Berlin rail travel & stations

Rail travel & stations

Travelling by train to and in Germany is usually cheaper than flying, especially if you buy a Youth, Adult or Child fare Pass.
Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) operates extensive and efficient rail services, including high-speed InterCityExpress (ICE) trains. Berlin is an important part of this ICE network, with super-fast trains connecting it with many cities.

Specific passes for rail travel in Germany can be bought before your departure from Rail Europe UK or Rail Europe USA , depending on your country of residence. Passes give you discounts of various kinds on cross-border trains and other travel in Germany. Children travel free on trains up to the age of 4, and family discounts are sometimes available.

You can take the ICE (Inter City Express) trains to any of the major German cities.
ICE trains have two classes of service: first class and second class.
Each ICE train has a restaurant carriage with a restaurant and a self service buffet area.

ICE trains go from Berlin to Hanover in 1 hour 35 minutes, to Frankfurt am Main in 3 hours 30 minutes, to Hamburg in 2 hours 10 minutes. The high-speed trains network is expanding its routes, serving now destinations across Western Europe, for example in Switzerland and Austria. You can reach Berlin from all directions by using not only ICE trains but also the fast InterCity, EuroCity and InterRegio Trains. There are supplements to be paid for travel on ICE, IC and EC trains.

For historical reasons, Berlin doesn't have one central station from which trains to all regional destinations depart. Instead, there are a number of main stations, each of which serves different lines.

The two main stations are the centrally located Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten (usually called Zoo) and the Ostbahnhof (East Station): most trains to major cities pass through them.
Other Berlin stations are Lichtenberg, Wannsee, Spandau and Schönefeld.

The Zoo Station (Bahnhof Zoo) is in the Western centre of the city, and is the main point of arrival from Western destinations, including Hamburg and Amsterdam (journey time for the latter is around 6.15 hours).
The Zoo Station is few minutes' walk from the Kurfürstendamm. Near the railway station, in the Europa-Center, is a Berlin Tourist-Info-Center.

The Ostbahnhof (East Station), formerly known as Hauptbahnhof Berlin, is located in Friedrichshain, not far from the East-Side-Gallery. Almost all long-distance trains stop here.

You will be arriving in Lichtenberg (East Berlin) if you are coming from Eastern destinations such as Vienna (journey time 7.20 hours), Prague (journey time 4.45 hours) and Budapest.

Durations of train journeys to Berlin from other major destinations are: Paris 12 hours (with overnight sleeper), Brussels about 8 hours, Zurich 8.20 hours, Warsaw 6.10 hours.

In addition to the 6 stations for long-distance trains listed above, Berlin has railway stations for regional trains, with excellent links to public transport: Charlottenburg, Friedrichstraße and Alexanderplatz stations.

The main stations are all situated on the S-Bahn (urban railway) spine, which arches from west to east across the city.
Travellers can use Berlin's S-Bahn system free of charge if they have a valid DB (Deutsche Bahn) train ticket.
All railway stations are well connected to the city's public transport, including the U-Bahn (underground) network, either directly or via a short journey on the main east–west line. Taxi ranks and buses are also available outside the main stations.

In 2006, Berlin should have its first, and most controversial, Central Station (Hauptbahnhof), being built as Europe's largest station, designed by Gerkan, Marg and Partner, the same architect of Berlin's Tegel airport.

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