Cycling UK Forum

In case this is useful, here is a picture of a part-used local transport ticket (Rheinbahn/VRR) where I live. It is a 4x ticket class A (the distance) for adults (Erw.). It has been stamped (Entwertet) once on the right end near the silver security strip. That's what the text in the arrow tells you: only valid with a stamp. As it is a 4er Ticket, you can stamp all four ends, front and back. I show the back as well - not yet stamped. The stamp shows the place, date and time. From this one you can deduce that it was used in a tram from Duisburg (2123DVG) in location 430970 on 12 July (VII) at 17:50. The date at lower left is when it was bought. Tickets in other places will look different but the principles are the same. A bike ticket will be printed on the same sized card but have different text.

We hired bikes in Bavaria in 2019 and took them on a local train without bike tickets, which we didn't realise were required. The inspector was very nice about it and sold us the bike tickets on the train. We didn't go to jail.

I've only taken my bike on the train a couple of times in Germany, but trying & failing to figure out what to do, then having trouble finding a person who could help us, or explain in it English, were the hardest parts.

mjr wrote: ↑3 Nov 2023, 2:23pm

burroc wrote: ↑3 Nov 2023, 1:24pm The bicycle storage provision in the train was superb, but we still don't know if we had purchased the correct combination of tickets or effectively paid twice: our tickets were never checked.

Almost certainly correct. It is not unusual in Europe for the bike to be charged flat rate or daily, so it costs more than a short passenger journey. That happened to me in NL this year: €7 for me, €8+for the bike.

It varies a lot by country. In Denmark, bikes go free on S-trains, public ferries, and services that cyclists use because they are not allowed to cycle, e.g. over a bridge where cyclists are banned, for example crossings at Kørsor or Nyborg. For other services, you have to buy a ticket, the cost of which depends on the zones you will cross.

In Norway, bikes go free on ferries, but are half the cost of a normal adult fare for the same journey on most other services. However, tickets cannot be purchased from the machines, so you either need to buy a different half price ticket, or buy one from the conductor. Booking is required on a couple of rail routes.

In Sweden the rules are similar to Norway, but more train routes require booking, and some do not take bikes at all.

In Latvia, you can take bikes on any train with a carriage marked with a bike symbol. You need a baggage ticket for the trip that must accompany & match another ticket. Baggage tickets are cheaper if purchased from the machines.

Hey Vorpal keep on thread or I will report you to the moderator

This is all helpful advice. I wonder if I could ask a query of those more familiar with taking bikes on trains in Germany. I'd like to take a fully assembled bike on the train from Brussels to Frankfurt. Searching on the DB website for a service, including a bicycle, comes up with nothing available. Searching without a bicycle shows plenty trains but they are all of the ICE type, and I see on a different website (https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Questions/P ... %20allowed.) that assembled bikes cannot be taken on the ICE services between Brussels and Frankfurt. I'm guessing that I need to travel instead by regional services. Can anyone suggest which services / connections I should look for instead?

Thanks

ophspeed wrote: ↑11 Nov 2023, 12:51pm This is all helpful advice. I wonder if I could ask a query of those more familiar with taking bikes on trains in Germany. I'd like to take a fully assembled bike on the train from Brussels to Frankfurt. Searching on the DB website for a service, including a bicycle, comes up with nothing available. Searching without a bicycle shows plenty trains but they are all of the ICE type, and I see on a different website (https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Questions/P ... %20allowed.) that assembled bikes cannot be taken on the ICE services between Brussels and Frankfurt. I'm guessing that I need to travel instead by regional services. Can anyone suggest which services / connections I should look for instead?

Thanks

You can get a Belgian Intercity service from Brussels Midi to Liege-Guillemins.

In 2024, you will be able to get an Intercity service from Liege-Guillemins to Aachen Hbf. Currently you have to take an Intercity train to Welkenraedt and then change onto a regional train to Aachen. The new service from Liege-Guillemins to Aachen will have likely have better bike carrying capacity compared to the current service from Welkenraedt.

From Aachen Hbf you can use the RE1 Regional Express to get to Köln Hbf, and from Köln Hbf there are a number of ICE4 services (that include 8 bike spaces) to Frankfurt.

Will

Will wrote: ↑11 Nov 2023, 3:46pm

ophspeed wrote: ↑11 Nov 2023, 12:51pm This is all helpful advice. I wonder if I could ask a query of those more familiar with taking bikes on trains in Germany. I'd like to take a fully assembled bike on the train from Brussels to Frankfurt. Searching on the DB website for a service, including a bicycle, comes up with nothing available. Searching without a bicycle shows plenty trains but they are all of the ICE type, and I see on a different website (https://www.b-europe.com/EN/Questions/P ... %20allowed.) that assembled bikes cannot be taken on the ICE services between Brussels and Frankfurt. I'm guessing that I need to travel instead by regional services. Can anyone suggest which services / connections I should look for instead?

Thanks

You can get a Belgian Intercity service from Brussels Midi to Liege-Guillemins.

In 2024, you will be able to get an Intercity service from Liege-Guillemins to Aachen Hbf. Currently you have to take an Intercity train to Welkenraedt and then change onto a regional train to Aachen. The new service from Liege-Guillemins to Aachen will have likely have better bike carrying capacity compared to the current service from Welkenraedt.

From Aachen Hbf you can use the RE1 Regional Express to get to Köln Hbf, and from Köln Hbf there are a number of ICE4 services (that include 8 bike spaces) to Frankfurt.

Will

Thanks - that's really helpful.