Advice for rebooking Bruxelles-Nürnberg

[alex397]

On Monday 17th July I have booked ICE13 at 08.23 from Bruxelles-Midi to Frankfurt (M) Hbf (11.31) then ICE623 from there (11.53) to Nürnberg Hbf (14.22).

I have since received an email from DB to state this this journey is no longer possible, so I have to rebook it.

There is still an 08.23 ICE from Bruxelles but it takes longer, with a diversion via Siegburg/Bonn, arriving Frankfurt at 12.32, then a 21 min connection (not ideal!) for the 12.53 ICE625 arriving 15.28. This is likely what I’ll do instead. However it is about €30 more expensive than originally which is a bit annoying. The email does mention:
“If you had booked a reservation, you can book yourself a new seat - if available. You will be refunded the cost of the first reservation you did not use. To request your refund, please either contact your point of sale or write informally to the Passenger Rights Service Centre in 60647 Frankfurt (M). Alternatively, you can also use the digital passenger rights application Digital passenger rights.” - hopefully this won’t be too complicated!

It also says that “You can now use your ticket for other trains of Deutsche Bahn” - I presume this mean that the money I’ve already spent will go towards the new ticket, but it’s not clear if I’ll have to pay the extra €30 (I suspect I will).

Something I may consider is changing at Köln. ICE623 does in fact start at Duisburg and stops at the Köln Messe station (not Hbf). If I changed here, it gives a longer interchange of about 30 mins. Obviously I’d have to also travel between Hbf and Messe but that shouldn’t take long. Would this be a better option than changing at Frankfurt?

Lastly, what is the reason for this change? Is it due to diversions, or is this a permanent change?

I can’t say I’m feeling particularly confident about my trip (which is from London-Prague and return) as I’m not hearing great things about DB at the moment, and having to rebook isn’t a great start.

 

[Mainline421]

You don't need to pay any extra or indeed do anything, just get on the alternative trains you've found and show your original ticket.

 

[Peterthegreat]

The line is closed for engineering work between Aachen and Koeln and trains will be diverted with an extended journey time of about an hour,

 

[zero]

Why is a 21 minute connection not ideal when the original itinerary had a 22 minute connection?

As mentioned you do not need to do anything with your ticket, it's only if you paid for a seat reservation, and you want to pay for one on the new itinerary, that you need to do something.

You could take earlier trains if you wanted to arrive closer to the original arrival time. Or any trains that day on the same route, I believe.

 

[30907]

You don't need to pay any extra or indeed do anything, just get on the alternative trains you've found and show your original ticket.

Yes, this is standard DB practice whenever there is a significant delay. You can use any train that day.

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

You will get there just fine, but it would be worth allowing about 60 - 90 minutes on top of the new times for arrival in Nuremberg as the whole long distance network does creak a little pretty much all the time. At Frankfurt Hbf, you would have to move across by 5-6 platforms or so and it can be a little crowded, but c.10min interchange time is fine. Koelen HBT for Koelen-Deutz is a liittle messy, particularly with baggage. But, actually, ICE 625 stops at Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof station, so the best is just to get off the ex-Bruxelles train there and ICE 625 will be on the same platform or on its opposite face. Simples!

Based on experience, looking at your itinerary,I would say you have about 75% chance of arriving at the Fernbahnhof in the new timings, and about a 67% chance that the ICE from Essen arrives on time there.

 

[Teebs]

I'm in the same situation for a trip in July. To add to what other people have said, it may be worth buying the reservation for the new trains even though your ticket is still valid because it will ensure you get seats on the new trains.

 

[alex397]

You don't need to pay any extra or indeed do anything, just get on the alternative trains you've found and show your original ticket.

I can understand if it was a delay or diversion at short notice, but as i've ben given advance warning, will I really be able to just use the same ticket? The 0823 train won't be a problem, but i'm more concerned about the Frankfurt-Nuremberg connection where I will have to get a different train rather than the one booked. Will I be able to buy a reservation for this train even though this journey is not on my ticket?

Why is a 21 minute connection not ideal when the original itinerary had a 22 minute connection?

As mentioned you do not need to do anything with your ticket, it's only if you paid for a seat reservation, and you want to pay for one on the new itinerary, that you need to do something.

You could take earlier trains if you wanted to arrive closer to the original arrival time. Or any trains that day on the same route, I believe.

Good point - I had forgotten my original connection time was pretty much the same!

