For a good English language website about the German rail system Die Bahn, click here. Additionally, for a complete and up to date guide to all European trains including information about symbols found on tickets and placards found in and around train stations, click here.

Train Station Frankfurt.jpg (88333 bytes)

Frankfurt, I think!

I make no claim to having prepared an all-inclusive treatise on this subject. Rather, what follows is what I think is the minimum one should know to get aboard the right train, get along with your fellow passengers, and get off at the right stop. Happy trails.

Types of Trains

There are lots of types of trains in Germany. Most of which do take bikes but the fast train, the ICE, never takes bicycles whether boxed or not. Here is a chart:

Bikers are happiest before

they start to pedal

Note the bike graphic.

This is the bike car.

Arrivals / Departures

Wagenstandanzeiger

Abbreviation	Train	Takes Bikes?
CNL or ICN	City Night Line	Yes
EC	Euro City	Yes
EN or D	Euro Night	Yes
IC	Inter-City	Yes
ICE *	Inter-City Express	No
IR	Inter-Regio	Yes
NZ	DB Night Zug	Yes
RB	Regional Bahn	Yes
RE	Regional Express	Yes
SE	Stadt Express	Yes
S-Bahn	Subways in cities	Yes

* Through the efforts of the ADFC, The DB is working to allow bikes on ICE trains but because of length, braking considerations, and other technical issues, they have not completed the necessary redesign to accommodate a bicycle car yet. Perhaps before I get too old to ride, who knows.

First Class, Second Class: There are two classes on German trains. If you have a bike, you don't have a choice - you are second class. The difference is the seat and seating arrangement. The second class folks get to the destination at the same time as the first class folks. Both are clean and comfortable but the folks in first class are less likely to interact with foreign bicycle tourists. On the outside of the car you will see either a "1" or a "2" indicating the class. You will also see an indication whether it is a smoking or a non-smoking car.

Smoking: Lots of people smoke in Europe; much more than in the USA at least. Even bikers smoke. We occasionally see bikers smoking while riding. Unfortunately for non-smokers, sometimes the bike compartment is also a smoking compartment. Similar to restaurants, you have to get used to it. It's reality, get a grip.

Bicycle Cars: Along with the class designation and the smoking or non-smoking designation, cars designed to take bicycles will have a pictograph of a bicycle next to the door outside the car. That is your car. It is probably, but not necessarily, at the front or the rear of the train. It could be in the middle. See tips below.

Reservations: Large groups of bikers will need reservations but for individuals and groups up to five, no reservation is needed for bikes or passengers. The exception is on the longer distance trains like IC and EC; there you will be assigned a "Stillplatz" or numbered rack for your bicycle when you buy the bicycle ticket. If reservations are not mandatory given the type of train, it is your choice, we have traveled both with and without. But since reservations don't cost anything (yet?) you might as well make them. If you don't use them it is no problem. Uh ..., in fact, says the editor, that is the problem. You see, too may people make reservations and then change their plans without canceling the reservations. Then if a train appears to have all the bicycle racks be completely reserved you will be denied the opportunity to travel on that train with your bike. We have taken such a train anyway on a couple occasions because we had a ticket on another train but either took the earlier one or because of a missed connection. To our surprise, there were no other bicycles aboard. Perhaps a group had reserved them and missed the train. Or perhaps they just decided to go somewhere else and didn't bother to cancel the reservations. Either way, says the editor again, they should charge for reservations and refund money if they are canceled, that would solve the problem. OK, I'll step down from the pulpit now.

Nahverkehr (Local Trains) include RE, SE, RB, and S-Bahn: Lots of stops; sometimes at almost every village. They probably don’t have a bicycle car but probably do have a place for bikes (and wheel chairs) at one end of the car. If not, you can take the bike right into the compartment or leave it in the space between cars (if there is one). In the really slow trains, like the S-Bahn, you might not find bathrooms on board. I suggest you go first or hold it. Here, a short rope or cord is handy to secure the bikes so they don’t fall over on the curves.

Sometimes, these trains will connect with busses to villages off the track so it may be possible to buy a “train” ticket to a village several miles from the closes railroad. Some of the busses may have a trailer for bikes. Others will allow you to bring the bike right into the bus.

IC (Intercity), EC (Eurocity), RE (Express), RE (Regio): These are the most common trains. They connect nearly every German city and town but do not stop at small villages. They frequently have special cars either at the front or at the end for bicycles and large luggage items (that you cannot take into the sitting area). Bicycle cars are identified by a large icon of a bicycle on the outside of the car. If there is no bicycle car, you may bring your bike aboard and leave them in the area between the cars. Here again, a short rope or cord is handy.

