Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
» Taxis are metered and charged at a base rate (flag fall) plus a per-kilometre fee. These
are fixed but vary across cities. Some charge extra for bulky luggage or night-time rides.
Rarely can you flag down a taxi. Rather, you board at a taxi rank or order one by phone
(look their numbers up under
Taxiruf
in the phonebook).
Train
Germany's rail system is operated almost entirely by
Deutsche Bahn
(
www.bahn.com
)
with a bamboozling 'alphabet soup' of train types serving just about every corner of the
country. The system is efficient, but largely automated and unmanned. This can cause
problems when things go wrong as there are often no staff members around to whom you
can turn for information.
Most train stations have coin-operated lockers charging from €1.50 to €4 for 24 hours.
» Long-distance trains are either called ICE (InterCity Express), which travel at high
speeds, or the only slightly slower IC (InterCity) or EC (EuroCity) trains. Both run at
hourly or bi-hourly intervals.
» Regional service is provided by the IRE (InterRegio Express), the RB (RegionalBahn),
the SE (StadtExpress) and the S-Bahn.
Tickets
» Large train stations have a
Reisezentrum
(travel centre) where staff sell tickets and can
help you plan an itinerary (ask for an English-speaking agent). Smaller stations may only
have a few ticket windows or no staff at all.
» Sometimes you will have no choice but to buy your ticket from a vending machine.
These are plentiful at staffed and unstaffed stations and convenient if you don't want to
queue at a ticket counter. Instructions are in English and the ticket purchasing system has
been greatly simplified.
» Both ticket windows and machines accept major credit cards, but machines don't take
€50 notes. Tickets sold on board (cash only) incur a service fee (€3 to €8) unless the sta-
tion where you boarded was unstaffed or had a broken vending machine.
» Tickets are also available online up to 10 minutes before departure but need to be prin-
ted out.
» Tickets and passes are almost always checked. The fine for not holding a valid travel
document is €40.
