The following is a list of frequently asked questions. Click on one of the links below to go straight to the relevant section.

If you have a different question, please contact us.

The Travel Service is intended for planning complete itineraries for individual journeys. It usually includes fare information and allows you to book your ticket(s) online - BahnCard (railcard) holders can even print their ticket(s) themselves at home - and to make seat reservation(s) online. The Travel Service also offers a choice of different transport modes, the Mobility Check which allows you to estimate the journey times and costs (especially as a comparison between rail and car travel), and also has options for advance booking of a hotel, car rental or even tickets for events at your destination.

However, if you want a simple and convenient way of inquiring
- the departure or arrival times at certain stations or public transport stops
- the arrival or departure platform at the station
- or make a last-minute check of whether the train will arrive or depart punctually,
then you would be better to choose 'Arrivals/Departures' rather than the Travel Service.

The Personal Timetable is the best option for those who regularly travel from A to B, in other words commuters or other people who repeat the same journey along the same route. You can enter details such as starting point and destination, weekday and time slot for arrival/departure, transmit that data online to a computer centre and, a short time later, you will receive a detailed timetable for your route in accordance with your requirements: your Personal Timetable.

After you have entered postal addresses and started the search, our information system will provide you with complete 'door-to-door' itineraries. These include the route on foot or by taxi - depending on the distance - from the address given as starting point to the first station, and also for the last leg of the journey, i.e. from the last station to the address given as destination. In the 'Connection Views', you can click the texts beside the icons for walking or taxi route. This takes you to the page 'Route Description' where you will find descriptions and maps of the routes on foot or by taxi. In most cases, an estimate of the taxi fare is also given for taxi routes.

Our information system includes all Deutsche Bahn stations as well as many other stations throughout Europe. It takes into account a total of approx. 50,000 stations throughout Europe and more than 180,000 public transport stops in Germany.

Thanks to successful cooperation with many national, regional and local transport companies and transport associations, the system also includes timetables for transport services offered by third parties. This means that customers have access to an extensive data pool which is constantly updated and covers virtually the entire public passenger transport services available throughout Germany and rail transport in many parts of Europe.

In addition to railway stations and public transport stops, the system also covers many addresses as starting point or destination. These data records are purchased by Deutsche Bahn and linked with the transport stations and stops. The address data corresponds to the high quality standards of commonly used route planning systems, which are primarily intended and used for private car journeys.

To give you an idea of the comprehensive volume of data available for these addresses and specially processed for Internet use, it can be said that the Travel Service already covers around three-quarters of the German population, who can be accessed simply by entering the place name and street. The quality standards of the address material vary from region to region: in conurbation areas in particular, the system includes practically all addresses, including the place name, street and house number. By contrast, the system does not yet cover all the addresses in rural areas.

The regional availability of address data can be classified in the following different quality levels:
- A - areas, which include virtually all addresses in full (place name/street/house number)
- B - areas, which include virtually all street names (but not house numbers)
- C - areas, which include only the addresses of some sectors (with or without house number)
- D - areas, which include only through roads and federal roads.

The advantage of searching door-to-door itineraries is that people who are not familiar with the destination do not have to go through the tedious process of studying the public transport system to find the nearest stop. All they need to know is the address of the individual starting point and destination, and the information system can determine their personal itinerary from door to door.

The Travel Service already knows well over 50,000 points of interest, most of which are in large cities or conurbation areas, organised into the following eight categories:

Do not be disappointed if you do not find the point of interest you are looking for. The Travel Service already features far more than 50,000 items and that figure is steadily rising.

Click the button 'My Profile' at the bottom of the Travel Service start page to save your own personal preferences as 'cookies'. These entries are automatically included in any new inquiry.

This allows you to alter standard settings permanently, so that any future searches automatically include BahnCard, for example, or 1st class coach, when calculating the fare.

A particular advantage is that you can save the last starting point and destinations you have entered, which means you do not have to enter complicated addresses for each new inquiry. The next search shows the last input stations/stops, addresses, points of interest (roughly ten) in a list box. To obtain this feature, tick the box 'Save last starting point/destination input & advanced settings'.

A further advantage of this option is that you can save your own distance settings as cookies: to determine these, click the button 'Advanced' beside 'Route to / from the station'. The next search automatically includes the maximum distance you have specified for journeys to and from the station to be made on foot, by taxi, bicycle, or your own car.

Before you click 'My Profile', you can enter individual settings for your car costs in the Mobility Check window. If you then change to 'My Profile', you can permanently store the data for your car class by clicking the button 'Submit'.

NB: Please remember that these advanced settings will affect the results of every future search. If you no longer want to have them taken into account, you can reverse or alter the settings again by clicking "Route to/from the station / Advanced" and also reverse or alter the car cost settings on the Mobility Check page.

In this case, the system knows several items which could apply, or which have the same spelling. For your own safety, it allows you to check your entry by offering a list box for you to choose from.

You can also obtain this list box by placing a question mark after the name of the station/stop as your input, and can then select the appropriate departure or arrival point from that list.

The system includes several matches, for example, if there is more than one station in the city you have chosen, or if there are several different towns with the same name (e.g. Neustadt).

