficulty ordering off the German menu ("How do you say Beer?") I joined them and helped them order. We had a great conversation and I left just in time to get back for the last train. Unfortunately, I hadn't noted that run was only on Fri and Sat. No taxis, I had to walk 14K back to my pension.

I believe that all states, not just Bayern, have the all day ticket. Here's where it lists each state's ticket and the price http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/prices/germany/laender_tickets.shtml

This might be just me, but I found the website was pretty difficult to use, but the trains were easy to use and reasonably priced. Enjoy your trip!

I spent 5 days in Germany last month. Stayed in Augsburg since Munich was too full and expensive because of Oktoberfest. Took the train from Augsburg to Munich and back multiple times. Took a train from Munich to Fussen(the castles) and back. Took the city train to Dachau. Also took DB trains into and out of Germany I think. Anyways, like a local bus, the trains stopped at many stops between when I got on and when I got to my stop. You definitely have to pay attention. You also have to get off the train fairly quickly. The first time we got to Augsburg after about 2 straight days of travelling we tried to get off the train and were moving slow because we were extremely tired and the door slammed shut in front of us. We couldn't get off! We had to ride it a half hour and get off at the next stop then wait an hour for the next train and ride a half hour back. The DB trains were clean and nice that I rode in.