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Is it worth doing both sides of the Rhine?

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YorkshireBear

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I have done the Rhine Valley railway from Cologne to Mainz, did it on an IC service so went down the West side. I have a potential trip (COVID dependant) and wondered if anyone has done the other side and is it worth it? Or is it just much of the same? Feels like you'd get a different view, but it does take quite a long time so yeah, is it worth it?
 
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duesselmartin

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Traffic is busier on the western side. If you wish to get off, I find the eastern bank more interesting. If its just travelling, you might spend your resouces elsewhere like the Mosel or Lahn lines from Koblenz.
 

LSWR Cavalier

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Yes definitely worth doing both sides. There are many ferries, and cruises (day boats) the whole length. The Lahn from Koblenz and the Sieg from Koeln are good too.
 

eastwestdivide

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Rather than just end-to-end on the opposite side, how about getting off somewhere scenic to have a wander along the paths that run up high?
There's a little ski-lift thing at the N end of Boppard, with good views of the railway lines and the river.
Alternatively the Rheinsteig walking route from St Goarshausen takes you up to the Lorelei rock, with equally good views of the notorious bend in the river.
Or closer to Cologne, the rack and pinion line at Königswinter has a cafe at the top with a fine view of the river and trains.
Cable car at Koblenz across the river to the fortress whose name escapes me, also with some views.
Along the Mosel, we've climbed to the castle at Cochem, with distant views of the railway.
Or if you prefer a lazier day, pick a sailing on the Goethe or another boat (discounts for rail tickets), for views of both banks from the water. You have to keep your wits about you if you're photographing the trains though!

Edit: I've posted a fair few photos from most of those places over on RMWeb (same user name, various topic/blog titles, but google my username and some of those placenames and you should find them easily enough).
 

YorkshireBear

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Amazing. It was more that I was travelling through the area but could extend journey time if worth it.

However I am hoping to stay in Koblenz next year so I will definitely check some of these pointers out. Some I've heard of, and visiting trier is definitely already on my list! Thank you very much all.
 

Gloster

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If you are stopping off to watch the trains pass, the freights tend to use the east bank and the Intercitys the west. I think that the west bank service to local stations between Boppard and Bingen (the best bit) is a bit limited.

One other possibility of interest is the inter-urban tram between Köln and Bonn.
 

LNW-GW Joint

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As it's a north-south route, the sun will be on the west side in the morning, and the east side in the afternoon.
Makes a different to the photographs! Also better travelling south-north as the sun will be behind you.
I'm not sure if the eastern side is fully open yet, they may still be doing some remedial work after the landslide which blocked the line in March.
(111) Major German freight artery along the Rhine blocked | RailUK Forums (railforums.co.uk)
 

Gloster

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A quick look at Aktuelle Verkehrsmeldungen and a check of an Osterspai-Kaub journey on Tuesday suggests that the east bank local service is running properly.
 

YorkshireBear

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Excellent thanks all again. Knew it was worth asking for some gems. I came to exploring Europe's railways quite late and only got a few trips in pre covid so internet research has been a big thing during these times! Planning future trips etc.
 

317666

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As duesselmartin says, it's well worth doing the Lahntalbahn from Koblenz to Limburg too. There are trains from Limburg onwards to Frankfurt, so you could easily do a round trip in a day from Koblenz.

Whilst I haven't done it myself, there's also the Kasbachtalbahn which runs from Linz on the right bank using heritage railbuses.
 

duesselmartin

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If you are stopping off to watch the trains pass, the freights tend to use the east bank and the Intercitys the west. I think that the west bank service to local stations between Boppard and Bingen (the best bit) is a bit limited.

One other possibility of interest is the inter-urban tram between Köln and Bonn.
Most of the time there is freight in both sides nowadays. With more trains in the HSL, dissapareance of IR trains, there is a lot of capacity and it seems the preferred side for all trains.
 

zero

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I have done both sides in both directions of travel. I didn't intend to, but one of my trains was diverted from the left to the right because of earlier delays, so for completeness' sake I had to do it all over again. If you get bored you can try to identify every castle and see if it's open to visitors for a future trip by car
 

apk55

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There are plenty of decent footpaths on both sides which include many viewpoints that overlook the Rhine.
I went for a holiday a few years ago to Bopard and as part of the holiday I walked a section of the Rhein Burgen weg (https://www.outdooractive.com/en/ro...urgenweg-complete-trail-south-north-/1516438/) from Koblenz to Oberwesel (taking several days and using the local train service to get back to hotel) This offered lots of interesting viewpoints for observing both river and rail traffic.
 

dutchflyer

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Amazing. It was more that I was travelling through the area but could extend journey time if worth it.

However I am hoping to stay in Koblenz next year so I will definitely check some of these pointers out. Some I've heard of, and visiting trier is definitely already on my list! Thank you very much all.
tip: some hotels in the area (but not many in the town itself) offer free travel in the local Verbund-area: Rhein Mosel Verbund, but this does not cover all the way. Otherwise this Verbund offers a cheap 3-day tourist pass (about 40 eur-no time limits), as with all these german offers valid on local bus and train.
Or there is the Rheinland Pfalz Landesticket-24 eur for 1 p., mo-fr only from 9.00
 
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