Sometimes the system does not come up with a certain connection, even although you can check it 'manually' or know from experience that the connection exists. The reason for this is often that the system includes certain minimum times for changing (usually around 5 minutes, longer in some cases, occasionally less for certain connections). This means that the system sometimes does not show a connection as there is not enough time to change from one train to the next.

The start page of the Travel Service offers the option 'Select transport mode'. Click the first list box and select either 'without ICE', 'without ICE/IC/EC' or 'local traffic only'. You can also include or exclude individual transport modes by clicking the 'Advanced' button to the right. You can also make the selection for the return journey and state whether you wish to search only connections which allow carriage of bicycles.

Click 'Other options' to specify whether you wish the search to include only direct connections, with sleeping coach or couchette if appropriate. This allows you to determine which transport modes are to be taken into account.

If you wish to use a different transport mode for the return journey and delete the mark in front of "use same transport mode for return journey", after you have searched and selected the connection for the outward journey, a new window will appear to enable selection of all transport modes for the return journey.

The Happy Weekend Ticket and the Länder-Tickets (valid in the individual federal Laender) are only valid on Deutsche Bahn local trains, i.e. for S-Bahn [rapid transit] (S), RegionalBahn (RB), RegionalExpress (RE) and InterRegioExpress (IRE), for 2nd class travel without any kilometre restriction. In many regional/local transport associations, these tickets are also valid on buses and trams.

Simply click the first list box under 'Select transport mode' and select the option 'local traffic only'.

This also ensures that you do not confuse IRE (InterRegioExpress, the top-class train used on local services) with the IR (InterRegio is a long-distance train). The IRE is not indicated separately under 'Advanced' but is included in the group marked 'RE'.

To select connections for the Happy Weekend Ticket or Länder-Ticket under 'Advanced transport mode selection', simply remove the mark underneath or in front of ICE, EC/IC and IR.

In the Date and Time section of the start page, enter the relevant date and time of travel in the 'outward journey' box. Enter the date as DD.MM.YY, and the time as HH:MM. Select either Departure or Arrival as appropriate. The default setting is always Departure.

Then complete the Date and Time boxes in the Return Journey section. The default setting for these boxes is always empty, as these are optional entries only. Once again, the default setting is Departure.

Then click the button 'Search connections', which takes you to the page Your Connections (outward journey). Click the connection you wish for the outward journey, in the 'outward journey' section. This activates the system and takes you to the next page of Your Connections (Return Journey). In the Ticket section, click on 'Book' to book the return journey of your choice. This takes you to the page Your Connections, where you can also purchase the ticket if you wish.

Even if you have only entered the date and departure / arrival time for a single journey on the start page and have therefore left the boxes for the return journey empty, you can still start a search for return connections. To do so, click the second button "Change" at the top of the page Your Connections. This takes you to the start page where you can enter the details for your return journey.

As a rule, the timetable database is updated several times a month and corresponds to the status of the central DB AG computer in Frankfurt. At the moment, updated address data versions are input twice per annum. DB also conducts regular internal quality inspections.

This means that any connection which the system finds will definitely operate on the date specified (unless there are any unforeseen disruptions in rail operations).

The system also shows the weekdays on which the service runs. However, these are for information purposes only and show you the other days on which the service also runs. As the search automatically also shows an earlier connection, in some cases this may mean that the date of travel is the day before the one you have specified. In some cases, the journey from starting point to destination may take so long that the connection date refers to the following day.

The Travel Service also provides map sections for everyone who wants exact details of the route at the starting point or destination.

After you have entered starting point and destination, click 'Search connections '. The 'Station/Stop' section shows not only starting and destination stations and public transport stops, but also pedestrian, taxi, bicycle or car routes.
Click 'on foot' or 'taxi' to get to the 'Route Description - Map', which usually features both a text and graphic version. You need Acrobat Reader software to obtain the map.

Please note that any taxi fares quoted serve as rough guidelines only, which are based on various calculation criteria.

After you have searched the connections, the system will show several suggestions.

In the 'Time' section, you can request earlier or later connections if required.

If you click on the 'Zoom' icon in front of a connection, detailed information about that connection will be shown under the list of suggestions. You can also click the buttons 'Details of selection' or 'Details of all'. The detailed views provide useful information to facilitate your journey, such as platform numbers, names of train or bus services. Information on the distances to be covered on foot is particularly useful for passengers with a lot of luggage, for the elderly, or for passengers with restricted mobility.

You can also have all the "Via stations" shown for one or all connections.

The Travel Service also includes an option for comparing public transport using rail & bus with private transport by car, taxi, bicycle or on foot only.

This gives you a valuable aid when deciding how to reach your destination in the best possible time and at the lowest cost. In addition to 'conventional' connections, the Travel Service also compares the different transport modes in terms of journey time and full or variable costs.

If you wish to obtain this Mobility Check, first search the connections for your journey, then click 'Mobility Check' above the suggested connections.

NB: The system does not take into account any inadvisable options for private transport, for example if this involves a distance of more than 8 km on foot or more than 30 km by bicycle.

