101
votes
Accepted
What's the 2-minute timer on mobile Deutsche Bahn tickets?
According to this link (only in German), it is to check if you have bought the ticket just right now or a sufficient amount of time before. The rules usually are, that you have to buy a ticket before ...
- 9,029
50
votes
Overcrowded German trains
There is no mandatory seat reservation in Germany. The only exception are cross border tickets for some international trains and night sleeper trains. So yes, you can end up with no seat, if the train ...
- 9,029
48
votes
What's the 2-minute timer on mobile Deutsche Bahn tickets?
@dunni's answer describes the attack that this security measure attempts to mitgate. A comment on his answer claims that this is "security theatre"; I describe in this answer (because this explanation ...
- 648
47
votes
Accepted
Board German train from next station
Your ticket would still be valid for the whole journey. However if you have a seat reservation, officially you have to occupy your place within 15 minutes from departure, otherwise your seat ...
- 26.2k
41
votes
Suddenly it's announced that my train won't go to my destination, is my Sparpreis ticket valid?
TL;DR: Your ticket is still valid and you can take any connection to your destination (and it is not relevant if you booked a SuperSparpreis, Sparpreis or Flexpreis ticket) if your train/connection is ...
- 805
40
votes
Board German train from next station
Most German trains have a mix of reserved and non-reserved seats. Passengers without a reservation often take reserved seats when they are empty as the train leaves the station (if there are no free ...
- 34.5k
40
votes
Accepted
How can remove unnecessary connections using bahn.de?
I didn't find a way to tell DB to book a certain train. However, I found a solution to your specific journey, because it is indeed possible to select / deselect certain train types only for parts of ...
- 4,076
39
votes
Accepted
What are my rights when I have a Sparpreis ticket but can't board an overcrowded train?
The chances of you being "denied boarding" are very low. There is no pre boarding check, nobody is standing at the door counting passengers. So there is nobody to deny you boarding.
What is possible ...
- 9,266
32
votes
Do trains travel at lower speed to establish time buffer for possible delays?
Does this train traveling from Munich to Berlin operate at 250 km/h to always have the shortest travel time?
No.
Or does the train travel at 200 km/h by default and in case of a delay, the speed ...
- 83.1k
31
votes
What's the 2-minute timer on mobile Deutsche Bahn tickets?
There is already a good answer: It provides an additional quick visual indicator in case the passenger bought the ticket only after entering the vehicle and spotting the conductor.
But let's add some ...
- 1,829
31
votes
Accepted
How can I cancel a Deutsche Bahn ticket? I am covid positive
This depends on the type of ticket. Mainly this will be
"Super Sparpreis": you are out of luck
"Sparpreis": you can cancel up to one day before departure. You will get a refund ...
- 83.1k
30
votes
What does "Ruhebereich" (quiet zone) mean on German ICE trains?
Here's what DB says about them:
Ruhebereich
Für Fahrgäste, die sich mehr Ruhe und Entspannung wünschen, haben wir unsere Ruhezonen optimiert. Sie befinden sich entweder in Abteilen, den ICE Lounges (...
- 11.4k
28
votes
Accepted
Where can I buy the Egal-Wohin-Ticket?
DB has had similar offerings before, and also this time, they make it hard to get and hard to use.
Be aware:
The tickets are only available in 'participating' Edeka shops and not all Edeka shops. The ...
- 52.1k
27
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to book a specific seat on DB trains?
Click “Proceed”. The next page in the process then offers you the chance to choose a seat (“select seat”, highlighted in the screenshot).
- 11.4k
24
votes
Overcrowded German trains
Apart from the exception dunni mentions, buying a ticket and buying a reservation are completely independent of each other.
Only the cheap tickets (Sparpreis, Super-Sparpreis) have a Zugbindung, i.e.,...
- 361
22
votes
Accepted
How do DB seat numbers work?
The numbering scheme is based on historical international standards. Those were originally developed for compartment coaches, which is why always two rows are considered together (one compartment had ...
- 1,169
22
votes
Accepted
Why don't some German trains show up on Deutsche Bahn's website?
jcaron is correct with his comment. The train you are missing leaves Hamburg earlier and arrives later in Cologne than another train, so with the default search options, the travel planner does not ...
- 52.1k
22
votes
Do trains travel at lower speed to establish time buffer for possible delays?
In the UK trains are timetabled based on "Sectional Running Times" (SRTs). This is the time that a specific rolling stock type should take to travel between two locations (the Technical ...
- 321
20
votes
Identification on German trains
This question (and the current answers) are out of date. As of 1 October 2016 Deutsche Bahn no longer requires an identification card but only an official identity document (or their Bahncard).
Per ...
- 26.2k
20
votes
Accepted
Deutsche Bahn: What does "Train not bookable until further notice" mean?
I found the answer, thanks to a comment by @phoog.
The German version of the website says "Der Zug ist vorübergehend nicht reservierbar.", which seems to translate to "The train is temporarily not ...
- 1,143
20
votes
Deutsche Bahn: train cancelled and app shows "current alternatives"
Yes, you can take the alternative. Die "Zugbindung" (requirement to take a specific train) is voided if any of your booked trains is cancelled or unreasonably delayed. Then you can take any ...
- 83.1k
19
votes
Travelling with one e-ticket for two people through Dutch train stations
Print two copies of your e-ticket, so you can each go through independently. This may have the added advantage that if one of you visits the loo or otherwise needs to walk through the train, you can ...
- 53.7k
19
votes
Accepted
Is arriving at FRA by train 3 hours before my flight early enough?
Assuming your train is on time, or not extremely late, then you will have plenty of time.
The Fernbahnhof (long distance train station) at Frankfurt airport is connected via a covered walkway to ...
- 1,722
18
votes
Accepted
What kinds of compensation can I get from Deutsche Bahn for canceled and late trains?
You typically get the price of reservations for trains that didn't run reimbursed.
If you booked a flexible ticket and had to use trains of a lesser category for the whole, journey, you can also get ...
- 9,165
17
votes
Accepted
Deutsche Bahn (DB) Lounge Berlin
With the 1st class ticket you will get a more comfortable seat with more legroom for the 6 hour journey, and a free seat reservation(normally €4.50). For me that would be far more important that ...
- 552
17
votes
Travelling with one e-ticket for two people through Dutch train stations
Scanning printed tickets on Dutch railway stations is purely to open the gates. So if there is no gate you do not need to scan, it even says such on the Dutch (NS) self print railway tickets.
Scanning ...
- 56.7k
17
votes
How can remove unnecessary connections using bahn.de?
Sabine's answer is clever and seems to solve your problem, but, in general, if you're trying to book a train ticket and the website simply isn't doing what you want, you can also try calling Deutsche ...
- 12.1k
16
votes
Is there Wi-Fi in the ICE trains in Germany?
Since 1 January 2017 there is Wi-Fi in all ICE-Trains. From DB-Homepage:
In first class we offer you worry-free internet access. With the
internet provided in first class you can work ...
- 14.6k
16
votes
Fix Super Sparpreis ticket identity
I'm not sure what you wrote the first time, but I'd recommend writing to Deutsche Bahn a time or two again. You might get someone more interested in preserving customer goodwill over an honest ...
- 3,916
16
votes
How can I cancel a Deutsche Bahn ticket? I am covid positive
Unfortunately I don't believe there is anything you can do here, at least not via Deutsche Bahn.
DB's German website has a Corona-related FAQ page, but there's no mention of any special policy for ...
- 11.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible