distantbells

Hi,

I don't have much experience with train travel. Last year we travelled by Railjet from Vienna to Salzburg and that's it. This time we are flying into Munich first and then taking the train to Salzburg. I have a few questions regarding the trains. Any clarification would help a lot.

I bought the Bayern ticket so can only use the regional trains. There are three of us and we will be carrying three airlines cabin luggage sized bags. Would luggage be a problem on the RegionalExpress and the RegionalBahn trains?

Am I better off booking Railjet / Eurocity? I'm concerned about the seats being full on the regional trains. Is that a possibility?

On our way back from Salzburg on the 26th Oct, there aren't direct regional trains to Munich Hbf. Train change is required at Landshut (bay) station. Would that work out well or should I book the direct Eurocity train to Munich Hbf?

Thanks for your help.

PalenQ

Well the EC trains will cost a lot lot more than the Lander Ticket for Bavaria, which covers train travel to Salzburg in full even though it is inside Austria.

Regional trains can really never be full as there are no reservations so anyone can board and as you are starting in Munich where the train probably starts it should not be full and IME of taking several regional trains rarely to ever be full though school kids can swarm aboard for a few stops sometimes as regional trains can also serve as school buses.

There is adequate room for luggage - probably on an empty seat near you - the Bavarian Ticket costs only several euros more in first class and most regional trains have first class where you can count on having IME many empty seats - pay the little extra for your group to go first class - then luggage will surely be no problem nor will crowding. Check to see if your regional train does have first class however.

For lots of great info on German trains check out these IMO fine sources: www.ricksteves.com; www.set61.com and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id9.html.

Though regional trains can take about an hour longer all told you will save tons of money and your concerns will not be realized usually.

distantbells

Thanks a lot for the very informative reply.

I don't mind the journey being longer, I think it would be more enjoyable. I was just a bit worried about the train being crowded.

Considering the 1st class upgrade. I have already purchased the ticket. Is it still possible to upgrade?

Dukey1

Check to make sure about the timeframe restrictions. As I recall, some of those discounted tickets may not be used before a certain time of the day.

In my experience luggage will not be any problem; a lot of the people using those regionals may very well not have any luggage to speak of at all. Some of those regionals make many stops.

PalenQ

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/pr...r-ticket.shtml

Well the difference between 2nd and 1st class on the Bavarian Lander ticket is a bit more than I've seen on other Lander tickets for other regions - for three folk 2nd class 30 euros in first class 63 euros - an extra 33 euros all told or 11 euros a person - still well worth it IME - I suppose if you wanted to ask in Munich's train station info office they could tell you whether or not you could trade them in for first class.

In any case I see for others no reason to buy Lander Cartes before the day of the train - in case plans change, etc. - they are easily bought from automatic machines - can be done in stations outside Bavaria as well I think - 2 euros more to wait in on oft IME long line at ticket windows to buy them.

and they can't be used before 9 am on Mon-Fri and are valid until 3 am the next morning!

I suppose you use the 2nd class tickets on any regional train in your plans the first day and see...probably be just fine.

Gary_Mc

The only two full RE trains that we have ridden are "Regensburg to Munich" and "Salzburg to Munich". In each case, we had to ride with out bags in our lap. They were the new double decker RE trains and there was too little room in the overhead for even standard carry on. There are some jump seats near the exit door that have some room for placing luggage.

A German couple put their luggage in the aisle; the conductor made them move it.

Usually, we can place our luggage on the seat next to us but these trains to Munich were the exception.

Regards, Gary

PalenQ

I have ridden zillions of regional trains in Germany and rarely have seen any really crowded - most folks take them for only short distances to connect with ICE type trains or to nearby cities so with the possible exception of school kids swarming aboard for just a few stops I cannot recall any overly crowded regional trains - that said I have not taken any for a few years now and things may have changed.

Gary_Mc

Regarding your second question. Landshut is a small station. Switching trains should not difficult. Gary

PalenQ

ttt

PalenQ

for Lander Cards the best deals are on weekends when for the price of one day you get two full days of unlimited regional trains, S-Bahns- U-Bahns - city trams and buses, etc. 2 days for the price of one!

Russ

I doubt you'll have crowds on a Saturday at a time of year when visitation is low, especially if you travel on Saturday evening when folks making weekend trips are doing what they planned to do, not traveling back home. If it is crowded, you'll likely still find a spot here or there to stuff bags that size.

Also, why do you think Landshut is where you change trains? All the train-only itineraries I see for your date have a change in Mühldorf with a layover of about 15 minutes from platform 6 to platform 4 (which should be no exotic or difficult experience.)

Russ

"for Lander Cards the best deals are on weekends when for the price of one day you get two full days of unlimited regional trains, S-Bahns- U-Bahns - city trams and buses, etc. 2 days for the price of one!"

??? Do you have a DB reference page for the deal you've described, PalenQ? Which Land offers this? I believe you are misinformed and that all Länder tickets, including the Bavaria ticket (where the OP is traveling) are good for ONE day only (through 3 am the following day) but NOT two full days.

PalenQ

Travel in the Bundesland (federal state) of your choice. Most Länder-Tickets are valid also on Saturday and Sunday. Generally, Länder-Tickets are valid from Monday to Friday for one day of your choice from 9 a.m. until 3 a.m. of the following day (on bank holidays for the whole day). Some tickets can also be used for nighttime travel, they are valid from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning.>

Well Russ I think I may have misread the above (the 2nd line "Most Lander tickets are also valid on Saturday and Sunday"), which comes from the bahn.de site and I may also be mixing this up with some city transit passes that are valaid all weekend - but re-reading the above it seems that I was indeed wrong and thanks for the correction.

Cowboy1968

The main line from Salzburg to Munich is interrupted probably due to some works when OP plans to travel back to Munich. As there are also no Railjets that day.
And the Eurocity are probably also re-routed via Mühldorf so they take 30mins longer than usually.

The connection via Mühldorf is not a big problem per se, and the line from Salzburg up there even quite scenic.
But this is just a local line, with smaller diesel units running on that line.
Even with probably fewer tourists traveling that day (and locals probably avoiding that weekend if they can or notice the disruptions), it remains the only rail-rail connection to Munich as other services are even more unconvient and require the use of a replacement bus service.

So one can only speculate if those connections via Mühldorf will be crowded - but there is a good chance that they will be.
The Eurocity services would only be a solution if you could still secure seat reservations.

If the regular direct Regional Express trains run on the date OP plans to travel TO Salzburg, and if it was not also a weekend, the trains should not be crowded. On the double decker trains you have sections on the lower decks for bicycles and any kind of "cargo". You can easily sit there with your luggage next to you - though on somewhat less comfortable fold-down seats. You can identify those sections from the outside by the large bicycle logo.

distantbells

Thanks so much everyone. Really appreciate all your help.

@Russ: I had checked bahn.com for train schedules from Salzburg to Freising. It listed a direct train from Salzburg to Landshut (bay) and then a train change to get to Freising. We will be staying there a night before leaving for the airport the next morning.

Cowboy1968

I think some of this little confusion arose from the assumption that we thought you needed to go to Munich on the 26th.
But when Freising is your destination, the connection via Landshut is the right one.

Russ

It wasn't an assumption that db was returning to Munich - that's what (s)he said in the original post of Oct. 2:

"On our way back from Salzburg on the 26th Oct, there aren't direct regional trains to Munich Hbf. Train change is required at Landshut (bay) station."

The first mention of Freising came this morning, 3 days later.