European Rail Travel - Bahn.de - Missed connection

I've booked self-print ticket for Amsterdam to Dusseldorf airport on bahn.de with following itinerary:

- 16:34 Amsterdam - 18:32 Duisburg Hbf (ICE)
- 18:42 Duisburg Hbf - 18:49 Dusseldorf Flughafen (RE)

Ticket says "GILT NUR FÜR EINGETRAGENE ZÜGE UND REISETAGE(ZUGBINDUNG)" - I understand it that I can use it only on those trains. However, what happens if first train (ICE) will be delayed say 15 minutes and therefore I'll miss my connection? Can I then simply hop on any other RE train to Dusseldorf Flughafen?

Yes. If the missed connection is out of your control, they will honor the ticket on other trains. Happened to me once too.

As long as its on the same itinerary. It pretty unlikely that you'll get checked on the RE anyhow, its just 5 minutes.

There are actually 2 factors here (both of which are in the OP's favour):
- On the 'Zugbindung' tickets, you have to travel on the specified long-distance trains (eg: ICE, IC/EC, D, CNL, EN, etc). However, if local trains (RE, IRE, RB, S), form part of the ticket, you don't need to travel on the specified local train, and can travel (once) on any other local train on that route the same day (or even first the following day, on some tickets). The ticket should say something like "NV = NAHVERKEHRSZÜGE VOR / NACH FERNVERKEHRSZÜGEN; GILT JE FAHRT MAX. 1 TAG BIS FOLGETAG 10 UHR"* (Some tickets don't explicitly have this condition written on them, but I think if it says "NV" for part of the routing, that rule still applies. The tickets do say that the routing written under the 'Fahrkarte' heading is binding, while the routing written under 'Ihre Reiseverbindung' is only advisory).

- If you miss a connection because a previous train on that ticket was late, then DB will allow you to take the next train. (In the case of short, local train, like this example, you can just jump on. However, for long-distance trains, I think you're supposed to check with DB first (eg: with the conductor on the delayed train), and if you're booked on a cheaper train (say IC/EC) and missed the connection, I'm not sure they'd would automatically let you take an ICE instead).

* NV = LOCAL TRANSPORTATION LINES BEFORE / AFTER LONG-DISTANCE TRAINS, IS PER TRIP MAX. 1 DAY UNTIL the following day 10 CLOCK

The ticket should say something like "NV = NAHVERKEHRSZÜGE VOR / NACH FERNVERKEHRSZÜGEN; GILT JE FAHRT MAX. 1 TAG BIS FOLGETAG 10 UHR"*

I don't have this, but I have this:
"Gültigkeit: ab 03.01.2012 - 02.02.2012 NV (S/RB/RE/IRE)"

Anyway, I'll try to travel on my original train and should I miss it, I'll speak with conductor at ICE (or simply hop on next regional train to airport).

Thanks for your help!

I don't have this, but I have this:
"Gültigkeit: ab 03.01.2012 - 02.02.2012 NV (S/RB/RE/IRE)"

Anyway, I'll try to travel on my original train and should I miss it, I'll speak with conductor at ICE (or simply hop on next regional train to airport).

Thanks for your help!

You don't have to - as others have pointed out, on that section you are allowed to use any regional train on that particular day. The trainbinding is only applicable to the ICE part (and moreover, in your case - only from the last Dutch station, i.e. Arnhem. But this is not relevant to your question).

Another hint (although probably not applicable to this situation, as there are no other trains on the Netherlands-Düsseldorf relation): If your train is already delayed at your departure station and there is another train which will most likely enable you to catch your connecting train somewhere else, just check with the information counter of your departure station. They will most likely stamp your ticket with "Zugbindung aufgehoben" (train obligation revoked) so as to enable you to take the other train to make your connection (at least they usually do in germany). Should you miss your connection which in turn leads to a total delay of more than one hour, they have to pay compensation, so it is entirely in their interest to enable you to make the connection.

If you have already missed your train (or decide to take a train of a higher category to minimize your delay), I wouldn't use the information counter (or Service Point, as they say) but instead simply jump onto the next train. If you explain the situation to the conductor, everything will usually be fine. If they don't believe you, ask them to check with the dispatchers ("Transportleitung") and if they still want to charge you for the fare difference, demand that they note your name on the ticket, confirm everything with a clipper print (ask for a "Zangenabdruck") and later hand everything in to the "Servicecenter Fahrgastrechte" which is responsible for compensation and refund matters in such cases.