Thanks for the reassurance. I will have a proper read of DB terms to see how to sort out the reservation.

I could get the 0623 train instead, but that would be exceptionally early for me (especially as it will feel like 0523 with the hour change).

Yes, this is standard DB practice whenever there is a significant delay. You can use any train that day.

Thanks for the reassurance. I can understand that for short notice issues, but i'm surprised I don't need to change my ticket. It would have been reassuring if that was made clear in DB's email, but I appreciate it has been translated from German and I shouldn't expect perfect English.

 

[Mainline421]

I can understand if it was a delay or diversion at short notice, but as i've ben given advance warning, will I really be able to just use the same ticket? The 0823 train won't be a problem, but i'm more concerned about the Frankfurt-Nuremberg connection where I will have to get a different train rather than the one booked. Will I be able to buy a reservation for this train even though this journey is not on my ticket?

Thanks for the reassurance. I can understand that for short notice issues, but i'm surprised I don't need to change my ticket. It would have been reassuring if that was made clear in DB's email, but I appreciate it has been translated from German and I shouldn't expect perfect English.

Yes. I can see in your first post you even mentioned they said “You can now use your ticket for other trains of Deutsche Bahn" Which I'd say makes it pretty clear if you didn't know.

You can buy a reservation without any proof of a ticket on bahn.com, but I've never bothered paying for reservations in Germany. Like the UK it's a walk up railway and your ticket will be treated as a Flexpreis (Anytime single) under these circumstances.

 

[JWK]

I’m due to be travelling on ICE315 from Brussels to Köln on 8 July - I’ve not had any contact from DB, but alerted by this thread, I see it is now timed to terminate at (rather inconvenient) Köln-Ehrenfeld significantly later than expected. However, if I put the journey into the DB Navigator, it suggests that changing onto the RE1 service at Aachen will still get me to the Hbf and only about 30mins later than originally expected. The RE1 seems to be running the normal route via Düren, which seems a bit odd if there is a bridge-based engineering works on that line and ICEs/Thalys are being diverted. However, I can’t find anything on either DB or National Express Deutschland sites to suggest any expected changes at all to that bit of the RE1 route in July. Does anyone happen to know for certain if this is accurate? Many thanks!

 

[duesselmartin]

I think the bridge based engineering means that only a single track is available. Therefore some but not all services are diverted. It seems priority is given to communters.

 

[JWK]

I think the bridge based engineering means that only a single track is available. Therefore some but not all services are diverted. It seems priority is given to communters.

Thank you - that’s would make sense!

 

[30907]

Another possible explanation is that alterations to the regional services haven't yet been finalised/uploaded, which is just as common with DB as here

I fear this is the case here

The VRS site: https://www.vrs.de/fahren/fahrplanauskunft/grossbaustellen-in-der-region says in its preview (updated May) for Jul 1 onward "total closure... provisionally cancellation of RE1, S19, and RE19"

Totalsperrung aufgrund von Brückenarbeiten; Voraussichtlich Ausfall der Linien RE 1
(RRX), S 19 und RE 9 zwischen Aachen Hbf und Düren über den gesamten Zeitraum.

 

[JWK]

Another possible explanation is that alterations to the regional services haven't yet been finalised/uploaded, which is just as common with DB as here

I fear this is the case here

The VRS site: https://www.vrs.de/fahren/fahrplanauskunft/grossbaustellen-in-der-region says in its preview (updated May) for Jul 1 onward "total closure... provisionally cancellation of RE1, S19, and RE19"

Feared as much. Will amend my journey to travel on an earlier ICE!

 

[valedave]

Everyone has pretty much explained it, but for clarity:

The change in timetable means that the Zugbindung – the obligation to travel on the booked long-distance trains (in your case the ICEs) – on your Sparpreis has been lifted, so you are now free to travel on any trains on that day between Brussels and Nuremberg, until 3am the next day if need be. You are under no obligation to take the quickest connections, by the way.

I have done this journey multiple times this year and try to avoid Frankfurt Hbf whenever possible. The concourse is tiny for such a busy station and it is always rammed. It's also in a particularly unsavoury part of town so attracts its fair share of interesting characters, although admittedly that's not a problem here as you aren't there very long.