This type of train is called an EC or Eurocity if it goes over the border into a neighboring country. Yes, there are bathrooms on this type of train.

IR (Interregio): These trains cover longer distances than the IC/EC trains. Fewer stops but very bicycle friendly, frequently has a bicycle car at one end of the train. You will find bathrooms in each car.

ICN/NZ/D Nachtzüge (Night Trains): Night trains are handy for long trips when you are too rushed for a good night’s sleep. I do not recommend this style of travel but if you must, you must. Night trains are quite comfortable if you reserve a Couchette, which is a seat that makes into a bed. Rick Steves, in his Europe Through the Back Door guidebook, talks tongue-in-cheek about how to get a compartment all to yourself for a good nights sleep without interruption. Check out the link to his web site on the Links page of this web site. The only guaranteed interruption will be the conductor asking to validate your ticket. I have limited experience with this type of train and that experience was not good. We could not get reservations for a Couchette and spent a night trying to sleep in an upright seated position on a train that was full to the gunnels. (Do trains have gunnels?)

ICE (Intercity Express): These super fast trains use their own separate tracks. They travel between major cities only with no stops for the smaller cities. Bicycles are not allowed on these trains. Reservations for second class not required usually but reservations in the dining car are recommended. Food is quite good but expensive. This is the classiest and fastest way to travel where there are no airplanes. However, you are insulating yourself from the fabric of the local culture. These trains are used by businesspeople on business trips and by rich tourists (and occasionally, by yours truly to and from the Frankfurt Airport – hey, it’s only twice a year).

Tips on Trains

If you are riding a public conveyance (train or a streetcar) buy a ticket. That seems simple but once in Germany, it may appear that no one checks tickets. It is possible that is the case on streetcars but on trains the conductor, Schaffner/Schaffnerin, normally will check tickets. They even check the tickets you buy for your bicycle. There are signs posted on many conveyances warning you that if you don't have a valid ticket you have to pay the higher of €40 or double the price of a ticket.
When you buy your tickets, ask the ticket agent if you are purchasing the correct type of ticket for your trip. It may sound like a dumb question right after the ticket agent recommended a certain ticket, but some areas have special tickets just for that area or for certain periods of time, e.g., two days. Most alert ticket agents will know this and recommend it right off the bat, but some will just sell you what you ask for and assume that you know what you're doing. Not always a correct assumption, especially in my case. Another key here is the concept of an alert ticket agent. While I have had the pleasure of dealing with many, not all of them are really alert.
If you are traveling within a German state (e.g., Hesse) or within two connecting states, ask for a Landeskarte, or a state-ticket. While you will be relegated to the slower trains, the cost is around half a normal ticket and the bike ticket will be either free or at a reduced price too.
If you are traveling with a group of six or more, you must make reservations for yourselves and for the bikes. You can do this up to three months ahead and you can contact the DB through their link on the Links page on this web site.
If you are traveling on weekends, I recommend reservations for both people and bikes. The Schönes-Wochenende-Tickets (next item) do not lend themselves to reservations.
You can buy Schönes-Wochenende-Tickets (Happy Weekend Tickets) at the Bahnhöfe (train stations) or through the Internet. They are unique. You cannot make reservations with this type of ticket but you can make a reservation for your bicycle. One ticket cost €35 (plus €4.50 or so each per bike) and up to five people can travel on one ticket. Bikes still need separate tickets. This ticket is good between Midnight on the day you buy them and 3:00AM the following day (read this as 27 hours). You can come and go anywhere during that time. The only restrictions are you can't reserve seats and you can't use IR, IC or ICE trains (read this as only the slower trains take this ticket). In the Summer, just about all of Germany does exactly that, they come and go everywhere. The trains are frequently packed. We have spent hours standing next to our bikes in the sweltering heat, body odor, and cigarette smoke of an overcrowded train because there were no seats. In fact, the conductor can refuse to accept you and your bike if they think the train is too crowded - this has not happened to us in nearly 10-years of using them. The trains are so crowded sometimes that the conductors can't navigate their way through the train to check tickets. But, we are used to it; we think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. At least you will have an adventure. See below for a list of the regional traffic organizations that honor these Schönes-Wochenende-Tickets.
Single travelers or groups of two to five probably do not need reservations but they may be made if you want to be safe. Some tickets are good for several days (e.g., 4 days on a long weekend) and several different trains instead of being good for just one day and one train. So, we don’t make reservations; assuming that if one train is full, there will be another opportunity in a short while that will not be full.
You will probably need to purchase a special ticket for your bike. This ticket, or Fahrradkarte, costs up to €6.00 per bike in IC, EC, IR, NZ, EN, or D type trains. In local trains (Nahverkehr) RE, SE, RB, and S-Bahnen bikes cost €3.00.
If you get lucky, some Nahverkehr trains in some areas do not charge for bicycles. It depends on the region of the country.
If you have a bicycle trailer, a tandem bike, or an especially large bike, like a three-wheel bike you will need to purchase two of these special types of tickets or Fahrradkarten. For additional information about traveling with tandem bicycles see Brian Wasson's website http://www.brianwasson.com/trips/trains.htm. Do send me an e-mail if this link stops working.
Lastly, when you buy a bicycle ticket, they will usually give you a sticker so you can attach the ticket to your bicycle. The conductor may ask to see the ticket if it is not attached but most of the time, they don't bother.