- If you miss a connection because a previous train on that ticket was late, then DB will allow you to take the next train. (In the case of short, local train, like this example, you can just jump on. However, for long-distance trains, I think you're supposed to check with DB first (eg: with the conductor on the delayed train), and if you're booked on a cheaper train (say IC/EC) and missed the connection, I'm not sure they'd would automatically let you take an ICE instead).

As mentioned several times already, tickets for most local trains in Germany and the Netherlands are not train-specific, even though it does say so on the ticket. There should be no problem whatsoever taking a different regional train to DUS.

On the Amsterdam to Duisburg line, you do require a train-specific ticket. Should you miss your connecting ICE train, a DB staff member will stamp your original ticket and write the details of your permitted new train on the ticket. You can now only travel on that train.

You will not be 'upgraded' from IC/EC to ICE.

You will not be 'upgraded' from IC/EC to ICE.

I was allowed to travel on an ICE after missing a connection. I think it all depends on how long you would otherwise have to wait

The ticket should say something like "NV = NAHVERKEHRSZÜGE VOR / NACH FERNVERKEHRSZÜGEN; GILT JE FAHRT MAX. 1 TAG BIS FOLGETAG 10 UHR"*

I don't have this, but I have this:
"Gültigkeit: ab 03.01.2012 - 02.02.2012 NV (S/RB/RE/IRE)"
The regional train portion is good for a month instead of just the next day, due to the fact that it's an international ticket. This provision can be useful if you plan ahead when booking. ;)

To add to the above, make sure you don't discard your ticket immediately upon arriving at Düsseldorf airport station as you'll probably want to take the inter-terminal transit, which is not free although it's included on any rail ticket.

To add to the above, make sure you don't discard your ticket immediately upon arriving at Düsseldorf airport station as you'll probably want to take the inter-terminal transit, which is not free although it's included on any rail ticket.

Well, that shouldn't be necessary - while the train is technically part of the VRR fare system, I have never encountered a ticket check on the Skytrain, nor have several airport employees to which I have talked about the topic (and they should be on that transit every day). Another problem is that there is no DB ticket machine in the terminal building, only a Rheinbahn machine which doesn't sell tickets for journeys exceeding the VRR borders which would technically require you to buy several tickets at higher prices than a combined DB ticket from the long distance train station would cost. To be honest, I've never had a valid ticket to travel from the terminal to the train station, and I've never gotten into trouble.

Ah, and something more: If you are on tight connections and need to buy a ticket at the train station, be sure to be one of the first people (no - be the first) to get off the Skytrain and hurry - I mean it, hurry - towards the station, as there are only 4 ticketing machines available for the whole bunch of people getting off the Skytrain - and expect a majority to need more than 10 minutes to get their tickets out of the machines, as most people there don't know how to handle them.

Ah, and something more: If you are on tight connections and need to buy a ticket at the train station, be sure to be one of the first people (no - be the first) to get off the Skytrain and hurry - I mean it, hurry - towards the station, as there are only 4 ticketing machines available for the whole bunch of people getting off the Skytrain - and expect a majority to need more than 10 minutes to get their tickets out of the machines, as most people there don't know how to handle them.

Useful to know (although I think the OP is travelling in the other direction - arriving at DUS by train). Also, these days you can buy virtually all DB tickets online at bahn.de, and print them out yourself in advance - which can save precious minutes spent queuing at a ticket machine when trying to make a tight connection. (This is also useful at NUE, and perhaps other airports, where there's no DB ticket machine at the airport, but (some) DB tickets are valid on the U-bahn into town - so you don't need to buy a separate ticket for the U-bahn if you have a self-print DB ticket).

Slightly OT: I wish airports would put railway ticket machines inside the baggage hall. That way, you could easily buy your train tickets while waiting for baggage to arrive. A few airports seem to do this for car park tickets, but I don't think I've seen any that do it for train services.

My night-train memory, 2011 timetable:
Europe: R440, R441, CNL456, EN477, 60477, D347, D498, 435, 824
SE Asia: 69, SE3

Also, these days you can buy virtually all DB tickets online at bahn.de, and print them out yourself in advance - which can save precious minutes spent queuing at a ticket machine when trying to make a tight connection.