This connection can also be made at Frankfurt Flughafen, albeit at an even tighter 18 minutes. Although often busy, Frankfurt Flughafen has significantly more space and is therefore much less congested (no regional trains in the station, fewer people generally). There are also all the amenities you would normally need just up the escalator (DB customer service and info point, Starbucks, Rossman, Rewe, bakery/coffee shops, Asian food, oh yes and free toilets if you walk towards the terminal).

Here it is if I add "Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbf" as a waypoint:



If you want to take the opportunity to stop for some food or whatever and make use of your entitlement to take any train that day, there are hourly services to Nuremberg. Although obviously I'm not certain how that affect onward travel. Here:



You can book a reservation for any train, without needing to hold a valid ticket for it, on the bahn.com website. Simply enter the required service in the main search bar and click "Seat only (no ticket)" at the bottom. They cost €4.50. You will get a regular PDF by email and can also load it onto the app as if it were a normal ticket. When I travelled on this connection to London and beyond with Interrail last year, I booked family reservations for three different Nuremberg->Cologne trains in case one of the connections didn't work out, as it was so vital (with kids) that we had a seat.

 

[DanielB]

Simply enter the required service in the main search bar and click "Seat only (no ticket)" at the bottom. They cost €4.50. You will get a regular PDF by email and can also load it onto the app as if it were a normal ticket.

When you purchase a reservation only, the PDF doesn't look like a normal ticket at all. It actually looks like this:

 

[alex397]

Everyone has pretty much explained it, but for clarity:

The change in timetable means that the Zugbindung – the obligation to travel on the booked long-distance trains (in your case the ICEs) – on your Sparpreis has been lifted, so you are now free to travel on any trains on that day between Brussels and Nuremberg, until 3am the next day if need be. You are under no obligation to take the quickest connections, by the way.

I have done this journey multiple times this year and try to avoid Frankfurt Hbf whenever possible. The concourse is tiny for such a busy station and it is always rammed. It's also in a particularly unsavoury part of town so attracts its fair share of interesting characters, although admittedly that's not a problem here as you aren't there very long.

This connection can also be made at Frankfurt Flughafen, albeit at an even tighter 18 minutes. Although often busy, Frankfurt Flughafen has significantly more space and is therefore much less congested (no regional trains in the station, fewer people generally). There are also all the amenities you would normally need just up the escalator (DB customer service and info point, Starbucks, Rossman, Rewe, bakery/coffee shops, Asian food, oh yes and free toilets if you walk towards the terminal).

Here it is if I add "Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbf" as a waypoint:
View attachment 135710


If you want to take the opportunity to stop for some food or whatever and make use of your entitlement to take any train that day, there are hourly services to Nuremberg. Although obviously I'm not certain how that affect onward travel. Here:

View attachment 135711

You can book a reservation for any train, without needing to hold a valid ticket for it, on the bahn.com website. Simply enter the required service in the main search bar and click "Seat only (no ticket)" at the bottom. They cost €4.50. You will get a regular PDF by email and can also load it onto the app as if it were a normal ticket. When I travelled on this connection to London and beyond with Interrail last year, I booked family reservations for three different Nuremberg->Cologne trains in case one of the connections didn't work out, as it was so vital (with kids) that we had a seat.

You have made it very clear which is just what I needed. Thank you valedave.

I was expecting having to rebook everything, so I feel relieved now. I will pay for a reservation for the later train to Nuremberg.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 May 2023 ==

Sadly I have been unable to reserve seats for this journey, as it says 'reservation impossible' so it looks like demand has been high.

Presumably my original reservation for ICE13 at 08.23 will still be valid. Its original journey I was intending to get, but it just takes longer. I wonder if the new timetable means its a 'new journey' meaning seat reservations were reset perhaps? We shall find out.
It looks like the 08.23 will be busy journey with 'high demand expected'. Hopefully that doesn't mean sitting in the corridor!

 

[30907]

Just to update this thread: the engineering works are confirmed but the regional timetable isn't published - the information in the DB planner is therefore misleading.

The ICE/Thalys timetable is correct, though, and it involves some cancellations at the Brussels end, notably the 1625 which I had banked on using

 

[alex397]

Thank you for the info 30907.

I’m wondering if my journey from Brussels to Nuremberg will be problematic if I can’t get a seat reservation. I know some say reservations arn’t always needed, but I have an image of sitting in a corridor for hours even though I’m meant to be doing this journey for fun!

Will my existing reservation for the ICE13 from Brussels still apply, even though it has been retimed at the end of the journey? (Departure time remains the same).