In the Train Station (Bahnhof):

In all the Bahnhöfe (train stations) of the major cities, you will find both counters where you can purchase tickets and a “Service Point” kiosk where you can get detailed help with connections and get your questions answered. I think the DB makes it a policy to have someone fluent in English at the Service Point. However, I have never had a problem finding an English speaker at the regular ticket counter either. Most Germans take English in school.
Nowadays, you can use the Automat Ticket Machine to purchase tickets - even for longer distance trains. Even most unmanned stations have these automats. Push the button for Sprache and select the language you want to use by the flag. English has a British flag. You will be stepped through the process in any of six different languages. You could choose Turkish, if you want to. This is a good thing because then you don’t have to worry about what Einzelkarte means. (It means one-way ticket if you have an inquiring mind.)
Reservations can be made but are not normally necessary. Watch out for major holidays though. Germans have a ton of holidays. They can be different in each German State. And another thing, German holidays are different from American holidays. For instance, they don’t have the Fourth of July or Thanksgiving. Germans do have Christmas however, and they celebrate for two days instead of just one. So, do they get twice as many presents? Get-outa-‛ere.
If you do want reservations or just want to check the schedule or compute your own itinerary, check out the Links page on this web site for an English version of the DB Travel Service. It will not only give you plenty of choices, it will tell you the cost and the exact arrival and departure time. You can even get a chart showing the route.
We have found that second class, non-smoking is just right for us. It is relatively inexpensive, seldom crowded (except some weekends or holidays), and quite comfortable.
Once the ticket is purchased, you need to know where to catch the train. The German word for Track is Gleis. They are numbered and there is a number on your ticket.
Arrival and departure is Ankunft and Abfahrt, respectively. There are always posters about 3 by 4 feet in dimension giving information about the track (Gleis) and the destination. The yellow ones are Abfahrt (departure); the white ones are Ankunft (arrival). Look up your train by the time it departs (or arrives) to find the correct track. Or, you could just ask a uniformed DB person (good luck finding one).
In a few Bahnhöfe, you will also see a smaller poster called a Wagenstandanzeiger showing how the train is “stacked” or put together. If there is one, you will be able to tell if there is a bicycle car. You will be able to see where the cars are corresponding to your preferred class of travel relative to the large lettered locations hanging from the ceiling of the station. The legend at the bottom will help the non-German speaking traveler decipher the information. For instance, if you want 2nd class, non-smoking, look for a 2 with the international non-smoking symbol. Occasionally, the cars are split with half smoking and half non-smoking.
Listen to the announcements. If you don’t understand them, but you heard your departure time or your destination, ask your neighbor to translate it for you. Recently, most stations repeat the announcement in English. Trains can be delayed a few minutes just before arrival. Sometimes, even the locals don’t understand the quick garbled verbiage spewing forth from the loudspeaker. (I don’t know where they get the people who speak into loud speakers. They all seem to be unaware of their speech imperfections regardless of being at fast food restaurants, train stations, airports, or stadiums.)
Not to scare the be-jebbers out of you but a few trains are a little like separable verbs in the German language. Part of the train goes one place, another part goes somewhere else. If this is so, the ticket seller may tell you, or the conductor will. If your train is listed on the Wagenstandanzeiger it will indicate it if your train is separable. Many of the slower trains are not listed on the Wagenstandanzeiger, though so you will need to pay attention to the train number on the train and compare that to your ticket. I mention this just to keep you on your toes. Remember when you wake up in Berlin but wanted to go to Dresden, I mentioned it here.