Yep, but that does only apply to tickets involving a journey involving some long-distance train. When you try to book a ticket within VRR (or even some types of regional train tickets within Northrhine-Westphalia), the DB website says "Preisauskunft nicht möglich" ("Price calculation not possible") and doesn't offer you the option to buy online. Your only option would be the Rheinbahn ticket machine at the Skytrain station (which only sells VRR tickets). There would be the option to buy your ticket using your cell phone (provided you have an internet connection), but for those living abroad, this doesn't really make sense as the connection fees are probably higher than the ticket itself.

Yep, but that does only apply to tickets involving a journey involving some long-distance train. When you try to book a ticket within VRR (or even some types of regional train tickets within Northrhine-Westphalia), the DB website says "Preisauskunft nicht möglich" ("Price calculation not possible") and doesn't offer you the option to buy online. Your only option would be the Rheinbahn ticket machine at the Skytrain station (which only sells VRR tickets). There would be the option to buy your ticket using your cell phone (provided you have an internet connection), but for those living abroad, this doesn't really make sense as the connection fees are probably higher than the ticket itself.

OK, good point. I guess I've never tried to purchase an urban-area ticket online. However, Länder Tickets are now available as self-print tickets online - which is very useful if you're travelling medium distance, and are happy to use regional trains. (As this means you're not tied to a specific train (as you would be with the Sparpreis tickets on ICEs/ICs) and therefore you don't have a problem if your flight is late and you need to take a later train, but also you don't need to waste time queuing if you've bought your ticket online in advance). However, a Länder Ticket would be an expensive alternative if in fact you only need an urban-area ticket.

In looking at some options for future travel, I see some extremely cheap tickets (less than half of the normal Sparpreis fare for this itinerary). The thing is, the transfer times are extremely short (2-6 minutes).

I'm wondering if part of the reason the tickets are so cheap is the short transfer time. Let's assume the train arrives on time, but 2 minutes isn't enough for us to board the next train. Would DB expect us to purchase new tickets since we bought the tickets and the trains were on time?

what kind of trains we talking about?

Would DB expect us to purchase new tickets since we bought the tickets and the trains were on time?

no. just go to the service point and they will stamp your tickets and you can take the next train available in same category :)

what kind of trains we talking about?

Sorry for the slow response, IC and IRE.

no. just go to the service point and they will stamp your tickets and you can take the next train available in same category :)

Good deal. Thanks! :)

Sorry for the slow response, IC and IRE.oke only for ICE, TGV, IC and EC you need a "Stamp". On R, RE, IRE, REX,... you can take the next w/o Stamp.

oke only for ICE, TGV, IC and EC you need a "Stamp". On R, RE, IRE, REX,... you can take the next w/o Stamp.

Wonderful. It looks like only the first train is IC, and all the really tight connections are to IRE trains, so we shouldn't have any trouble. Thanks!

My came to visit me the other day and missed his connection to the ICE to Brussels in Frankfurt due to a delayed inbound train. The next connection involved a Thalys (plus changes at Köln-Deutz and Köln-Hbf instead of a direct train). He went to the service centre in Frankfurt Hbf to make sure he doesn't need a reservation on the Thalys (as the previous conductor told him). Lo and behold, they tell him that he needs to buy an entirely new ticket for the Thalys at €75 I think. However, they will refund it once he sends in the ticket afterwards.

Is that right? Could they not just have issued a Thalys ticket right away without my dad having to go through the hassle of retro-claiming everything (on top of the hassle of a much less convenient connection and an hour delay)?

Is that right? Could they not just have issued a Thalys ticket right away without my dad having to go through the hassle of retro-claiming everything (on top of the hassle of a much less convenient connection and an hour delay)?

Well, Thalys is a bit of a difficult thing. As they are not part of the official DB fare system (except for Cologne-Aachen where an ICE ticket in 2nd class without reservation is sufficient to take Thalys, but then you are restricted to coach 28) it is always very difficult (if not impossible) to switch from DB to Thalys tickets.

Also, the conductors on Thalys trains seem to be really unforgiving about "invalid" tickets (I could tell quite a lot of such stories). Once, some other passenger travelling on the same THA train as me had the very same problem. The people in Frankfurt had told him to use the THA instead of the missed ICE (obviously, they didn't know that ICE tickets to Brussels aren't valid on the THA) and so he insisted they take him to Brussels on Thalys. The thalys conductor got very unfriendly (also a common thing on THA), shouted at the passenger and demanded that he buy a new ticket. The passenger refused and in the end, after almost half an hour of discussion, the passenger was "convinced" by the conductor to get off at Aachen for another connection to Brussels (as the conductor threatened to have him removed from the train by the police).

