Hi there! Quick question for my fellow rail-fans here...

I'm arriving in Köln HBf on the Thalys and scheduled to depart on DB CityNightLine 43 minutes later. Any tips for how to keep this going smoothly? I've been through large HBfs before but never to catch an international departure, so I'm wondering if there's anything different I should be preparing for.

Oh, one other quick question. I bought my DB ticket over the internet and printed it on my American 8.5x11 paper. It says to print it on A4 paper, which is nearly identical. Are their barcode readers sufficiently flexible that 8.5x11 will be alright?

Thanks in advance!

That should be plenty of time providing your Thalys train isn't more than 38 minutes late.

Koeln Hbf is one of those "through" stations so you probably may/will have to go down the stairs/ramp and up another. Can't see anyone who is able taking more than 5 minutes to walk between the farthest platforms.

If your Thalys arrives in time there will be no problem for you to catch the train, the station is not that large

concerning the ticket: it should be no problem for the train-attendents to scan your ticket. Just be aware of the fact that German train-attendents do not speak english...its horrible

That quick? Oh, awesome.

Any problem with leaving the station, then, for a brief walk between the train rides? The HBf is right next to the Rhine and I was thinking of walking over there. Are there luggage lockers in the station?

Thanks, as always, for the info!

DB held special courses for the IC/ICE conductors before the World Cup. They now always make announcements in English and German. The English is sometimes not very understandable.
"Thank you for traveling with Deutsche Bahn and goodbye."

US Letter-size paper should be fine.

you don't want to do that. no need for lockers and 43min is not that much since the other train will be leaving. Add the time until everyone left the thalys, you had some coffee and go to the restroom and then walk over to the next platform. thats about the right time. maybe see the cathedral which is next to the railstation, but don't overestimate your time

You can also check the track locations of your arrival and departure at Köln HBF on the DB website. This will give you some idea of the proximity.

The chance of the Thalys being 40 minutes late...well, that would be very remote.

Yes, it should be no problem whatsoever. The first two times I used the DB print-at-home tickets, I printed on both US-Letter size and on A4 paper, just to be sure. On board the trains, all of the conductors accepted the letter-size without any question.

I think it's pretty horrible that American train attendants don't speak German!

As others mentioned, provided the Thalys is not seriously late your transfer should take 10 minutes at most if with very heavy luggage. And German conductors have pretty good training and used to international travellers so that shouldn't be an issue either.

Downstairs from the tracks is an extensive shopping arcade with a good choice of snacks and beverages from Burger King and currywurst to health options and Italian cakes. If you have a few minutes time it's worthwhile to visit.

There was a very interesting interview and article on the DB night trains in Monocle in February: http://www.monocle.com/sections/busi...sell---Berlin/ (subscription required, I bought the paper magazine)

And generally have to agree to Tyler Brule's opinion that a sort of "arrivals lounge" would be very welcome to justify current DB train pricing compared to flying. Let's say a few showers installed at each major German DB lounge exclusively for CNL travellers and a deli breakfast box against the higher fare CNL ticket would do fine.

The best service for night trains currently might be in either China or Russia if one pays for the better cabins. Food on board is also substantially better there most of the times. DB has some catching up to do if CNL is to became the European standard.

And quite frequently they do not speak any understandable English

I think sometimes train personnel around the world speak the universal private language of train announcements that are indecipherable to all but the conductor.