Trip to Netherlands, Germany and Denmark

[igloo]

Hi all,

I am planning a leisure trip in Europe, based around a visit to a steam tram museum in the Netherlands, and am trying to include as much other interesting transport as is sensible along the way. My rough plan so far is:

• Ferry: Harwich -- Hoek van Holland
• Trains around the Netherlands
• Sleeper train: Amsterdam -- Copenhagen
• Train: Copenhagen -- Hamburg
  (including train-on-ferry: Rødby -- Puttgarden)
• Trains back to Hoorn in the Netherlands
• Visit Museumstoomtram in the Netherlands: Hoorn -- Enkhuizen -- Hoorn
• Trains and ferry back home

I have a few questions that I wonder if anyone could help me with please?:

1. Am I right in thinking that any "Copenhagen -- Hamburg" train that bahn.co.uk shows as going through Rødby and Puttgarden will go on the ferry?
   
2. I'd like to go on a (preferably fairly empty) double decker train at some point. Somewhere between Hamburg and Hoorn seems like the best bet. Is there a way of telling which trains will be double decker?
   
3. I don't suppose there is some site that can tell me which European trains are likely to be packed, and which are likely to be quiet?
   
4. Are there any other interesting transport possibilities I've missed? Any pitfalls to watch out for?

Thanks in advance for any advice,
Ian

 

[radamfi]

[*] I'd like to go on a (preferably fairly empty) double decker train at some point. Somewhere between Hamburg and Hoorn seems like the best bet. Is there a way of telling which trains will be double decker?

The line from Hoorn to Amsterdam is usually double deck, as are most Intercity trains and many local trains in the Netherlands. Wikipedia seems to know which lines are double deck, for example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoorn_railway_station

(click on links in the 'Material' column for the type of stock).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NS_VIRM shows what lines the Intercity double deckers are on.

 

[87015]

The Rodby-Puttagarden train ferry is well worth doing. Some photos from last year can be found here http://87015aewn.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/puttgarden-train-ferry and all the ICE services between Copenhagen and Hamburg and beyond travel this way. They are formed of the 4 car ICE DMU stock, which really do show up the Voyagers as the rubbish they are. Some are doubled up as eight cars between Copenhagen and Nykobing, the front set out of Copenhagen will go forward to Rodby and Germany. Also, despite some places saying differently, the services do not require a mandatory reservation.

The overnight to Copenhagen should get you a black MRCE hire-in Taurus from Hamburg(?) to Padborg then a Danish EA through to Copenhagen - this is the only EA working remaining. If you get time in Copenhagen the ME diesels operate on double deckers roughly half hourly and make loads of suburban stops both sides of Copenhagen Central, so there are lots of options for a quick spin. My Danish phots are online at 87015aewn.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/denmark-september-2010/ the Danish deckers are the same as you will find in Germany and elsewhere, but as the MEs are threatened with replacement if you are interested in sampling them it might be worth doing it then.

You can't really fail to find double deck regio trains in Germany, around Hamburg they, at least, work out beyond Elmshorn in one direction and Lubeck in the other with ex-East German 143 locos in push-pull mode. The private Metronom stuff to Bremen was also double deckers with traxx 146s. Off-peak most of these should have plenty of seats as they are mostly four to eight car sets so very effective people movers. Hamburg Hbf to Hamburg Dammtor or Hamburg Hbf to Hamburg Harburg are short hops which can be done on these trains although you'll probably want to go a bit further!

EDIT: A good move would be to take a ME hauled double deck set down to Nykobing and pick up the Hamburg ICE there. Not all of the Copenhagen-Nykobing services are double deckers but most of the slower ones (which would give about a plus ten at Nykobing onto the ICE) were - xx11 from Copenhagen IIRC.

 

[WestCoast]

Yeah, Metronom's Dostos (Double Decker Stock) can be rather quiet off-peak - both MEr to Bremen (stopping) and ME - the semi fast service, which gives a every 30 mins service between the two cities.

 

[igloo]

Thanks all for all the useful info!

 

[Bastiaan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NS_VIRM shows what lines the Intercity double deckers are on.

And this page shows what services the older regional double decker "DDAR" is used on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NS_DD-AR