Dusseldorf to Wuppertal to Solingen (via Remscheid) to köln Thursday March 2nd

[bradleyd]

On Thursday March 7th, I have a ticket from Amsterdam to köln on the 8:08 from Amsterdam.

I'm planning on getting off that train at Dusseldorf at 10:17 and then get a train to wuppertal-vohwhinkel, take a short walk to the schwebebahn, then take the schwebebahn all the way to the other end at oberbahmen, then the S7 to Solingen Hbf (I know that it will be rail replacement between Wuppertal-ronsdorf and Remscheid Hbf) but my main aim is to go over the mungstererbrucke) and then onwards to köln.

No other travel while I'm there, apart from maybe tram in köln at some point in the 24hrs I'm there before heading back to Amsterdam.

Times is no issue, but I am struggling to figure out what sort of costs the Dusseldorf onwards bit would be, or what the cheapest option would be, has anybody got any help suggestions or anything?

 

[DanielB]

It appears that the cheapest option is to buy single tickets:

Düsseldorf Hbf - Wuppertal Vohwinkel:
- VRR EinzelTicket preisstufe B = € 6,40

Wuppertal Vohwinkel - Wuppertal Oberbarmen:
- VRR EinzelTicket preisstufe A3 = € 3,10

Wuppertal Oberbarmen - Solingen Hbf:
- VRR EinzelTicket preisstufe B = € 6,40

Solingen Hbf - Köln Hbf:
- VRS EinzelTicket preisstufe 4 = € 8,34

That adds up to a total of € 24,24

The trip from Düsseldorf to Solingen via Wuppertal and the Schwebebahn would also be possible using a 24-Stunden ticket preisstufe C (but be aware to select the correct validity region), however that would cost € 25,90 and not be valid for the full trip from Solingen to Köln.

Details of the fare system in the VRR area (which includes your trip exept Solingen - Köln) can be found in this brochure (English version).
Playing around with the journey planner at VRR.de is the easiest way to gain insight in the fares as there are funny things in the system. Such as that buying a seperate ticket for the Schwebebahn (the stufe A3 ticket above) is cheaper than buying a through ticket from Düsseldorf to Oberbarmen for some reason.

 

[P Binnersley]

It might be more interesting to go from Dusseldorf to Wuppertal Oberbarmen and get the Schwebebahn back to Vorwinkel and then O-bus to Solingen Mitte (30 minutes) for the train to the Mungsten bridge.

I visited the Mungsten bridge last Summer and spend 75 minutes walking down to the river from Solingen Schaberg and back before returning to Solingen.

Photography on the south side is obstructed by trees and the best photos are from the north side (but into the sun).
The approaches to the bridge are straight so you won't see much going over it (photo).

 

[dutchflyer]

Depending on what you may want on other travel that day, it could be done a lot cheaper in total. By using the NRW-Tagesticket, valid from Arnhem in NL. But on the slower RE19 only.
It seems again that many Brits have infinite trouble with understanding how these zonal fares work: ANY point in zone A/start to ANY point in zone B is covered-by whatever means, does not matter how many changes would be needed. And in this VRR the end Zone is not even specified-as long as you move away from starting point and stay in the paid for zones and in the allotted time, its all OK. So even short breaks are allowed. The 2nd ticket for only Schw bahn is thus not needed. You could save till zone/Stufe B for next section by using it till exact last stop in Wuppertal on border to Remscheid and buy new from there-decide yourself if thats worth the trouble.
Also agree with above that the ride on the trolleybus would be more interesting-also becse of the SEV-bus replacement. There are of course also various direct buslinks from W to Remscheid.
Also; word of caution, I know DE has/d the name for being pünktlich but alas, since many moons esp. in this area it is not. Cancellations and late running have to be expected. Wuppertal main=HBF is brand new, not that outstanding shiny or worthgoing to, but if you pass it anyway...

 

[30907]

Depending on what you may want on other travel that day, it could be done a lot cheaper in total. By using the NRW-Tagesticket, valid from Arnhem in NL. But on the slower RE19 only.

The OP has a ticket from NL to DE already

It seems again that many Brits have infinite trouble with understanding how these zonal fares work:

As DanielB has said, for some reason Wu-Oberbarmen is a higher price level.

 

[DanielB]

The 2nd ticket for only Schw bahn is thus not needed. You could save till zone/Stufe B for next section by using it till exact last stop in Wuppertal on border to Remscheid

Nope, that's not true. From Düsseldorf Hbf to Wuppertal Hbf a stufe B ticket is not enough, but you'll need a stufe C ticket costing € 13,60. So a Stufe B ticket plus an additional Stufe A3 ticket for the trip within Wuppertal is actually cheaper. (€ 6,40 + € 3,10 = € 9,50). Just plan the trip in the VRR planner and you'll see (it obviously gives the direct train, but as it's a zonal fare that doesn't matter here).


No idea why that is, as when buying an Stufe B ticket online the webshop shows a validity-map including the whole route from Düsseldorf and the whole of Wuppertal as well. But its tight in timing anyway: a stufe B ticket is valid for two hours and you'd only just make it when traveling along the entire Schwebebahn.

Depending on what you may want on other travel that day, it could be done a lot cheaper in total. By using the NRW-Tagesticket, valid from Arnhem in NL.

But as the OP already has a ticket for the ICE and states he only wants to travel from Düsseldorf to Wuppertal, along the Schwebebahn and then via Solingen to Köln, the NRW-ticket is almost 10 euros more expensive than single tickets.

