Train Mainz Hbf - Duisburg Hbf (DBB) 2nd class EUR38.98 for two (EUR28.98 with EUR10 voucher)

Train Duisburg Hbf - Frankfurt Flughafen (DBB) 2nd class EUR34.99 (EUR24.99 with EUR10 voucher)

I have two rail trips to report here, one from Mainz up to the Ruhrgebiet, and the other from the Ruhrgebiet down to Frankfurt airport. The German train company, Deutsche Bahn (DB), is not going through a good period. When English visitors start complaining about how bad DB is, when you consider how universally awful the trains are in England, you know that something is terribly wrong. With its constant breakdowns, delays and cancellations, DB has become the laughing stock of Europe. This is due to years of underinvestment into the infrastructure by the German government. At the time of these trips (early July) one of the most important arteries in Germany, the Riedbahn between Frankfurt and Mannheim, is due to be closed for several months while a total renovation of the tracks will be carried out. I don't even want to think of the chaos this is going to cause.

The first trip, from Mainz to Duisburg, began well with the train gently weaving its way down the Rhine gorge towards Koblenz, which lulled me to sleep. The second class seat in the final carriage was comfortable enough but yielded the usual back pain. Luckily the carriage was not full and the journey was calm, apart from a loud talking old man who was probably deaf. Unfortunately, we had to stop at a little station in the middle of nowhere called Andernach because kids had been sighted on the tracks, causing a security and safety scare. In the end we reached Duisburg 63 minutes later than expected, but an almost immediately connecting train to Mülheim an der Ruhr was quickly found. As an apology from DB I received a voucher to the value of €10, which I used for the trip back to Frankfurt, and also compensation of €12.25 for the delayed trip.

The next trip a couple of weeks later, from Duisburg to Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof (Frankfurt airport long distance train station), had me worried because I had a flight at 11h45. So I chose a direct train which followed the high speed rail route instead of running along the Rhine gorge, with a scheduled arrival time of 08h50 at FRA airport. As it happened, the train arrived at Frankfurt airport a couple of minutes early, defying all expectations of DB performance at the moment! The trip was pleasant and calm with no problem to find a seat, although the train did fill up after leaving Cologne (Köln). I resisted ordering a coffee from the service team, who passed twice, which was not easy because the aroma was great!



Mainz Hauptbahnhof (Mainz main train station)


2nd class carriage on a normal IC (InterCity) train on the way down the Rhine gorge to Cologne


Another view in a different carriage on the same train