Maastricht - Aachen train connection

[atillathehunn]

Dear all,

As you may have seen, Arriva Nederland are now offering a through train between Maastricht and Aachen on the newly electrified line. Great news!

However, a question. I need to travel to Cologne airport shortly. I checked the DB planner page for the journey. If I begin my journey in Maastricht station I am given a route which does Maastricht - Aachen - Cologne HBF - Cologne airport for a price of €19 and change. This is fine. However, in the journey planner it includes the Aachen to Cologne segment on an ICE service.

Is this correct? I didn't think you could use an ICE service with a normal ticket, especially one so cheap.

Any experience? Any advice?

 

[Groningen]

I am correct that you are forced to take trains given in your initerary? The use of Thalys or ICE in Aachen makes your arrival in K/B Flughafen 15 minutes earlier than the use of a RE to Koeln.

 

[atillathehunn]

I am correct that you are forced to take trains given in your initerary? The use of Thalys or ICE in Aachen makes your arrival in K/B Flughafen 15 minutes earlier than the use of a RE to Koeln.

I would think that if a journey is offered, it is valid. But I'm not so sure. It seems odd so I wanted to check.

 

[Groningen]

It is not called a Sparpreis!?

 

[atillathehunn]

It is not called a Sparpreis!?

It's fine, I asked a German colleague and they explained it's the equivalent of an advance, and you're limited in terms of trains etc.

My gripe is that it still takes so long to get to the airport from here. 2.5 hours to Cologne (it's a one hour drive!), 3 hours to Dusseldorf, 2hr50 to Schiphol, only 1hr40 to Zaventem but always allow 2hr40 to allow missing the connection

 

[AlexNL]

Deutsche Bahn's Sparpreis tickets can be ridiculously cheap, if you're lucky and book in the right time.

In December 2017 I travelled from Copenhagen (DK) to Breda (NL) by train, via Puttgarden, Hamburg and Duesseldorf. I paid € 39,90 (+€ 4,50 for seat reservations) for the entire 12 hour journey.

 

[atillathehunn]

Deutsche Bahn's Sparpreis tickets can be ridiculously cheap, if you're lucky and book in the right time.

In December 2017 I travelled from Copenhagen (DK) to Breda (NL) by train, via Puttgarden, Hamburg and Duesseldorf. I paid € 39,90 (+€ 4,50 for seat reservations) for the entire 12 hour journey.

I'm not convinced this is good value for money, as it's only an hour's drive and yet still €20. Either way, I didn't necessarily want to go on the ICE, but it came up as an option, and the journey isn't going to be any cheaper than that booking the normal ticket.

 

[AlexNL]

I'm not convinced this is good value for money, as it's only an hour's drive and yet still €20.

I don't know...

Maastricht - Cologne Airport is 116km by road. Assuming an average fuel consumption of 6l/100 km and a petrol price of € 1,51 per litre, it would cost you € 10,58 to drive there. And you have to drive back too, I presume (so another € 10,58). If you're parking your car there, this costs € 29 per week. Grand total € 50,16.

I'd say € 19 for a one-way ticket is pretty reasonable.

 

[Spoorslag '70]

19€ and ICE sounds very much like a "Sparpreis" (~ Advance in British terms). You will thus be tied to the ICE train specified on the ticket (there should be a field "Zugbindung" which says something like <1184>Herzogenrath (Gr)<1080> AC-Hbf ICExxx hh:mm which means that you can use any train via Herzogenrath (Gr) to Aachen Hbf and than have to travel on ICExxx

I once did Duisburg-Narsdorf and Glauchau-Duisburg (via Dresden and Berlin!) for about 60€ total in first class, I bet I got a good part of that back with drinks in the lounges in Dresden and Leipzig (however, I am lucky enough to have a Jugend BahnCard 25 for 10€ for five or so years).

 

[duesselmartin]

Regional only costs EUR28.10
So if the time is ok, the ICE advance is a good option.
Trains are not generally cheap in Germany on standard fares.