40 minutes late, exactly as predicted, but the train does pull in and I can board. The seat is not too bad, but no spying on the train driver today (I have gone in front and checked, as my assigned seat was in second coach).


Not the best train seat I’ve had, but it was alright. Especially for the relatively short trip.


Unfortunately, while the ride was comfortable, the delay chaos continued onboard. The train was formally shortened until Cologne, but apparently it is continuing onto Frankfurt, but under a different number. After stopping several times at random places, the delay has also increased to an hour. Not sure if it’s good news or bad, but I don’t think I have to care, as my next connecting train to the airport is also a bit delayed and I am almost certain to make the connection.


I took the picture to see what I will be able to get from DB… even if symbolic.


Originally, I was booked on a different ICE between Duisburg and the airport, as the one from Amsterdam doesn’t stop there (not sure why, it would make things a lot easier for people taking the train to fly). That plan was obviously not gonna happen with an hours delay, so I found the next departing train of any class to the airport – turned out to be a regional train. It was supposed to be delayed by 4 or 5 minutes, which was nice as I would only just have been able to make it if it was on time. And it arrived 4 or 5 minutes late, as expected. I got in in the little 1st class section (same seating as 2nd, but a separate door and enforced by the staff) and waited. And waited. And waited… minutes ticked on, delay counter in the train ticking on minute by minute too. When the conductor came on and said something about police and people on track, I thought I was done for. In the end, we departed some 15 minutes late. Arrived at the airport station 14:06, T-59 minutes. I was really expecting to be in the Senator lounge at this time.


Dangletrain arriving at the station to take me the last bit


By the time I got up to the dangletrain platform, it has just left. Luckily, these are running every 3 minutes, so no big deal. 5 minutes to the terminal, then to find the Austrian desks, tucked away in a corner, not nice. But OK, I made it in at 40 or 45 minutes until departure, just in time (though in theory, I could have even been 10 more minutes late).

Baggage dropped, I made my way to security, and it was shambles. One of the body scanners seems to have died, bag scan belt was full and not moving, and a bunch of people in front of me. And that was the priority queue – the regular queue seems to have been just abandoned totally. If I was there, I would have 100% missed the flight, hell, even if it was 30, 45 minutes later I am not sure I would have made it.
As it is, I have made it to the gate (first one right after the duty free) just as the boarding was supposed to start, and boarded just a couple minutes later when it did.