Well, Thalys is a bit of a difficult thing. As they are not part of the official DB fare system (except for Cologne-Aachen where an ICE ticket in 2nd class without reservation is sufficient to take Thalys, but then you are restricted to coach 28) it is always very difficult (if not impossible) to switch from DB to Thalys tickets.I understand that, but they were able to sell him a ticket at the DB service centre in Frankfurt Hbf. So could they not have waived the charge right away and billed it to the "disruptions" cost centre instead? It just seems that this would have been a far easier solution for passenger, and less bureaucracy for DB.

My came to visit me the other day and missed his connection to the ICE to Brussels in Frankfurt due to a delayed inbound train. The next connection involved a Thalys (plus changes at Köln-Deutz and Köln-Hbf instead of a direct train). He went to the service centre in Frankfurt Hbf to make sure he doesn't need a reservation on the Thalys (as the previous conductor told him). Lo and behold, they tell him that he needs to buy an entirely new ticket for the Thalys at €75 I think. However, they will refund it once he sends in the ticket afterwards.

Is that right? Could they not just have issued a Thalys ticket right away without my dad having to go through the hassle of retro-claiming everything (on top of the hassle of a much less convenient connection and an hour delay)?

Surely this sort of situation should be covered by RailTeam's ‘Hop on the next available train (http://www.railteam.co.uk/for-your-journey/railteam-services/)’ (HOTNAT) guarantee? Their website says:
In the event of a delay that causes you to miss your reserved connection, you can use your existing ticket to take the next available train – without any complications or needing to rebook. The ‘Hop on the next available train’ service is subject to availability and does not guarantee you a seat.


Thalys and DB ICE are both in RailTeam - so the only possible reason I can see for not applying HOTNAT in this context would be if the (delayed) incoming train was not an ICE. However, as the journey was international, it should still be covered by the CIV, which gives the same kind of protection*.

I assume the original journey was all booked as one ticket?

* EDIT: Actually, it seems that CIV protection (http://www.cit-rail.org/files/Documentation_EN/Passenger/GCC_CIV_PRR/GCC_CIV-PRR_EN_2012-01-01.pdf?cid=224) only applies to trains run by the same operator(s) (ie: another ICE, in this case):
9.1.3 Return to the starting point of the journey or continuation of the journey are only possible using the carriers taking part in the performance of the contract of carriage.
However, as far as I can tell, HOTNAT should still have applied...

Thalys and DB ICE are both in RailTeam - so the only possible reason I can see for not applying HOTNAT in this context would be if the (delayed) incoming train was not an ICE.

DB is a full member and Thalys is an associate member - whatever that means! I get the feeling that Railteam is watering down the original "promises".

This could be of importance to those travelling ex-London on DB's Europa Spezial tickets. The 15:04 St Pancras departure is sold as a connection on to the last ICE of the day from Brussels, with a 20-minute connecting time. What happens if you miss the connection - are you allowed on the next Thalys or not?

Please note there some "Private Train Companys " in Europe like "Westbahn AT".

Thalys and DB ICE are both in RailTeam - so the only possible reason I can see for not applying HOTNAT in this context would be if the (delayed) incoming train was not an ICE. However, as the journey was international, it should still be covered by the CIV, which gives the same kind of protection.

I assume the original journey was all booked as one ticket?All on one ticket, albeit a discounted ticket ("Europa-Spezial Belgien" for €110.90 return). Delayed, incoming train at Frankfurt was an ICE from Munich.

I have no idea why HOTNAT would not be applied.

I understand that, but they were able to sell him a ticket at the DB service centre in Frankfurt Hbf. So could they not have waived the charge right away and billed it to the "disruptions" cost centre instead? It just seems that this would have been a far easier solution for passenger, and less bureaucracy for DB.

I believe that, implementing the european passenger rights, everything concerning DB has to pass through the "Servicecenter Fahrgastrechte" now.

I remember that, in ancient times, the conductors on the delayed train simply handed out a compensation voucher, and then you would walk up to the ticket counter to redeem it. As simple as it can possibly get.

But now.. I remember than once when they sent me an incorrect invoice for my BC and I complained to the BC service center, they told me to pay the invoice anyway and then they sent me a voucher for the incorrectly billed amount - instead of simply cancelling the invoice.