Hi,
I going to book a train ticket from Cologne to Amsterdam (on nshispeed).
The website gives me the choice between 12:46, 14:46, 17:46 and so on...
The problem is I don't know exactly when I will arrive to Cologne, so I thought to book the safe option for not to be late for train. But also it says that the ticket is valid for 1-day (home printed). Does it means that I can reserve any train for this day and take the earliest after I arrive to Cologne? Or my ticket will be valid only for the train that I choose?
I never traveled on train in Europe, so sorry if it is a stupid question.
The answer to your question depends on the type of ticket you are buying.
If it's a full-fare ticket (EUR 60) it's valid on any train.
If it's a saver ticket (available for EUR 29 or EUR 34 from what I can see) it's only valid on a specific train.
You don't need to reserve seats on German trains. Reserved seats are available for a small fee, but seat reservation is not compulsory. If you haven't got a reserved seat you just get on and look for a seat that hasn't got a "reserved" sign on it (or stand, if you can't find one!)
Programs: LH FTL, EK silver, IHG plat, DB Comfort, SPG
Posts: 484
I would definitely recommend to reserve a seat on the ICE from Cologne to Amsterdam (for the train you'll most likely be able to catch), even if it's not compulsory. Those trains, especially in late afternoon, are usually packed (I've even seen people standing in first class). The same is valid for the evening connection to Brussels, by the way.
If you don't manage to get a reservation, I recommend you look for a seat in coach #21 first. There are plenty of last-minute reservation seats there (marked by "ggf. freigeben") where it's quite likely that no one is going to expel you from your seat. Or, try one of the seats marked as "bahn.comfort" in coach 27 (the only ones able to expel you from there are status customers). Or, try to get a last-minute reservation from a ticket machine, this is possible as late as 10 mins before departure.
I am planning to travel the same route, two persons, midday on a Tuesday in May. After comparing nshispeed.nl and bahn.de, I got tickets from NS for €19 each instead of DB's €29. On DB a step was offered to reserve seats for €4 each, but on NS I completed the booking without being able to reserve seats. Is there a way to do it online or telephone? Is there a place in Zurich or Basel SBB to do it?
Programs: LH FTL, EK silver, IHG plat, DB Comfort, SPG
Posts: 484
You can reserve seats online at bahn.de - just follow the steps to make a booking for the trains that you already hild a ticket for, click on "book now" and select "reservation only" on the first page of the payment process. During this process, you may even select your seats from an airliner-style seatmap (click on the links below your suggested seat numbers). This will also cost 4 EUR per person and direction. Or you can call the hotline (bahn.de should give you the number) but the phone charges are quite expensive, so it will be more convenient do do this online.
Not sure whether SBB are able to do seat reservations for journeys that don't start within Switzerland.
You can reserve seats online at bahn.de - just follow the steps to make a booking for the trains that you already hild a ticket for, click on "book now" and select "reservation only" on the first page of the payment process. During this process, you may even select your seats from an airliner-style seatmap (click on the links below your suggested seat numbers). This will also cost 4 EUR per person and direction. Or you can call the hotline (bahn.de should give you the number) but the phone charges are quite expensive, so it will be more convenient do do this online.
bahn.de will only do reservation-only bookings for journeys entirely within Germany - so you can't use this to make a seat reservation for Köln-Amsterdam.
However, you could make a reservation on bahn.de for Köln - Oberhausen Hbf (the last stop before the border), and hope that no-one has reserved the same seat beyond that point (so you can sit in it all the way to Amsterdam).
I don't whether DB would be able to make a reservation from Köln all the way to Amsterdam over the phone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bruce80
Not sure whether SBB are able to do seat reservations for journeys that don't start within Switzerland.
Most European railway booking computers are interlinked, so almost any rail company can in theory make a reservation on almost any reservable train in Europe. (They can also normally sell tickets for any journey - but often only at the published international rate, not the discounted fares that may be offered by the actual operator). I've often made reservations through DB (by phone or over the counter - not possible online) for journeys entirely outside of Germany.
So, if DB could sell you a reservation-only for Köln - Amsterdam, then SBB should be able to do it over the counter as well...
However, you could make a reservation on bahn.de for Köln - Oberhausen Hbf (the last stop before the border), and hope that no-one has reserved the same seat beyond that point (so you can sit in it all the way to Amsterdam).
So, if DB could sell you a reservation-only for Köln - Amsterdam, then SBB should be able to do it over the counter as well...
Thanks for the Köln-to-border suggestion.
I was wondering if there was any DB office in Swiss stations, and if those offices/machines can do seat reservations. I would be in Switzerland earlier than Germany.
Most European railway booking computers are interlinked, so almost any rail company can in theory make a reservation on almost any reservable train in Europe.
On what evidence do you base this generalisation? Certainly not the case, in my experience. DB is one thing - much of the rest of Europe, another.
In Hungary, for example, the MAV system cannot sell tickets or reservations for French trains (and some other countries.) Ticketing agencies have to have access to two systems - MAV and OeBB - in order to increase their geographical sales footprint.
I was wondering if there was any DB office in Swiss stations, and if those offices/machines can do seat reservations. I would be in Switzerland earlier than Germany.
Help with train ticket reservation