 

[bradleyd]

Thank you Daniel B, that is really really helpful, especially about the zones (I'd been reading but hadn't clicked on to that). As you say, I already have amsterdam-köln to Köln to Amsterdam the next day Sparpreis tickets, so it is literally the Dusseldorf to schwebebahn to other end of Schwebebahn to Solingen to köln and you have covered the tickets required to perfection. Massively appreciated

 

[Golghar]

If you take the S-Bahn from Solingen Hbf. to Düsseldorf and proceed to Köln from there using your Amsterdam to Köln ticket yoi'll save the Solingen to Köln fare which is €8.60.

 

[DanielB]

If you take the S-Bahn from Solingen Hbf. to Düsseldorf and proceed to Köln from there using your Amsterdam to Köln ticket yoi'll save the Solingen to Köln fare which is €8.60.

Not really. You'll then need a preisstufe C ticket to travel from Wuppertal Oberbarmen via Remscheid to Düsseldorf costing € 13,60 instead of the stufe B ticket till Solingen costing € 6,40.
So you're saving just € 1,14: Solingen - Köln at € 8,34 is not needed then, but you'll need a VRR-ticket that's € 7,20 more expensive to get to Düsseldorf.

 

[30907]

Not really. You'll then need a preisstufe C ticket to travel from Wuppertal Oberbarmen via Remscheid to Düsseldorf costing € 13,60 instead of the stufe B ticket till Solingen costing € 6,40.
So you're saving just € 1,14: Solingen - Köln at € 8,34 is not needed then, but you'll need a VRR-ticket that's € 7,20 more expensive to get to Düsseldorf.

And in any case the OP has a Sparpreis ticket which doesn't allow them to break their journey.

Which BTW has just made me wonder - how much of the whole journey could one do on a Sparpreis using the "via" facility with/without it costing extra?
Too late now for the OP but the first example I tried (ICE105) was actually slightly cheaper with the detour, even allowing for having to pay for the Schwebebahn!

 

[Golghar]

A Sparpreis or SuperSparpreis Ticket can be used on any non-IC/ICE train running on the same route within the period of validity (two days).

 

[Spoorslag '70]

A Sparpreis or SuperSparpreis Ticket can be used on any non-IC/ICE train running on the same route within the period of validity (two days).

Nope. It can be used on any regional trains on sections of route marked *NV* in the VIA-field. If a long-distance train is specified, it has to be used (and conversely, if one wants to use a long-distance train, it has to be specified on the ticket)*

[exceptions apply where long-distance trains are partially funded by the regional governments]

 

[fandroid]

I'm not trying to confuse the OP, but am interested. Are there any VRS tickets that would cover the journey?

Several years back I bought an inclusive one to cover local transport in Köln plus an excursion by RE to Wuppertal, several runs on the Schwebebahn, back to Köln and then on an RE service to Düsseldorf Flughafen.

 

[zero]

I'm not trying to confuse the OP, but am interested. Are there any VRS tickets that would cover the journey?

Several years back I bought an inclusive one to cover local transport in Köln plus an excursion by RE to Wuppertal, several runs on the Schwebebahn, back to Köln and then on an RE service to Düsseldorf Flughafen.

A VRS 24-hour ticket at level 3 costing €12.99 online / app may work, using Leichlingen as origin. This would not cover a train from Duesseldorf to Wuppertal. But the OP could go to Koeln first as they have a ticket for that already.

Leichlingen to Koeln, Leichlingen to Oberbarmen via Vohwinkel, and Leichlingen to Oberbarmen via Solingen Mitte, are all covered by price level 3, as confirmed by the VRS journey planner.

You would buy the ticket to start about 1.5 hours before you want to depart from Koeln, to cover a pretend outbound from Leichlingen to Koeln. Then you take the following journeys: the "return" from Koeln to Leichlingen, Leichlingen to Wuppertal and return, and then another outbound to Koeln. You would have to use RB48 as RE7 skips Leichlingen.


I have done this sort of thing several times per year since 2017 (including the covid period) but not once have I encountered a ticket check, so I have no idea whether an inspector on the Schwebebahn would accept this without question or want to argue about it. I do have the journey planner results page saved on my phone whenever doing something which (to me) seems a bit dodgy intuitively, but maybe a German inspector would have no issue.

 

[bradleyd]

A VRS 24-hour ticket at level 3 costing €12.99 online / app may work, using Leichlingen as origin. This would not cover a train from Duesseldorf to Wuppertal. But the OP could go to Koeln first as they have a ticket for that already.

Leichlingen to Koeln, Leichlingen to Oberbarmen via Vohwinkel, and Leichlingen to Oberbarmen via Solingen Mitte, are all covered by price level 3, as confirmed by the VRS journey planner.

You would buy the ticket to start about 1.5 hours before you want to depart from Koeln, to cover a pretend outbound from Leichlingen to Koeln. Then you take the following journeys: the "return" from Koeln to Leichlingen, Leichlingen to Wuppertal and return, and then another outbound to Koeln. You would have to use RB48 as RE7 skips Leichlingen.


I have done this sort of thing several times per year since 2017 (including the covid period) but not once have I encountered a ticket check, so I have no idea whether an inspector on the Schwebebahn would accept this without question or want to argue about it. I do have the journey planner results page saved on my phone whenever doing something which (to me) seems a bit dodgy intuitively, but maybe a German inspector would have no issue.

Ooooh, that sounds like it could work. Get to köln (after having bought VRS 24 level 3, origin leichlingen ticket for roughly 9am (due to arrive köln 10:45))leave my bags in the luggage at the station, and then it covers doing this journey, and can decide which direction to do solingen->Solingen