German Train Map Showing Major Cities and Train Lines

This map is intended to be used for travel planning and to get an idea of the extent of Germany's rail network. It shows the major German Cities and Rail lines.

The lines in purple are used for the high-speed trains. The red lines are the regular train routes.

Germany Map - Train Routes in Germany

Rail Map of Germany © 2003 by James Martin, licensed to About

You will find some of the fastest and most comfortable trains in all of Europe in Germany.

Where to go for ticketing and pass information for trains in Germany

The Die Bahn web site is also one of the most informative of European Rail web sites, and experienced rail travelers use it to find most of their rail information, even outside of Germany. There are special offers linked to the home page of the site, so check here before you go for specials.

Buying a Ticket at a German train station

Many German train stations have been recently upgraded, so buying a ticket is pretty easy. Domestic and International ticketing windows are clearly marked. Just step up and state the number of tickets and your destination. Be sure to have on hand the times of the train you want to travel on. Most accept VISA cards, for other types of credit card you'll have to look for the symbol. For German train travel tips and some help with the language, scroll down to German Rail Tips and Language Help.

If you've never traveled by train in Europe before, you might want to check out Ten Tips for traveling Europe by train. It outlines many of the procedures that are common for European train travel but seem to baffle those who've not grown up with the system.

Germany Rail Passes

Various youth passes can save student under 26 years of age lots of money on train travel. For adults, there are a variety of German Rail Passes available as well.

Train types in Germany

The high speed trains use the routes in purple on the map. The German high speed train is called ICE for InterCityExpress. They travel at speeds up to 250 km/hour quite smoothly. There are tables with electrical connections for laptops. At the end of each car there is a train computer, where you can determine your connections. It's a good idea to get a seat reservation on an ICE train. There is a supplement that you'll pay for these speedy trains, but then again, second class on an ICE train is often better than first class on some other train lines.

For other train types and German Train Etiquette, see German Business Etiquette: Traveling by Train in Germany.

German Rail Tips with Language Help

Here's a page that will give you the basic words you might use in a German train station: The Annotated English-German Rail Travel Glossary

Other Germany maps: Regional Map ::: Resource Map (Showing destinations discussed on this site).