Newcastle to Ijmuiden DFDS Ferry

[Ronno57]

The issue isn't with the DB website. The trains between Haarlem and Venlo are NS Intercity trains. This type of train has a limited number of bike spaces, and you cannot book one in advance. The train between Venlo and Düsseldorf Hbf is a Eurobahn Regional Express - this train has a lot of bike spaces , but again, none of them can be booked in advance. The final train from Düsseldorf Hbf to Karlsruhe Hbf is an ICE 4 train with 8 bike spaces that can be reserved in advance:

https://www.vagonweb.cz/razeni/vlak.php ... =&rok=2024

You could probably book the ICE from Düsseldorf Hbf to Karlsruhe Hbf, and then buy a ticket on the day for the journey from Haarlem to Venlo (plus a bike day ticket), and then buy a ticket (+bike) in Venlo for the train to Düsseldorf. There is a risk that if you were unable to get on any of the the dutch trains that you would miss your final booked train.

Ouch, that's a lot of ifs. I think if it were me I'd be tempted to take the Amsterdam-Berlin IC and change at Osnabrück. That way there is only one change after Amsterdam, and the cycle place can be reserved for both legs. The disadvantage is that it takes a lot longer (+2 hours) because there's a long wait in Osnabrück (1h45), which you could see as an advantage because it means you're going to be less worried about making the connection.

To check out this possibility on the Bahn website, just put in a via for Osnabrück Hbf and untick fastest connection. Theoretically the connection should show up every 2 hours, although there isn't a direct connection Osnabrück-Karsruhe every day.

Thanks for the info. Im not sure I want to add two hours to my journey although I appreciate that it might well cut out a lot of worry. I'll defo consider it

[Will]

Am i correct in assuming from what youre saying is that DB might well take a booking from me over the phone tomorrow but other than the ICE train that has bookabie slots, theres no guarantee that even with my seat pre-booked, I will get my bike on board?

The bike spaces on the NS Intercity trains and the Eurobahn train from Venlo to Düsseldorf Hbf are first come first served. You cannot even book a seat on these trains. Dutch train guards are often pretty laid back about the number of bikes onboard, especially when the train is quiet, but trains can sometimes be crowded (especially if there is some sort of event taking place), and you may be told to get the next one (which could really mess up your plans).

Personally I would look to split the journey over two days. I would cycle from IJmuiden to Amsterdam and then get a train to Arnhem (1hr) and spend the night there. The next morning I would get an early morning train from Arnhem to Düsseldorf, aiming to arrive an hour or two before my booked ICE train, and then arrive Karlsruhe in the late afternoon.

Will

[Ronno57]

Ive booked my ferry and got the welcome 20% discount albeit its still not that cheap. I've also booked my return rail ticket for Edinburgh to Newcastle. Neither caused too much hassle to do online although Scotrail wouldn't take a booking that far in advance so I had to go through the LNER website.

Booking rail travel between Haarlem and Karlsruhe has been an absolute nightmare. The only euro rail website that I could find that allows bike booking on their website was DB. I've spent hours last night and this morning trying to book but each journey and route that I tried (different times and routes) allowed me to go as far as payment then flagged up (in red) one part of the journey that seats cannot be booked for or no seats were available.

I eventually phoned DB and was informed that although the website booking allows you to plan a cross border journey with a bike, the only way that you can actually book this and pay for tickets is 1. at a station or 2. via phone. I then tried to book the tickets and was informed that there was some problem with their computor and I should phone again tomorrow.

Ive got to say that Im not hugely impressed by the DB website and booking procedure. Obviously, I dont want to wait until I arrive in Holland and then try to navigate my way to Karlsruhe by buying tickets on the day. On the plus side, it appears that an upgrade to 1st class only cost about 20 euros

You could probably book the ICE from Düsseldorf Hbf to Karlsruhe Hbf, and then buy a ticket on the day for the journey from Haarlem to Venlo (plus a bike day ticket), and then buy a ticket (+bike) in Venlo for the train to Düsseldorf. There is a risk that if you were unable to get on any of the the dutch trains that you would miss your final booked train.

Will

Ive just had a look at this option. Its only about 20 euros cheaper for the ICE train from Dusseldorf to Karlsruhe than it is from Haarlem to Karlsruhe so I think I'll just take my chance on not missing connecting trains before Dusseldorf connection. And hope I get my bike on them

[Ronno57]

Am i correct in assuming from what youre saying is that DB might well take a booking from me over the phone tomorrow but other than the ICE train that has bookabie slots, theres no guarantee that even with my seat pre-booked, I will get my bike on board?

The bike spaces on the NS Intercity trains and the Eurobahn train from Venlo to Düsseldorf Hbf are first come first served. You cannot even book a seat on these trains. Dutch train guards are often pretty laid back about the number of bikes onboard, especially when the train is quiet, but trains can sometimes be crowded (especially if there is some sort of event taking place), and you may be told to get the next one (which could really mess up your plans).

