Rail Stations

The short answer is probably not since you do not know which the platform the train is arriving/departing from. You can probably google the station and find a map. The are two types of station configuration. A station where trains come in and back out. Look at the fingers on your hand. Get off the train, walk to the head of the platform, check the overhead board for platform numbers and head to that platform. The other type of station is a pass through station in which the trains continual in the same direction. The platforms are parallel to each other and connected by underground passageways. But the procedure is about the same. Sometimes your trains pulls out and five minutes your connecting trains pulls in at the same platform. Once you have done it a couple of times you will be fine. Don't be shy about asking people standing on the platform if this is the train to ....... If English is a problem, show them your ticket. They will understand.

On Deutsche Bahn, as your train approaches the next station, they will usually announce the tracks for the connection trains. If there's no English announcement, which there usually is, the German word for "track" is "gleis". I'm not familiar with either station, but because neither Duisburg or Koblenz is a particularly large city, the stations are probably the "through and through" variety. Meaning, there's an underground walkway connecting the platforms. If you have reservations on an ICE, there's even a display that indicates where your carriage will stop on the platform.

I happen to have the layout (www.germantravel-info.com/bahnhöfe/Koblenz.pdf) for Koblenz in my personal database. Koblenz is basically a through station with the tracks in sequential order, 1 being closest to the station building. However 6 & 7 don't have platforms in the station. Three tracks, 104, 105, and 109 are non-trough tracks and accessible from other track's platforms. If you have one of those tracks, you had better look at the map. A lot of layouts came with the schedule CD I got from the Bahn years ago. I don't seem to have Duisburg. I'll see what else I can find. BTW, the track number are usually shown on the Bahn website if you expand the connection by clicking '>' for the connection you want or "detail for all". I found Duisburg. Until I can put it up on my website, Duisburg is a pretty conventional layout, with 12 tracks through the station. Track 1 is closest to the station building (there is no bulding side platform for 1 as in most Bahnhöfe), and it shares a platform with Track 2. Tracks 3 & 4 share a platform, as do 5 & 6. There is no track 7. 8 & 9 share, as do 10 & 11, 12 & 13. The tunnel is between 'B' and 'C'. When you get off the train, locate the steps, go down to the tunnel, look for the number of the next track. I don't know why links aren't working today. Anyway, the Duisburg station is now on my website at www.germantravel-info.com/bahnhöfe/Duisburg.pdf.

Thank you. That helps me out.