in planning itineraries in Germany using the DB sites I'm running across schedules showing "private" railway companies which seem to be covering certain regions. (Eurobahn, Nordwestbahn and AST are a few) These aren't little narrow gauge tourist railways--they seem to be going the same places DB goes, but with different time schedules. Does anyone know if they are covered by Eurail passes good in Germany? If not, how does one pay for a trip that has some legs on a DB train and some on a "private" train system. The Eurail people remain cryptic on this topic, and it isn't covered by their FAQs or those of RailEurope.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9220 posts
Each city and the region around it, will have their own train business, but they are also all part of the Deutsche Bahn system. A ticket good on the Deutsche Bahn will also be good on their S-bahns. As an example - Frankfurt is part of the RMV system, or the Rhein Main area. This covers Frankfurt, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Hanau, Darmstadt, Bad Homburg and many, many small towns in between. Some trains that run between these towns are S-bahns and they will also have stops in the town itself. The regular DB trains, will only go between cities. Once you get to a city that has S-bahns (think subways or metros) you can continue to use your DB ticket. If you switch to a bus or tram, then it often is not valid anymore. If you have bought a Laender ticket though, it may be valid on all forms of transportation in some cities.
Instead of using the Eurail site, you will get better prices, and better info on the DB site. Simply put in your beginning and end stations and the rest is figured out for you. The website switches to English, except for some of the "special tickets" sections.
If you tell us where you want to go, we might be able to help you a bit more with what kind of ticket will work best for you.
Posted by
OP
seattle, wa, usa
6 posts
thanks. I've weighed the pro's and cons of the eurail pass. I'm going to be there three months, and doing a lot of daytripping from "hubs" I have chosen, so the three month pass makes sense. Eurail's "per day" rate goes down as the time gets longer. The convenience of hop on hop off (I know, some need reservations) outweighs any further "budget" concern.
I agree with you that on shorter trips it's often better to "go local." But I won't always be in places with internet access to make my plans.
But it's useful to know that I'm probably OK on a train even if it isn't on the list DB has on its site.
And with the way the dollar is dropping, the Eurail pass bought in dollars may make more and more sense.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Within metro area (Verkehrverbuenden), like MVV (Muenchen) and RMV (Frankfurt), the S-Bahn is covered by railpasses, but NOT U-Bahn, trams, and buses. Metro tickets, often called Tageskarten cover all conveyances, both S- and U-Bahn, trams, and buses. In downtown areas (Muenchen, for example) the S-Bahn run underground, but don't confuse them with the U-Bahn.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9220 posts
In Frankfurt, the S-bahns and the U-bahns go underground in the city center.
To find your S-bahns, follow the big green "S", for U-bahns, follow the big blue "U". They sometimes share neighboring platforms, but not the same track.