Should we be worried about this ticket from DB?

The DB site does not give a price for the regional trains between Dusseldorf Airport and Cologne Hbf, just the IC and ICE trains, which are more expensive. The VRS network gives a price of 10.80 eu, and the trains run at 32 and 50 past the hour. Someone replied recently that it might be hard to locate the one VRS ticket machine at airport. I don't know if they sell them at the station ticket window. Here is the VRS site: http://www.vrsinfo.de/englisch/the-vrs/vrs-about-us.html
I'd definately contact DB about this. Nonetheless, a 35 eu fare to Paris from Cologne is pretty good.

Sounds like a question for German Rail at (49) 1805 99 66 33. The Bahn website lists Euraide (1 781 828 2488, [email protected]) as the US "Bahn Agency". Might see what they say. If you are taking the RE/THA connection, the segment from DUS to Köln is not restricted to a specific train, as is the Köln to Paris segment, but there should be something on the ticket to indicate it is also valid for DUS to Köln Hbf.

Mona ,your question piqued my curiosity . According to BAHN , only the Koln to Paris leg is included on your ticket . The DUS to KOLN must be purchased separately ( at the station , or very close to travel date ) Your question raised one for me , as I spend time continuing to familiarize myself with the techniques of European rail travel . Needless to say , I find that Lee's responses are one of the first places I look at in pursuing my goals . I brought up the site , and if you click on the price for travelers section , it will indicate the issues pertaining to this . This sort of issue is helpful to me when I am attempting to book a multi leg trip , particularly when it involves both regional and express trains . Happy travels ,and Lee , thanks for all your continuing help !

This is an interesting puzzle , but I think I've got it : From DUS there are RE trains direct to Koln HBF ,40 minute trip or S1 from DUS FLUG to DUS HBF ,then change to S6 to KOLN HBF ,1:10 hr . If you go to BAHN look on the trip planner for " local transport only " and check that box , the local trips will show up . I don't see an indication of purchase method , but considering two major German cities and the ubiquity of great rail service , it shouldn't be too difficult to buy either an RE or an S-BAHN ticket on the spot . I would , however plan this out so you have adequate time to make your THA connection in KOLN .

Mona, go back to Bahn.com and make an inquiry for Düsseldorf Flughafen to Paris. On the results page, look at the prices listed (Savings and Standard Fares). Each one has a red arrow and says "(( >(DB+abroard part))" If you click on that, it tells you the Düsseldorf Flughafen > Köln section isn't included. That section should be around 20€, depending on which trains you take from Düsseldorf Flughafen to Köln.

It's not because the DUS to Köln Hbf is within a transit district (Verkehrsverbund), because for other connections to Paris, the segment on the RE is included. For instance, if you book a ticket by RE from DUS to Köln Hbf and then by ICEs to Paris, they include the RE. It must have something to do with the fact that the remainder of the trip is on Thalys, which is not a pure DB train.

Thanks for all of your replies. After 1/2 hour on Skype with a DB agent we were able to discern that the fine print in German which says "DB+" really means that you have to buy the local DB ticket separately. This was so confusing because all along the only 2 cities we typed in were DUS and Paris and both the confirmation and itinerary both say that we are going from DUS flug to Paris Nord. The link to the fine print in German says that the DB portion of the ticket is excluded "the DB+ disclosure". OMG. So we will be going to the VRR site later today to purchase our inexpensive RE train ticket. We were anxious to get this figured out b/c we are needing to book the reverse of this ticket ASAP as we are 90 days out from our return date. We sorted all of that out with the kind DB agent while we had him on the phone this morning. It still is strange that the itinerary always shows us going from DUS FLUG to Paris, but the actual ticket only goes from Cologne to Paris. Some years it's easier and some years... We've done the regional tickets, inter European specials, schonneswochenende tickets, tri-regional tickets, HEX train tickets, etc. This was a new twist for us but I think we have it figured out now. Thanks again for helping us think through this. All in all paying ~ 10 more Euros per ticket won't be an issue. We are going through this routing b/c our airline ticket for summer travel was quite the bargain to begin with at $750 pp so no complaints here :-)

Mona, I'm sorry you didn't see my post before your Skype ordeal :-( You can buy your Düsseldorf Flughafen > Köln Dom ticket on bahn.com, if you haven't already purchased them.

I know Eileen, but it was nice to talk to the helpful, patient guy at DB too. We did accomplish buying our return Paris to Dus ticket with a much better routing last weekend. This time we go on Thalys from Paris to Dus hbf and then we only have to do the s-bahn or local transportation to the airport, no train change until we get to Dus hbf. This weekend we'll book the DUS to Koln segment on the RE. We're not too worried about this because there is even an s-bahn option (although it takes longer) and we know that RE trains don't sell out. Thanks again everyone! We are making progress.