Personally I would look to split the journey over two days. I would cycle from IJmuiden to Amsterdam and then get a train to Arnhem (1hr) and spend the night there. The next morning I would get an early morning train from Arnhem to Düsseldorf, aiming to arrive an hour or two before my booked ICE train, and then arrive Karlsruhe in the late afternoon.

Will

Thanks for that Will but that's not really an option as we have a hotel booked and a family commitment in Germany before we start cycling back on the EV15. We start our journey back to the ferry on Sunday so we are only in Jockgrim for 2 nights. Friday and Saturday

[Ronno57]

Ive managed to book on the DB website. Haarlem - Amsterdam, Amsterdam - Arnhem, Arnhem - Duisburg and Duisburg - Karlsruhe. I altered my transfer time on the search to 40 mins minimum and this was offered. 1st class for 2 people and 2 bikes 118 euros. This particular trip wasn't shown on my original search. It only appeared when I altered the transfer time.

I get into Karlsruhe HBf about hour later than my original planned journey (which had 4 changes and 2 of them were under 10 mins). The only part of the journey where my bikes are booked is the ICE train from Duisburg but that was always going to be the case

Thanks very much for all the help and advice

[Paulc]

Ive managed to book on the DB website. Haarlem - Amsterdam, Amsterdam - Arnhem, Arnhem - Duisburg and Duisburg - Karlsruhe. I altered my transfer time on the search to 40 mins minimum and this was offered. 1st class for 2 people and 2 bikes 118 euros. This particular trip wasn't shown on my original search. It only appeared when I altered the transfer time.

I get into Karlsruhe HBf about hour later than my original planned journey (which had 4 changes and 2 of them were under 10 mins). The only part of the journey where my bikes are booked is the ICE train from Duisburg but that was always going to be the case

Thanks very much for all the help and advice

Well done! Yes you have essentially booked the same trains by opting to book online with 4 separate trains. I was a bit puzzled the first time I took this route when I realised that booking bikes on dutch trains (the land of the bike) wasn't generally possible. But they operate differently. It is assumed that your bike will get on the train, that people will find a way of accommodating it even if busy.

In case of use on the way back or for others a single ticket can be purchased by phoning the dutch operator and they are very helpful https://www.nsinternational.com/en. But your online separate bookings method works well too

Enjoy!

Paul

[Ronno57]

Ive managed to book on the DB website. Haarlem - Amsterdam, Amsterdam - Arnhem, Arnhem - Duisburg and Duisburg - Karlsruhe. I altered my transfer time on the search to 40 mins minimum and this was offered. 1st class for 2 people and 2 bikes 118 euros. This particular trip wasn't shown on my original search. It only appeared when I altered the transfer time.

I get into Karlsruhe HBf about hour later than my original planned journey (which had 4 changes and 2 of them were under 10 mins). The only part of the journey where my bikes are booked is the ICE train from Duisburg but that was always going to be the case

Thanks very much for all the help and advice

Well done! Yes you have essentially booked the same trains by opting to book online with 4 separate trains. I was a bit puzzled the first time I took this route when I realised that booking bikes on dutch trains (the land of the bike) wasn't generally possible. But they operate differently. It is assumed that your bike will get on the train, that people will find a way of accommodating it even if busy.

In case of use on the way back or for others a single ticket can be purchased by phoning the dutch operator and they are very helpful https://www.nsinternational.com/en. But your online separate bookings method works well too

Enjoy!

Paul

Hi Paul thanks. The only difference is that on this search I extended the transfer time to 40 mins. All the previous trains I looked at and tried to book were also multi train journeys. They were all between 3 and 5 transfers. I'm mystified why this particular booking worked but glad that it has

[Will]

Ive managed to book on the DB website. Haarlem - Amsterdam, Amsterdam - Arnhem, Arnhem - Duisburg and Duisburg - Karlsruhe. I altered my transfer time on the search to 40 mins minimum and this was offered. 1st class for 2 people and 2 bikes 118 euros. This particular trip wasn't shown on my original search. It only appeared when I altered the transfer time.

I get into Karlsruhe HBf about hour later than my original planned journey (which had 4 changes and 2 of them were under 10 mins). The only part of the journey where my bikes are booked is the ICE train from Duisburg but that was always going to be the case

Thanks very much for all the help and advice

I don't book first class when travelling with my bike as the bike spaces tend not to be anywhere near the first class seats. The first class carriages are at one end of the ICE train (from Duisberg to Karlsruhe) and the bike spaces at the other:

https://www.vagonweb.cz/razeni/vlak.php ... =&rok=2024

The train between Arnhem and Duisburg is a local train. There is a small first class compartment at each end of this train, close to a space for two bikes. You can see this train in this video (fast forward to around the 12 minute mark):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkySlHXFMlA

This journey will be a lot easier next year. There is currently an ICE 3 service that runs from Amsterdam Centraal to Frankfurt (via Duisberg, Düsseldorf, and Cologne). This train does not have bike spaces (and won't appear on a search on the DB Website when you include bikes). Next year it will be replaced by an ICE 3 Neo train with 8 (reservable) bike spaces per train. If it is still running to the current timetable, then it will be possible to take an ICE 3 Neo from Amsterdam to Duisberg (or Düsseldorf) and connect with a southbound ICE 4 train from there (with plenty of time to make your connection).

