Germany’s trains are some of the cleanest. faster and more comfortable trains in Europe; It’s a joy to ride them. They transport you directly to the center of many of Germany’s most attractive cities and towns, from Berlin and Munich to smaller cities like Trier and Dresden. For traveling between cities, trains offer the best alternative to transportation by car. You won’t be spending half your vacation time searching for parking spaces and worrying about your rental car theft.
The train map below shows the main railway lines in Germany. Purple lines on the map indicate high-speed rail lines, suitable for Germany’s fast Inter City Express or ICE trains, which can travel more than 200 miles per hour.
If you’ve never traveled Europe by train before, you can check out Ten Tips for Traveling Europe by Train. It describes many of the procedures that are common for train travel in Europe, but seems to baffle those who have not grown up with the system.
See also: Interactive Germany Train Map Plan your itinerary and get ticket prices and travel times.
Where to go for information on train tickets in Germany
The best website to view train ticket prices is Rail Europe.
One way to save on tickets is to take advantage of a time when locals are using trains less. Weekend tickets are often heavily discounted. The Quer-Durchs-Land-Ticket offers a one-day pass ticket valid throughout the German rail system that gets cheaper as you add passengers traveling together.
Rail passes in Germany
These days there are special considerations that must be given before purchasing a rail pass. First of all, keep in mind that rail passes don’t always save you money. The key is to use your rail pass days for longer trips on faster trains. It’s a good idea to plan your trip with multiple ‘hubs’ from which you will branch out, using your rail pass to go between each hub, then using point-to-point tickets or even buses (or bus tours) for the day trip destinations near your center. That said, with good planning, you can save a lot of money on Germany’s relatively expensive trains by judicious use of a rail pass.
Find the right pass for you on Rail Europe: German Rail Passes (Direct Purchase).
Multiple youth passes can save students under the age of 26 a lot of money on train travel.
Buying a train ticket at a German station
Many German train stations have recently been updated, so buying a ticket is quite easy. The national and international ticket windows are clearly marked. Just step forward and say the number of tickets and your destination. Make sure you have the timetables for the train you want to travel on handy. Most accept VISA cards, for other types of credit cards you will have to look for the symbol. For tips on train travel in German and help with the language, see the Annotated Train Travel Glossary English-German
Types of trains in Germany
High-speed trains use the routes in purple on the map. The German high-speed train is called ICE for InterCityExpress. They travel at speeds of up to 250 km / hour without problems. There are tables with electrical connections for laptops. It is a good idea to get a seat reservation on an ICE train. There is a supplement that you will pay for these fast trains, but again, second class on an ICE train is often better than first class on some other train lines.
The City Night Line trains are making a comeback. They take you on some pretty attractive tourist routes, including Amsterdam to Copenhagen, Munich or Prague, Berlin to Paris, and Munich to Venice or Rome. See: Night trains in Europe.