You can then determine certain criteria for the comparison, e.g. the car class and, as an alternative to the full costs according to the ADAC list, have your own annual mileage taken into account, or the costs per km you have calculated for your own car (fuel, servicing, insurance, road tax).

The private transport routes suggested by the Mobility Check also state average values for the journey time, cost and distance. Click 'Show' beside Map/Route to obtain a complete route planner which shows you the best private transport route, including a description and map.

The routes and maps are in PDF format and can, of course, be printed out for you to take with you on the journey.

Mobility is not only an important and indispensable element of modern society, but also has considerable environmental impact. Traffic, for instance, is one of the principal causes of the greenhouse effect. The individual choice of a more environment-friendly means of transport can consequently lead to a substantial reduction in environmental pollution.

The Environmental Mobility Check enables you to reach your own personal mobility decisions on the basis of ecological criteria. The Environmental Mobility Check provides a comparison of the environmental impact caused by public transport with rail & bus and that caused by private car on the route selected by you, from any given starting point to any given destination.

After your connection has been searched, click 'Environmental Mobility Check'. You will then receive a graphic and tabular comparison of the energy consumption and emission quantity of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas. You can also request the results for other emission factors (sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, non-methane carbons).

The results of the Environmental Mobility Check are calculated on the basis of default settings, which are described in a footnote to 'Your Mobility Check' and can be adapted if necessary by clicking 'Change'. This enables you to vary the car parameters (petrol/diesel engine, pollution class). You can also vary the public transport potential by changing the default setting 'average' capacity utilisation to 'full' capacity utilisation, i.e. if all the available seats are occupied. Calculating the capacity utilisation of the car is based on the number of persons you have stated for the price calculation (this figure can be changed if necessary). Alternatively, you can also select 'average' car utilisation factor.

In addition to the comparison of journey time and costs provided by the Mobility Check, the Environmental Mobility Check gives you a further criterion for reaching your decision by advising you of the fastest, cheapest and most environment friendly route to your destination.

The Environmental Mobility Check uses the parameters energy consumption and the emission of air pollutants and greenhouse gases to assess the environmental impact of the different means of transport.

Energy consumption is shown as the final energy consumption of the vehicle and primary energy consumption. To facilitate comparison, all energy units are converted into litres of petrol equivalents.

The final energy consumption refers to the energy that is directly required to power the vehicle, such as the tank fuel or the electricity consumption.

The primary energy consumption also takes into account the energy costs for extracting the primary energy source, such as oil, gas or coal. It also includes an allowance for the energy lost at the refinery or power station and during transport. The primary energy consumption is therefore a basis for the energy resources that are actually used.

In addition to the emission caused directly by the car, the Environmental Mobility Check also includes emission resulting from the provision of energy (e.g. from power stations or refineries).
With the focus on global and regional effects, it considers:

The Environmental Mobility Check was prepared with the assistance of the highly respected Institute of Energy and Environmental Research in Heidelberg (IFEU). The database includes the latest values for traffic energy consumption and emission issued by the Federal Environmental Office.

After your connection has been searched, the Travel Service offers a box 'Information and booking options at your destination' underneath the list of suggested connections.

Simply click the icon for Hotel, Car Rental or Event. This will show you, for example, the nearest car rental station and allows you to reserve a rented car in advance online. You can also see what's on at your destination and book tickets for an event there. You can also find and book the hotel room of your choice at your destination.

Although the Travel Service database includes all connection data for the railway and those regional/local transport associations with which we cooperate throughout the whole of Germany and sometimes even across the border into neighbouring countries, there are nevertheless still some transport systems, private railway routes (such as mountain railways) and other transport companies who unfortunately do not supply Deutsche Bahn with reliable and up-to-date fare information. We are consequently unable to include such transport companies in our Travel Service.

Nor is the cooperation between European railways so far advanced that we can exchange all the fare data for Europe between the railways' central computers every hour, so that we cannot provide reliable and up-to-date fare information for complete itineraries involving travel in other countries.

That is why the Travel Service sometimes states the fares for a part of the route only, which Deutsche Bahn AG knows to be reliable and up-to-date. Fare inquiries for international connections can show only the fares for the route segments inside Germany.

Click the section "Fare information only available in part" to obtain the fare information for the DB part of the route.

The Travel Service takes a number of saver fares into account, such as Sparpreis (Saver Ticket) and Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket (Happy Weekend Ticket) and automatically shows the cheapest offer for the suggested connections.

However, there are a number of other offers which you can also book directly online at www.bahn.de, such as BahnCard (railcard), Länder-Tickets (for the individual federal Laender), DB Autozug (motorail), monthly and annual tickets for the entire DB network, gift vouchers, InterRail passes, tickets for some regional/local transport associations and even travel insurance.

These offers can be booked online through our ticket shop at www.bahn.de, which you can access by clicking 'Tickets'.

These are normally available at Timetables > Arrivals/Departures.
However, you can also go to that page directly from the Travel Service. In the detailed view of your suggested route, click the name of a station or stop. This takes you straight to the station concerned, where you can call up the relevant departure or arrival board.