German Railways

[YorkshireBear]

Met a german today who thinks XC are far superior to any train company in germany, she thinks all the staff on xc and FGW are very polite and the troley services are fantastic.

hmmm i didnt expect that

 

[Minilad]

Met a german today who thinks XC are far superior to any train company in germany, she thinks all the staff on xc and FGW are very polite and the troley services are fantastic.

hmmm i didnt expect that

I have been off today so that might explain the staff comment !!

 

[Striker]

Met a german today who thinks XC are far superior to any train company in germany, she thinks all the staff on xc and FGW are very polite and the troley services are fantastic.

hmmm i didnt expect that

What? A German being polite and choosing not to slag off your country's train service?

 

[YorkshireBear]

What? A German being polite and choosing not to slag off your country's train service?

She was very polite and bought me a macdonalds shes over her interailing so i was giving her some pointers on scenic lines

 

[Crossover]

I guess it may depend on the part of Germany and what you come to expect. I have been to Stuttgart, Cologne and Hamburg. I found Stuttgart to have the best trains of them all, although the majority that I went on were S-Bahns and U-Bahns so so really comparable. Although the Regionals are and I found those OK too, including the ones taken from Hamburg to Bremen.

ICE trains are also quite good but again I'm not sure you could compare that to XC either

EDIT: Oh, and a note about that - I don't recall seeing many (if any) buffets/shops...the regionals had a trolley service, so maybe XC are doing something OK *awaits a torrent of abuse *

 

[embers25]

But XC ARE German being owned by DB

 

[YorkshireBear]

I guess it may depend on the part of Germany and what you come to expect. I have been to Stuttgart, Cologne and Hamburg. I found Stuttgart to have the best trains of them all, although the majority that I went on were S-Bahns and U-Bahns so so really comparable. Although the Regionals are and I found those OK too, including the ones taken from Hamburg to Bremen.

ICE trains are also quite good but again I'm not sure you could compare that to XC either

EDIT: Oh, and a note about that - I don't recall seeing many (if any) buffets/shops...the regionals had a trolley service, so maybe XC are doing something OK *awaits a torrent of abuse *

Shes from stuttgart

But XC ARE German being owned by DB

I told her that and she couldnt believe it, she said DB are one of worst train operators and their fares are extortinate.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Perspectives on various german (DB) trains:

ICE1/2/3 - all very nice, all seats recline and the buffet/restaurant cars are very good and reasonably priced
ICE-T, seats are a bit manky as the base doesn't extend. Restaurant/buffet good
ICE-TD, same seating problem as ICE-T and the trains are too small
IC/EC, not bad but a bit tatty

Single decker regional loco hauled stock, ancient, drafty and the seats are crap
Double decker regional loco hauled stock, bit pokey but otherwise good
DMUs, ancient and falling to bits
New EMUs (Alstom built), rubbish
Trolleys on regional trains are very hit and miss and I haven't seen one since 2008. Some services have vending machines

 

[northwichcat]

I've not gone long distances on German trains but I'd say on shorter journeys they're better value for money than British services. Although, the rolling stock doesn't have the most comfortable seating and I would say, from my experience, that the French local fares are cheaper still.

 

[exile]

German train services are generally punctual, frequent if not usually very fast. Germany hasn't been Beechinged to any great extent, and the buses are regulated so they connect with trains and run to the smallest villages.
French trains are great if you travel by TGV - but as you come off the main lines you end up on rural lines with 3 trains a day if you're lucky, but most likely a very long wait for a bus (which may only run on school days)

 

[Turbocharger]

I lived in Berlin for a few years. Mostly travelled on the local lines. But did an ICE to Bochum. That was a beautiful train and journey. Loved it.

Sorry edit mode due to not really responding to the original post;

I have travelled on XC FC quite a few times and not impressed. I went standard class on the ICE and the old fashion six seater compartment was super clean and tidy. The crew were very polite, friendly and helpful to me even though my German at the time was very poor. The train was punctual to the minute with a super smooth journey.

In other words, ICE were leagues ahead of XC IMHO.

 

[WestCoast]

But XC ARE German being owned by DB

They are managed by Arriva though, not DB directly. DB has direct control over Schenker and Chiltern e.t.c.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Met a german today who thinks XC are far superior to any train company in germany, she thinks all the staff on xc and FGW are very polite and the troley services are fantastic.

hmmm i didnt expect that

The grass is always greener on the other side, if she had to buy the tickets individually the story might be different. The local services, for me, are x10000000000 times better than a shoddy pacer, which is what I get over here. I go over regularly to visit family, so I see both worlds.

Now I'm not naive, DB is far from perfect. However it my humble opinion it's closer to perfect than Britain's privatised rail industry.

Trolley services may be rare on German trains but who needs them? All the newer double decker Regional Expresses have vending machines, plus the InterCity (and ICE) services have a bar-cafe or restaurant (which standard class passengers can use). I don't care what anyone says, that is better than a trolley that does a disappearing act! Since when did regional trains have trolleys over here? Northern certainly don't (except one route).

I do most of my travelling when I'm over there on the regional and InterCity trains of the states of Nordrhein-Westfalen and Niedersachsen. The local day tickets are brilliant value and the trains are generally of a good standard, a lot of it is loco-hauled. Delays do happen, but it is no worse than the UK.

Some of the private companies that the states have awarded contracts to are not that good, they have brought down the service tier a little.

I told her that and she couldnt believe it, she said DB are one of worst train operators and their fares are extortinate.

What do you reckon about fares?.

-3,800 euros a year will give you unlimited travel across the country (ALL trains apart from a couple of services, which a subject to a small supplement). That would cost about £15,600 in the UK - based on 14 day ALRs, which now have peak restrictions.

-39 euros at the weekend buys you unlimited travel, for up to 5 people, on one day across the country (local trains).

-You never pay more than EUR 127.00 (2nd Class) or EUR 206.00 (1st Class) for a single journey

-Around 20 euro - 30 euro will buy you unlimited travel on one day within a state (including buses).

I wouldn't say extortionate! Inter-railing she wouldn't have gone through the wonderful and mysterious world of UK ticketing.