shivmeh

I will be traveling from India straight to Frankfurt with a carry on and two suitcases. I need to jump on a train from Frankfurt to Dusseldorf. My concern is that the train especially second class cars may not have enough room for so much luggage. Do you think it is feasible to go second class with so much luggage or should I get first class seating to fit the luggage?
Thanks.

nytraveler

Well we traveled First Class in Germany 2 years ago and I can't imagine where we would have put all that luggage. There was room on the overheads for 1 moderate bag each and we put our carryons under our feet. And that was with two of the six seats not in use. Perhaps it is possible to ship some of your luggage ahead of you rather that dragging it through the stations and on and off trains?

robkoval

Yes, but is it possible to bring the 2 pieces of large luggage on a train like this? I assumed there were storage spaces like those that I encountered on some IC trains in Italy. My family of 5 each had one large suitcase, and we managed to put them in a storage spot near the front door of our train car.

Is there a limit on the # of suitcases one can bring on a train in Germany?

nytraveler

I think it would depend on the exact equipment being used. You'll probably have to enquire about a specific train.. One thing to remember - if you don;t keep your luggage with you - or at least within sight - there is no guarantee it will be there when you're ready to get off the train. The railraod is not responsible for this - you are - and if the train is making several stops you'll need to go to watch the luggage at each one.

klondike

Though it has been many years ago--When I moved to France I took 2 of the largest suitcases made and a flight bag. The train had a luggage car which I paid extra to have the larger bags kept in. Used a luggage cart to get them to the train.

I would check with the SNCF online for current procedures. Good luck.

klondike

oops - sorry I thought you were going on to France...obviously you'd want to check with the German equivalent!!

Melnq8

I just returned from a trip to Germany. In our group we had four women and oodles of luggage, because we'd been power shopping in Rothenburg.

One of our travel days involved four train changes. Three of the changes had transfer times of six minutes or less.

We were traveling second class, and we had no major problems with space, although our bags were too big to put in the overhead storage area. We left the bags at the end of the car on a few occasions - some cars had empty areas specifically for luggage - some did not.

We finally devised a plan to head for the bicycle car on every train. These cars are virtually empty and they have pull down seats - they're not the most comfortable seats, but they work in a pinch. We saw no bicycles in these cars, but that was probably due to the time of year.

We managed, but if I had to do it over again I think I'd search out a luggage car (I didn't see one on this trip though)and pay an extra fee for luggage transfer.

I didn't notice more luggage space in first class, but fewer people tend to travel first class so this may very well be an option.

If you're traveling alone and handling all the luggage yourself and if you have to make train changes, you might want to look into alternatives. It's a hassle to lug suitcases, and many stations have stairs, not ramps.

BTilke

First, do you know what kind of train you'll be traveling on? A "regular" train or an ICE train? If you go first class on an ICE train, you will find plenty of luggage space. There isn't a lot of dedicated luggage storage area, but there are usually far fewer people in the train car, so more room for your stuff.
Also, are you planning to travel over a German holiday or school vacation period? If yes to either one, expect a lot more passengers AND luggage, especially in second class.
Both Frankfurt (do you mean the airport station or the main city station?) and Dusseldorf train stations are well served by escalators and elevators, fortunately. (In some stations, like Bochum's, they have a slightly different arrangement--you have to climb the stairs, but you put your luggage on a conveyer belt that takes it up the stairs with you at a walking pace--neat idea that doesn't take much space but saves a lot of luggage hauling effort!)
We generally travel first class if at all possible. Much less hectic. FYI, while you are at the train platform, check to see if there's a chart for your train showing you where you should board (for the ICE trains, for example, it will display the train and the car numbers, so you can figure out where you need to go to board your car).

JonJon

You can check on where to board the train, not only on ICE's but also on IC's and EC's using the charts posted on the platform.
If you are in a compartment with 6 seats (1st Class) or 8 seats (2nd Class) the amount of room for luggage above the seats is the same. It depends on how many suitcases you have and how big they are. There is enough room for your luggage, especially if noone else is in the compartment. I'd worry about more important things than this.

BTilke

There are no seating charts for the regional trains.
Also, I see fewer and fewer trains with the old 6 seat (first) or 8 seats (second). We're in Germany almost every other week (going again this week-end) and more and more trains are in the one large compartment per car style.

Hans

There's no upper limit for bringing luggage on a train. In case that the train is full, you could encounter problems with finding enough space for your luggage within your view but you can always put it somewhere in the aisle (preferrably in a way that people can still move through the train). I think that it's not too risky to leave luggage unattended, at least nothing was ever stolen from me and I travel quite a lot with trains but that's of course no guarantee. Beside standing close to your luggage, you could also look for a seat in the restaurant. There's normally enough space to put your luggage somewhere within sight, there are often free seats even if the train is full and you can spend the whole ride there even if you drink just a coffee (though I normally tend to eat something if I spend a lot of time there).

shivmeh

Hi all,

Thank you for the great help. I was concerned for my luggage, because I have never been to europe and a friend was saying there is an upperlimit of luggage. I don't think either suitcase will be too heavy, and I am looking into ICEs that have no changes from frankfurt to dusseldorf so that it will reduce the hassle (about 10 dollars more). I am going to have to figure out a few things as I go, but this has been a lot of help.

ira

Hi shivmeh,

Keep in mind that sometimes, if your train is only stopping to discharge passengers and then going on to another stop, you only have about 5 - 10 min to get your luggage on or off the train.

That is when you have to rely on the kindness of strangers.