suz24

In early July we plan to travle on a Wednesday from Prague to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. And on that Friday we will head for Paris.
My DH is concerned about making the train connections...With a 15 and 12 yr old in tow and with need to get lunch to go. We will need to transfer at least twice, i believe, on both days.
Looking on the reservation web page i see that it gives the option of making the quickest connections. When clicking that option i see that some of the transfer times are 4 minutes. I also note for other transfers we will walk for 10 minutes (from bus drop off to IC Train station).

My questions are:
-do the various levels of Db Bahn trains, and the bus from Prague, tend to be on time?
-are the walking times for a fast-walking commuter? Or for a 12 yr old with a rolling duffle?
- if we buy tickets now for a quick connection to an IC or RB, etc, and we miss a connection, can we just take the next one? Or is it best to fit in more buffer time?
- On that Friday on the way to Paris we could take The RFB around 9 am, then walk 6 min, then the RE, trasfer 7 min, then the IC,with a 1 hour layover in Stuttgart awaiting the TGV departure. Is this too close for the TGV connection? Should we reserve for the next Tgv about 4 hrs later?, (will reserve 90 days ahead). The later train would get us into Paris around 8:30 pm.
Any other advice or cautions?
Any favorite quick (or leisurely) bites at or near Stuttgart Train Station?

bigtyke

I never had any problem with the transfer times. Trains are almost always on time. The 1 hour time in Stuttgart is at least 50 minutes more than you need.

suz24

Yay!
Any favorite spot to grab some food at the staion in Stuttgart?

Thanks.

Dukey1

Trains are pretty much on time but there are exceptions.

As to the transfer times and your kid...you will definitely have to transfer at Steinach if you are taking the train from Rothenburg but that station is small and only has a couple of platforms.

Be ready to possibly go up and down some stairs from one platform to another. An HOUR in Stuttgart is MORE than enough time

Cowboy1968

Most discount tickets restrict you to certain trains for the long distance trains of your itinerary (ICE, IC, EC and probably also that bus to/from Prague)
Regional trains (RE, RB, IRE) or suburban trains (S Bahn) are excluded from this restriction even if they are part of the itinerary.
If you miss one connection to a long distance train due to late arrival you go to the station information desk (which is usually called in "German" the Service Point) and get a remark on your ticket that you can use the next long distance train without a surcharge.
If you miss the connection from a long distance train to a regional train you just hop on the next regional train without the "detour" via the information desk.

In your itinerary to Paris only the first two connection times look a bit tight. 1 hr in Stuttgart is morr than enough, though.

bigtyke

like most main train stations in Germany, there are several places to eat either at the stations or in its vicinity.

FoFoBT

If you go on the DB site (bahn.de), put in your itinerary, untick the "fast connections" box then click on "further search options". You can then choose a longer time between trains. I'm more comfortable with transfer times of at least 15 minutes between trains (I've been on quite a few German trains that arrived late). That said, one hour is plenty of time for a transfer in Stuttgart.

sunnypm

Good thread. I'm also wondering about train transfer times. On Wednesday, June 20th we arrive on the train from Amsterdam to catch the Eurostar at Brussels with a 45 minute gap. Elsewhere, I've heard you need 30 minutes to pass through security for Eurostar. We are a couple with a 22yr old son, and will have rolling luggage, but clueless about the layout of the Brussels station.

Cowboy1968

Can't help with the average waiting times (though 30 minutes sounds a bit too much to be an average).
But the layout of the station is pretty simple:
http://www.b-europe.com/~/media/File...russel_En.ashx

Assuming that you will arrive with the highspeed train from Amsterdam, you will arrive right next to the Eurostar tracks.
From the platform you go down into the main hall and the entrance to the Eurostar "terminal" is literally not more than 10 yards to your left.

Cowboy1968

Oh.. and if you are interested in hearing other's experiences with the waiting time at security, I'd ask that Q in a new thread. Hardly anyone will expect a Q like that with the title of this old thread you dug out.

sunnypm

Thanks Cowboy, exactly what I needed to know! Yes, we are on Thalys from Amsterdam, so if our train is on time, we should be able to make the connection in time.

Travelforbeer

There is another option that does not appear to be listed as a point-to-point between Rothenburg and Paris. Try Rothenburg (leave about 9 AM) to Frankfurt (arrive about 11:30 AM) (Rothenburg to Steinach, 12 min to transfer, Steinach to Wurtzburg, 11 min to transfer, Wurtzburg to Frankfurt). Then catch the direct ICE to Paris East, leaves Frankfurt at 13:01, arrives Paris at 16:50. (I took this train last summer.) This gives you over an hour to eat in the Frankfurt Bahnhoff- there are all kinds of places there from sit down resturants to buffets with seating to sandwich stands just before entering the train area. Just a suggestion...

Michael

Our train was late once, and the connecting IC train was held up to allow for a <b>fast</b> transfer.

nytraveler

I would think kids that age could manage fast connections - it's not like trying to do it with toddlers and all of their "stuff". But if you kids are lollygaggers (I know tweens can sometimes be clueless) and/or likely to leave something behind - you might try to give yourselves at least a 15 or 20 minute connection time between trains. Also - practice in advance having the kids handle their luggage - make them walk it around the block at a quick pace - and get them to understand it is THEIR responsibility to do so - no whining if they lose something,

PalenQ

marking for later comment, having ridden German trains now annually for more years than I care to admit!

PalenQ

do the various levels of Db Bahn trains, and the bus from Prague, tend to be on time?>

German trains IME after riding them for decades is that more and more German trains run late - not unusual for trains to be way behind schedule - but there are so many trains and seat reservations are not mandatory so you can always hop on - that is if you have a full fare ticket - discounted online specials are train-specific and non-changeable I believe - so if doing those built a lot of time in between trains for late-running German trains.

You could also consider doing the Eurail Select Pass good for 3 countries - Czech Republic, Germany and France - it is a first class pass and IME there are immense benefits of first class for anyone and especially for a family of four - you can just hop on practically any German train for example just by showing up at the station and in first class I have never in recent memory not found quite a few empty seats - not so in 2nd class. 1st class also has lot more room for luggage - seats are bigger - all in all a more leisurely experience for the trip of a lifetime. And again the flexibility to just hop any train in Germany can be priceless and put all angst to rest as there are zillions of trains and the pass can be used on any of them, even S-Bahns in cities. The pass is also valid on buses from Prague to Nuremburg.

Great sources IMO for oodles of great info on German and European trains - http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id9.html; www.seat61.com and www.ricksteves.com.

dfourh

On my last advanced-purchase discount tickets (Hamburg-Leuven) I specified 40 minute transfer times. The advantage to that, was getting a connection with well over two hours in Cologne, so I'm going to check my bags, see the cathedral, and have lunch. I also got a 1-hour connection in Liege, so I'm going to duck out of the station and have a beer. Still for only 39 Euros. This was opposed to the typically tight schedules offered with 8 minutes here and 12 minutes there.

PalenQ

much better timings and yes the Cologne Dom cathedral is well worth it - right out the train station door - and you also have time to take a nice walk along the Rhine on popular footpaths just in front of the sprawling cathedral.