Will

[Ronno57]

Ive managed to book on the DB website. Haarlem - Amsterdam, Amsterdam - Arnhem, Arnhem - Duisburg and Duisburg - Karlsruhe. I altered my transfer time on the search to 40 mins minimum and this was offered. 1st class for 2 people and 2 bikes 118 euros. This particular trip wasn't shown on my original search. It only appeared when I altered the transfer time.

I get into Karlsruhe HBf about hour later than my original planned journey (which had 4 changes and 2 of them were under 10 mins). The only part of the journey where my bikes are booked is the ICE train from Duisburg but that was always going to be the case

Thanks very much for all the help and advice

I don't book first class when travelling with my bike as the bike spaces tend not to be anywhere near the first class seats. The first class carriages are at one end of the ICE train (from Duisberg to Karlsruhe) and the bike spaces at the other:

https://www.vagonweb.cz/razeni/vlak.php ... =&rok=2024

The train between Arnhem and Duisburg is a local train. There is a small first class compartment at each end of this train, close to a space for two bikes. You can see this train in this video (fast forward to around the 12 minute mark):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkySlHXFMlA

This journey will be a lot easier next year. There is currently an ICE 3 service that runs from Amsterdam Centraal to Frankfurt (via Duisberg, Düsseldorf, and Cologne). This train does not have bike spaces (and won't appear on a search on the DB Website when you include bikes). Next year it will be replaced by an ICE 3 Neo train with 8 (reservable) bike spaces per train. If it is still running to the current timetable, then it will be possible to take an ICE 3 Neo from Amsterdam to Duisberg (or Düsseldorf) and connect with a southbound ICE 4 train from there (with plenty of time to make your connection).

Will

I've got a 50 min transfer time between trains at Arnhem so hopefully we will be first in the queue for bike spaces

[Paulc]

[/quote]

This journey will be a lot easier next year. There is currently an ICE 3 service that runs from Amsterdam Centraal to Frankfurt (via Duisberg, Düsseldorf, and Cologne). This train does not have bike spaces (and won't appear on a search on the DB Website when you include bikes). Next year it will be replaced by an ICE 3 Neo train with 8 (reservable) bike spaces per train. If it is still running to the current timetable, then it will be possible to take an ICE 3 Neo from Amsterdam to Duisberg (or Düsseldorf) and connect with a southbound ICE 4 train from there (with plenty of time to make your connection).

Will
[/quote]

Hi Will
That is useful information, many thanks. How do you come across information such as that?!

Paul

[Will]

Hi Will
That is useful information, many thanks. How do you come across information such as that?!

Paul

I follow a lot of the rail industry news, and have identified a number of good sources of information. This press release from DB gives details of the ICE 3 Neo and ICE L trains that DB have on order and will come into service in the next few years:

https://www-deutschebahn-com.translate. ... x_tr_hl=en

Will

[vsmith1]

Thanks for that. I made my booking for my trip this year. I've planned out the Kustroute from Ijmuiden to Bad Nieuwshans.

I take it you mean Bad Nieuweschans on the dutch/german border?

Does your route take you over the Afsluitdijk? The cycle path across the dyke has been mostly closed for the last few years due to construction work, and it is necessary to take a bus across:

https://theafsluitdijk.com/projects/cyc ... dijk/when/

Will

Yes - apologies on my Dutch spelling.
Yes - I know about the bus.

But thanks for making sure with me. I am planning to use Vrienden op de Fiets.

Vince

[Paulc]

Hi Will
That is useful information, many thanks. How do you come across information such as that?!

Paul

I follow a lot of the rail industry news, and have identified a number of good sources of information. This press release from DB gives details of the ICE 3 Neo and ICE L trains that DB have on order and will come into service in the next few years:

https://www-deutschebahn-com.translate. ... x_tr_hl=en

Will

Thanks Will
Paul

[Ronno57]

I received an email today from DB to say part of my journey had been cancelled due to a timetable change. There was a link which unfortunately did not offer any information other than my existing times/connections

I ended up phoning DB and learned that my train from Amsterdam Central to Arnhem now leaves (same time) but from Amsterdam Zuit.

I have to get the underground between Central and Zuit. Can anyone confirm that bikes are allowed on the underground service?

To give myself more time to make this additional journey, I've decided to cycle from the ferry and catch the train from Dreihuis to Amsterdam instead of my already booked train from Haarlem. A couple of people had already suggested this earlier in the post

[Paulc]

Zuid is 5km from Centraale. I suspect cycling would be much quicker than metro?