DB London Spezial

[Train jaune]

Thought it worthy of a mention that I booked a ticket with DB yesterday from Berlin to London for 59 euro!! First class was 109 euro, what a bargain

 

[317666]

Indeed these tickets are fantastic if you book at the right time and end up with one, last year I managed Berlin - London for the same price.

Sadly with Eurostar now opening their bookings six months ahead rather than three, I get the feeling that at busy times the connecting Eurostars will already be booked up before DB even open their bookings!

 

[Greenback]

These fares are terrible. I urge everyone not to use DB London Spezial tickets if they can find one. It's much better to pay seperately for your journeys.

(Then there should be tickets left for me to use )

Seriously, I thought the six months Eurostar thingy was temporary. Has it bene made permanent?

 

[317666]

Seriously, I thought the six months Eurostar thingy was temporary. Has it been made permanent?

I was under the impression that it was always intended to be permanent - I might be mistaken there!

 

[Greenback]

I'm sure I read somewhere that it was for a trial period. I can't remember where I saw that (I may have dreamt it!) but presumably if they deem it to be a success it will become permanent.

It would leave them out of synch with the rest of Europe, though.

 

[Yew]

Indeed, a 3 month fares horizon seems fairly common.

I need to tell my friend whos moving to germany for a while to find out whats happening so I cna start booking tickets to see him!

 

[lemonic]

I was also under the impression that the 6 month booking horizon was a trial, but I have no doubt that the trial will be successful and I wouldn't be surprised if it was made permanent (subject to technical constraints, such as having the timetable finalised for the December timetable change etc.)

Eurostar's main competition are the airlines, whose bookings open much longer than 4 months in advance, so it makes sense for them to extend their booking horizon. This is, of course, inconvenient for those passengers travelling beyond Paris, Brussels or Lille, but we are in the minority.

 

[Greenback]

I have always believed that Eurostar should see itself more as a rail company than an airline!

 

[lemonic]

I have always believed that Eurostar should see itself more as a rail company than an airline!

I agree, but in reality Eurostar is much more like an airline than a rail company. For example,
* Everyone has to check-in before departure
* Virtually no-one turns up and buys tickets on the day
* Eurostar's yield management system is far more like that of airlines than rail companies (i.e. much more sophisticated)
* Eurostar is pretty much point-to-point with hardly any stops en-route.

Going back to the booking horizon topic, I have noticed that 4 trains for 19 July have already sold out in Standard over 3 months before travel, so you can't blame Eurostar for opening bookings over 4 months in advance.

 

[Greenback]

I agree, but in reality Eurostar is much more like an airline than a rail company. For example,
* Everyone has to check-in before departure
* Virtually no-one turns up and buys tickets on the day
* Eurostar's yield management system is far more like that of airlines than rail companies (i.e. much more sophisticated)
* Eurostar is pretty much point-to-point with hardly any stops en-route.

Those are the things I would like to see changed, but since it was set up as an airline type operation originally, I realise I have little hope in reality!

I remember there being controversy originally as the fare from Ashford to Calais was the same as London to Paris!

Going back to the booking horizon topic, I have noticed that 4 trains for 19 July have already sold out in Standard over 3 months before travel, so you can't blame Eurostar for opening bookings over 4 months in advance.

It makes sense for them, but they know they are not entirely a stand alone business, as they ar epar tof Rail Team and will happily endorse and accept tickets where services are delayed.

It doesn't make sense to me that in one respect they seem to want to integrate themselves with TGV, Thalys and the like, but then in another respect they don't. Of course, if TGV's and Thalys also extend their booking windows, then that will be a different matter! The latter are also like airlines, more so than traditional services.

 

[30907]

Sadly with Eurostar now opening their bookings six months ahead rather than three, I get the feeling that at busy times the connecting Eurostars will already be booked up before DB even open their bookings!

Fortunately, I think the various quotas are independent (at least the DB one) - I say this on the basis that the fare doesn't seem to vary according to which
ES, whereas it does according to which of the Brussels-Cologne ICEs you use (and other DB services too, to an extent).

Worth saying that while First Class starts at EUR109, it doesn't go up as quickly as Standard - so you can often get it for 10-20EUR extra, which even I will bite on.

