German trains/S-Bahn and luggage

No problems storing you luggage on the S-Bahn, which is spacious enough to accommodate luggage, ie between seats and under them. I have no problems riding the S-Bahn with luggage, ie the spinner and shoulder sack, eg, to and from the Berlin Hbf

Thirty plus years ago I was also traveling in Germany. Re the regional trains, I would say that depends which private company it is since the overhead rack won't accommodate a spinner. It also depends on how crowded the coach you are in. Normally, I try to avoid regional trains when encumbered with luggage because they usually are crowded,... locals, school kids, other tourists...at times standing room only, a sardine can. I try to get a pop down seat in the bike coach when I have luggage.

If you want a good idea of what they look like, Google German s bahn interior, and select Images. You'll see what they look like in different cities. The overhead rack is smaller than you'll find on inter city trains. We could get our carry ons up there. DH just kept his 24" bag beside him. We didn't travel on them in peak hours, so didn't find crowding a problem; but this may have been a matter of being on a less used route, as well.

Thank you. My travel will be from Frankfurt airport to Frankfurt Hbf, to Bacharach from Frankfurt and from Bacharach to Karslruhe. I can plan to avoid the commuter/school hours.

Somehow I think just about everyone riding the S-bahn from the airport to Frankfurt Hbf will have luggage. But then, they are so frequent, it is not an issue.

From the airport to the HBF, just keep your luggage in front of you. Everyone else will have luggage too. Try to keep it between your legs so it doesn't take up too much space. For the regional trains going to Bacharach, there may be space in the overhead, but it depends on how large of a bag you have. You may end up needing to just keep it next to you.

Be aware that you will need to lift your bag into the S-bahn at the airport, as the train is not level with the platform. They are working on the platforms there right now so hopefully this will change soon. The S-bahns into the city are using track 2 instead of track 1.

It sounds like you are going from the Frankfurt airport to Frankfurt Hbf to Bacharach. Why?

Is there a reason you want to go into Frankfurt? You can easily get to Mainz by S-Bahn and then to Bacharach by regional train. Sometimes you can get a regional train (RE) all the way from the airport to Bacharach with no changes.

An RMV ticket for travel from the airport to Bacharach without backtracking to the Hbf will cost you 12,20€/adult. A ticket for travel via the Hbf will cost more.

Or are you planning to stop in Frankfurt?

Sometimes people actually do want to visit Frankfurt and stay here. This is not unusual. It has gobs of historic sites to visit, plus it is a great hub for visiting other small towns.

We went from Frankfurt to Bacharach with our one carry on each and had plenty of room for our luggage.

I just wanted to make sure that they realized that they could go directly to Mainz and on to Bacharach without backtracking to the Hbf.

Lee,
I will be spending time in Frankfurt before heading to Bacharach then on to Karlsruhe before heading back to Frankfurt to fly out. Total of 12 nights on the ground with in depth exploration of the region. I have not been in the area since 1978. I'm looking forward to some in-depth exploration and slow travel.