Berto

So, I’m preparing myself for the possibility that this may have happened to me. Ordered a ticket last Tuesday night (early Wednesday Germany time), and it still has not shown up in my PO Box (processed later that day according to bahn.de). Typically when I have ordered tickets I get them in 4 approx. days (sometimes including weekends), such as the other ticket I purchased on the 19th that showed up on the 23rd. Pretty much it boils down to that I am getting on a plane Friday night and I won’t have it as I head off to Europe.

Poking around the internet this morning I found some discussions about this, and that you have to buy a new ticket and then send a form along with evidence to DB in order to get a refund of the replacement ticket. Since then I haven’t been able to retrace my steps to where I found this and figured someone here would know what to do (or even what form to use). Is it possible to take proof of purchase with me to a DB service counter in order to expedite this?

In the end I probably should have checked to see if I could have purchased an Online-Ticket vs. via Post, but for some reason I do not think that was an option. Let's just hope that in the next three days it shows up in my box and I don't have to worry about this at all...

alex0683de

This seems like the most likely outcome to me. I used to live in the States, and whenever we got letters from Germany, the delivery time could vary a bit. 4 days was usually on the fast side - 6 or 7 was a more reasonable average, but sometimes it took 10 days.

Don't panic. Wait until Friday to do so.

As for what happens if the ticket really doesn't show up:

Take proof of your purchase (i.e. the confirmation e-mail) to the ticket counter when you buy a replacement ticket. Have them write a little remark on your proof of purchase that you've purchased a new ticket for the same route and date because your ticket hadn't shown up yet after x days. Then when you get home, and the ticket is there, mail your new ticket, your unused, delayed original ticket, and the proof of purchase with the remark on it to Deutsche Bahn Ticket Services in Frankfurt asking for a refund of the new ticket due to the old ticket's delay in getting to you (make sure you keep copies of everything!).

If the ticket is really lost and never does turn up, I'm not sure what the procedure would be.

Berto

Good News! It showed up in my mailbox today, waiting for me to grab it. I guess I was just being a bit impatient which is funny since I think nothing of it when it takes 1.5-2 weeks for a piece of mail to go Florida->Minnesota, but I start to worry when something does come from across the Atlantic doesn't make it to my mailbox in 4 days!

Reindeerflame

The real secret is that DB uses ordinary mail, that is, airmail, rather than a more expensive next-day-type delivery service. That seems to happen less and less in the U.S. even for fairly routine mailings.

For example, Morton's sent me a gift certificate in response to a "complaint" and I was looking for it in my mailbox; instead, it arrived a week later in the form of a Fedex envelope on my porch. That was overkill.

SmilingBoy

As far as I know, Online tickets are virtually always available if you use trains in Germany, or DB trains going abroad. Exception is if you start your trip abroad - so Brussels-Frankfurt-Brussels is not available as an Online-Ticket, whereas Frankfurt-Brussels-Frankfurt is.

rj123456

I just booked Cologne-London St. Pancras tickets on bahn.de and there was no choice for an online ticket, only by mail.

buena40

I just booked a ticket online while in the States for a Berlin-Warsaw trip on July 4th. I printed the ticket out. Unfortunately, I don't read German so I have to guess at some of the info. Does anyone know luggage policy? I am traveling in first class and will have one big, one carryon and a backpack?

Anyone know if I need to book in advance for Prague to Vienna or Vienna to Budapest? There seem to be more of those trains going each day.

SmilingBoy

That is to be expected since Brussels-London is not operated by Deutsche Bahn.

Aviatrix

You just get on the train with whatever you can carry. There is no luggage policy

kanopemainer

Ordered on line the "Deutschland Ticket" for Euro 299.00 (adult) on Thu 16 Jul and received in ordinary mail from DB my ticket on Tue 21 Jul
I live in Maine

aaron1262

online tickets are so much easier...just found out that i could reserve my couchette last night on DB for my overnight train instead of having to pay rail europe their ridiculous prices. Thank you FT!

ptr120

Would love to see a trip report for that one. I've considered it several times, but LHR is much closer to my destination, and I like my SEN card too much!

chexfan

I came to this forum looking for some info on how long to expect a ticket to arrive in Seattle from DB and it was here.

Thanks for the info folks!

marlborobell

I did Waterloo-Cologne-Waterloo many years ago (before any of the high-speed lines except Calais-Brussels opened) One change in Brussels, a five-hour trip, very easy.

The biggest problem was that nobody knew how to sell me a ticket for it. I think Eurostar have their act together rather better now, but it was a pig and a half just buying the ticket.

My colleagues flew and thought I was nuts to take the train -- my reasoning was that if I would normally take the train from London to Glasgow (also five hours), why not London-Cologne?

terrysalmi

I did this basic trip in April, except it was to Rheydt-M'gladbach via Aachen. A very nice and easy trip indeed, except it got a little long with regional trains at both ends - Huntingdon-London-Brussels-Aachen-Rheydt using Nat'l Rail, Eurostar, Thalys, and DB respectively. Brussels was easy to transit through except for finding proper euro change for the toilets on the far other side of the station.

On the return, it was a good thing my American family had our very good German Friend go to the Rheydt platform with us, since a quiet announcement was made in German saying our train to Aachen was running 20 minutes late - a small problem with a 15 minute connection. She loaded us into her car, and took off down the Autobahn at 200km/hr getting us to the Aachen HBF with plenty of time to catch the Thalys and the remaining trips.