@train jaune - did you have to overnight in Belgium to get this fare?

 

[Train jaune]

Yep, got an overnight in Brussels but that's fine with me. I'm having an adventure and flying out to Gdansk and taking the train back

 

[Goldfish62]

Thought it worthy of a mention that I booked a ticket with DB yesterday from Berlin to London for 59 euro!! First class was 109 euro, what a bargain

Yes, I got the same recently. There seems to particularity limited availability to/from Berlin so it pays to book on the day bookings open (91- 92 days in advance).

 

[philjo]

On a similar topic, I am looking at the DB Europe Spezial tickets for SLovenia-Munich. These look to be at least €10 cheaper than the fare booked from Slovenia just to Salzburg on the same train.
I plan to stay 2 nights in Salzburg then return to London on the London Spezial ticket.

Presumably I could book a Slovenia-Munich spezial ticket (with a 45 hour stopover specified in Salzburg)
Then would it be best so use a different London Spezial ticket starting from Salzburg or book from Munich using the 2nd journey of the sloevenia ticket to get to Munich (the price to London seems to be the same - €159 1st class to ST Pancras from either station)

 

[30907]

There's nothing to stop you stopping over at Salzburg (indeed, I've done it, having noticed exactly the same price anomaly last year!).

Might be worth checking out the prices with a split further into Germany (Frankfurt?).
Or specifying "not ICE" for Salzburg-Frankfurt on the London Spezial if you are using a direct EC/IC - it might make a big difference.

 

[swtandgw]

I've travelled on one of these going to Stuttgart via Brussels-Midi and Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbf last year, and I'm doing the same this year, though the downside is having to wait until the tickets are available to avoid missing out on the cheapest ticket, but I've got a rough date pencilled in so then I can try to book them as early as I can.

Only bad experience I've had with DB was the delays I've had when I was going to and from Stuttgart, and I was twice unlucky. I've had one just outside of Düren while I was on my way to Frankfurt Flughafen to catch my connecting train, and by the time I got there I missed my connection, which resulted in me having to travel to Mannheim to catch another ICE service going to Stuttgart. After my holiday, I got my train back to Frankfurt Flughafen to get the connecting service to Brussels-Midi, and then another trespass incident happened, which made me miss my connection.

This time, I was stuck in the station for about 2-3 hours before the next service arrived, but as the next Eurostar to London wasn't until the next day, I had to stay overnight in a hostel in Brussels, and I got lost in the city while trying to find it without mobile internet (because of rip-off tariffs), until I finally found the place, and got a good night's sleep!

I was very nearly put off travelling with DB ever again, but then I realised that it was just bad luck, and I'm hoping they don't repeat it when I come back for my weekend break. Also, I'm hoping to get a ride on the new Velaro D (BR407) trains. On the bright side, DB's customer service was second to none, and the guards were very understanding of the situation when I had to catch another service after missing the connection.

 

[Train_Juane]

Back from my jaunt to Poland. Got the early morning train from Gdansk to Berlin. Nice traditional 6 seater compartments with curtains so you could hide from people in the corridor. Not the fastest I've been on but a good ti just relax and watch the countryside go by. Day in Berlin and the next day was ICE to Brussels with a change in Cologne. Berlin Hauptbahnhof is fantastic! Just hope we get something similar at Euston eventually if HS2 every arrives. Really impressed with ICE trains, comfortable with loads of leg and elbow room and smooth quiet ride. (so unlike the cramped Pendolino I had to endure later on). Brussels Midi is a bit of a dump in my opinion and Eurostar was tired and grubby. Bit of an adventure coming back on the train after flying out with Ryanair but I'd recommend it to anyone

 

[lj9090]

Just a quick FYI incase anyone else gets caught out...

When booking these don't select seat selections. I went through the whole process of paying only to find at the end a message right at the end to say, sorry seats sold out.
I tried a couple of options of Eurostar and a few options of connecting IC/ICEs, and they all came back with the same result. I just figured it being August Bank Holiday weekend I'd missed out and they'd sold out already.

I later thought I might be trying too early as the booking horizon has only just come in, so tried again after midnight. Same result but suddenly thought I wonder if my preference is trying to be matched - I was asking for a window table in quiet zone, which is a bit restrictive so tried without and to my surprise it went through.
It seems that if your specific selection isn't available on the Eurostar leg, rather than just booking anything available or suggesting to try another preference it instead tells you sorry, no seats left. It does this right at the end after you've entered all the payment details and hit confirm too.