Customs and Manners Aboard Trains

Buy a ticket. If you don’t have a ticket with you, either stay off the train or prepare to pay double. You usually can buy one on board. The exception to this rule is if you get on at an unmanned station and there are no automats at the station - then you can purchase one from the conductor. If you are caught without a ticket, the fine is the greater of double the normal fare or €40, no excuses will be accepted. That said, we boarded one train where there was not agent in the Bahnhof, only an automatic ticket machine. That particular stupid machine did not work. When questioned by the conductor (Schafner), we explained and although he was doubtful, he accepted our story and only charged us the normal fare. That's my story and I am sticking to it.
There are frequently two types of accommodations on the IC trains. A general “bus style” seating area and a six-seat compartment area. Both areas will have a place where small slips of paper can be inserted. These slips indicate that that seat has been reserved between the stations indicated on the slip. You are free to use them if you are outside the area between the two stations.
Somewhere, probably in the small area between the cars, you will find a chart showing all of the stops. With a little bit of study, you will be able to judge where you are and how close you are getting to your stop. I just hope you can get to the chart for all the bikes in the way. (Oh, sorry, they are probably your bikes - or maybe ours.)
Don’t hang out the window or put your hand out the window. There are frequently two parallel tracks and when two trains pass, each going 60 plus miles per hour, you could loose whatever you poke out the window. It’s like an automatic appendage remover.
Don’t throw anything out the window either. The window will normally have two stickers indicating a red circle with an icon of a man leaning out and a second one with a bottle of beer inside another red circle. The second one is not a prohibition against drinking, (heaven forbid, this is Germany after all); rather it is warning not to throw trash out the window. Beer bottles are the most common form of trash encountered in Germany, I think.
I don’t need to tell you not to smoke in the non-smoking car. There will be plenty of stickers reminding you of this. The red circle again, but this time with a bar through the pictograph of a cigarette. Occasionally, on overcrowded trains, people seem to disregard the non-smoking signs (damn it). I would not recommend that non-German speaking people try this though.
You can eat and drink if you want to. In fact, on long trips, I recommend you bring along a few groceries, especially something to drink. There are small stores in most train stations to fulfill your needs. You might offer some to the passenger across from you, but – a warning – don’t do this unless you want to make friends with the natives. As a courtesy, take your trash with you when you get off the train or deposit it in the trash container provided between the cars.
Pay attention even if your jet-lag tries to kick in. One member of the group should be awake and know which stop comes just before the stop you plan to get off at. You can find, or ask the conductor for, an "Ihr Reiseplan" (your travel schedule) it is a printed, stop-by-stop, schedule telling you the arrival and departure times at each station and a little about connecting trains. These are not available on the slower trains but ask the conductor or another passenger for the stop just before yours.
This is important: When you get close to your stop get ready to depart. Move to the door so you can quickly step off. If you have a bike, go to it and get ready to lift it off the train. The trains stop only long enough for folks to hop on and off, you will not have time to walk from your seat to your bike, then untie it, arrange your bags and gear, etc. etc. At the least, you’ll get a dirty look from the conductor if you are slow. You may even miss the stop with the dilly-dallying.
The following are common courtesy items recommended by the German Bicycle Club, ADFC, and the Train Company, DB: a) Find the bicycle car as the train approaches the platform. b) Cooperate with other bike riders in the loading and unloading of bikes. c) Lighter bikes load and unload easier and take less space in the bike compartment, please unload your panniers before loading (I seldom do this unless there are lots of bikes). d) Allow those without bikes to load and unload first. e) Communicate with other bike riders so the first bikes to get off are the easiest to get to (some train connections are painfully short and people have to really hustle to make the connection). f) Stay close to your bikes for the entire trip if possible. g) Check your bike to make sure it doesn't fall over during the trip. h) In EC, IC, and D trains (long distance trains) use the bicycle place ("Stillplatz") reservation system at least one day ahead (there is no charge for this - yet). i) Know that in some short distance trains used by commuters, you may be blocked from boarding during rush hour traffic.

Tracks

Stay off them. Unlike America where you might see a train once a week, you will see trains in Germany every few minutes. The Polizei will likely pursue you if you walk along the tracks.

Enjoy your train travel experience. If you have a funny story to tell, share it with us by e-mail or feedback.

More on Schönes-Wochenende-Tickets

At the following website you can learn more about Schönes-Wochenende-Tickets: http://www.bahn.de/regional/view/bundesweit/bahnregional/freizeit/schoenes_wochenende_ticket.shtml

Revised: February 05, 2010