Trip to Boppard Germany
Flew into Dusseldorf with Eurowings from BHX Weds 13/7/22. Clean plane, flight on time. Long wait to show passport at DUS. Airport station a short ride via the rather fun monorail.
9 euro ticket purchased, headed for Koblenz. Soon realised any hopes of picking and choosing services on the Dussledorf Koblenz/Mainz axis unrealistic as every train was rammed.
Only RE2 Osnabruck to Dussledorf loco hauled double deck stock. Fast and clean.
On arrival at Koln detoured via Bonn/Koln Airport to get to Koblenz that way. Nice 8 car RB train not at all full, plenty of four-seat bays with well aligned windows. Onwards to Boppard in a rammed 5 car RE service, luckily journey only 15 mins.
Several short journeys on both sides of the river followed including a trip to Wiesbaden. Its very easy to hop across the river at Boppard, St Goan and Bingen: train stations are virtually opposite each other and ferry is 2 euros, takes 5 mins.
A continuous stream of heavy freight on both east and west sides of the Rhine will keep any loco spotter well busy day and night, they seem to run every 10 minutes or so in each direction, threading between the ICE, IC, RE and local services.
Highlights included the Austrian EC train to Vienna, southbound mid-morning; also the Swiss EC trains to Zurich and the double loco ICE train to Interlaken. Several unusual services too such as the Stuttgart to Westland which stops at Boppard (the only loco hauled train to stop there) and very rapid diesel units heading towards Kaiserslautern.
Good unfenced photo locations near Boppard and at Bacarach where you can sit right next to the track outside bars and restaurants if you dare!
Lack of loco haulage on anything but IC/ICE generally a disappointment for me on my 9 euro ticket, but for those with an inter-rail pass I suggest using the IC/ICE as these are running half empty due to the normals wedging the RE/RB on 9 euro tickets.
The best trip by far was the diesel up to Emmelshausen from Boppard. The steepest adhesion branch in Germany, at 1 in 16. Trains fairly frequent. Fabulous views. You can take a bike up and cycle down if you wish.
Back to DUS Sunday afternoon from Koblenz direct to Monchengladbach via Bonn/Koln Airport, no messy change at Koln that way, then S bahn into DUS and RE2 loco hauled (very fast) to DUS Airport as a finale. A highlight was the rail sidings north of Koblenz with steam locos and diesels on view as well as the Rheingold stock.
Eurowings took off an hour late, arrived BHX only 35 late, then zero queue for passports probably meant no time was actually lost on return journey. BHX heavily staffed owing to Commonwealth Games …..makes a change.
If going to Germany suggest you budget to use IC/ICE if you can (to get to your destination with luggage) as the Re/RB units really cannot cope with such huge numbers plus their suitcases. Very late running of RB/RE the norm as some station stops taking 5 minutes each. Koblenz in particular seemed dangerously overcrowded with security staff struggling to keep people from falling off the platform. Getting off a stop before or after a main station also a good idea as often half the train gets off at that main station. 9 euro ticket fantastic value for all local travel (without luggage!!).
I will return in October it'll be interesting to see normal operation resume.
Flew into Dusseldorf with Eurowings from BHX Weds 13/7/22. Clean plane, flight on time. Long wait to show passport at DUS. Airport station a short ride via the rather fun monorail.
9 euro ticket purchased, headed for Koblenz. Soon realised any hopes of picking and choosing services on the Dussledorf Koblenz/Mainz axis unrealistic as every train was rammed.
Only RE2 Osnabruck to Dussledorf loco hauled double deck stock. Fast and clean.
On arrival at Koln detoured via Bonn/Koln Airport to get to Koblenz that way. Nice 8 car RB train not at all full, plenty of four-seat bays with well aligned windows. Onwards to Boppard in a rammed 5 car RE service, luckily journey only 15 mins.
Several short journeys on both sides of the river followed including a trip to Wiesbaden. Its very easy to hop across the river at Boppard, St Goan and Bingen: train stations are virtually opposite each other and ferry is 2 euros, takes 5 mins.
A continuous stream of heavy freight on both east and west sides of the Rhine will keep any loco spotter well busy day and night, they seem to run every 10 minutes or so in each direction, threading between the ICE, IC, RE and local services.
Highlights included the Austrian EC train to Vienna, southbound mid-morning; also the Swiss EC trains to Zurich and the double loco ICE train to Interlaken. Several unusual services too such as the Stuttgart to Westland which stops at Boppard (the only loco hauled train to stop there) and very rapid diesel units heading towards Kaiserslautern.
Good unfenced photo locations near Boppard and at Bacarach where you can sit right next to the track outside bars and restaurants if you dare!
Lack of loco haulage on anything but IC/ICE generally a disappointment for me on my 9 euro ticket, but for those with an inter-rail pass I suggest using the IC/ICE as these are running half empty due to the normals wedging the RE/RB on 9 euro tickets.
The best trip by far was the diesel up to Emmelshausen from Boppard. The steepest adhesion branch in Germany, at 1 in 16. Trains fairly frequent. Fabulous views. You can take a bike up and cycle down if you wish.
Back to DUS Sunday afternoon from Koblenz direct to Monchengladbach via Bonn/Koln Airport, no messy change at Koln that way, then S bahn into DUS and RE2 loco hauled (very fast) to DUS Airport as a finale. A highlight was the rail sidings north of Koblenz with steam locos and diesels on view as well as the Rheingold stock.
Eurowings took off an hour late, arrived BHX only 35 late, then zero queue for passports probably meant no time was actually lost on return journey. BHX heavily staffed owing to Commonwealth Games …..makes a change.
If going to Germany suggest you budget to use IC/ICE if you can (to get to your destination with luggage) as the Re/RB units really cannot cope with such huge numbers plus their suitcases. Very late running of RB/RE the norm as some station stops taking 5 minutes each. Koblenz in particular seemed dangerously overcrowded with security staff struggling to keep people from falling off the platform. Getting off a stop before or after a main station also a good idea as often half the train gets off at that main station. 9 euro ticket fantastic value for all local travel (without luggage!!).
I will return in October it'll be interesting to see normal operation resume.