 

[Aictos]

Just wondering but what's it like changing at Brussels from the Eurostar to the ICE/Thalys, what's Cologne station like and finally anyone been on both the Thalys AND ICE to give me some idea of what to expect on both services?

I've used ICE from Berlin to Hannover but never on a international route, do they check your passport on the train as I've been looking at London to Cologne via Brussels and am interested to hear some views

 

[eastwestdivide]

Prefer the ICE to the Thalys - ICE seems to have more room/less cramped and is less claustrophobic, at least in 2nd. The Thalys was very deep red inside, making it very dark.
Never had passport checks once past the Eurostar. It's all part of the Schengen area, so you wouldn't expect it.
Plenty of advice elsewhere on this forum about the Brussels change.
Cologne (Köln) Hbf is large and busy, with more than one underpass between platforms, and more food than you can shake a stick at downstairs.

 

[Aictos]

Prefer the ICE to the Thalys - ICE seems to have more room/less cramped and is less claustrophobic, at least in 2nd. The Thalys was very deep red inside, making it very dark.
Never had passport checks once past the Eurostar. It's all part of the Schengen area, so you wouldn't expect it.
Plenty of advice elsewhere on this forum about the Brussels change.
Cologne (Köln) Hbf is large and busy, with more than one underpass between platforms, and more food than you can shake a stick at downstairs.

Cool, just looking at a day trip at moment - get there about 12:15 and leave about 16:30ish so short trip but enjoyable I hope.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Really impressed with ICE trains, comfortable with loads of leg and elbow room and smooth quiet ride. (so unlike the cramped Pendolino I had to endure later on).

I tried Česky Drahy's Pendolino from Ostrava to Prague last week, and found it excellent.
The layout is 1+2 in both 1st and 2nd class.
Seats are large and comfortable, with pretty much ideal window spacing in 1st (all with tables).
In 2nd they appeared to be the same seats (1+2 format) but mostly airline style with less legroom, but still very adequate.
I know continental Pendolinos are wider than ours, but the 2nd class seating was far superior to Virgin's squashed 2+2 seating.
We also navigated 3 stretches of wrong-line working for engineering work on the normal track.
Very impressive operation. Maximum speed 160kph, with lots of tilting.
Oddly, no electronic seat reservation displays. Free drinks and biscuits in 1st, but you pay for food.
The on-board tracker via wifi on my phone was pretty impressive too (pics).

 

[Train_Juane]

2 + 1 in 2nd class is great and wish GB pendos had that. Downside is you'd have 100s of passengers milling about cause they couldn't get a seat

 

[SephenWorceste]

Just wondering but what's it like changing at Brussels from the Eurostar to the ICE/Thalys, what's Cologne station like and finally anyone been on both the Thalys AND ICE to give me some idea of what to expect on both services?

Changing from Eurostar to Ice is easy. They seem to go from near by platforms. The connection to Ice can be a tight twenty minutes. The trick is to use the Connections exit off the Eurostar platform. Seat 61 has very good instructions. I made sure I was standing by the train door as we approached Brussels. I did not want to be behind a large party unloading luggage. The connection times to Thalys seem to be more generous. Both Ice and Thalys are very good trains. I think Thalys is essentially TGV and Ice is Ice 3.

Cologne or Koln HBF is a very big and busy station. The concourse is under the tracks which seems quite common. Signs, announcements and information desks seem to use both German and English. Platforms tend to be very long and labeled in zones A, B, and so on. The platform displays tell you which zone to wait in for your class of travel. You can also smoke on the platform in designated areas. If you have time it is worth popping outside the station as thee is a impressive church next to the station.

Best wishes, Stephen.

 

[Goldfish62]

Back from my jaunt to Poland. Got the early morning train from Gdansk to Berlin. Nice traditional 6 seater compartments with curtains so you could hide from people in the corridor. Not the fastest I've been on but a good ti just relax and watch the countryside go by. Day in Berlin and the next day was ICE to Brussels with a change in Cologne. Berlin Hauptbahnhof is fantastic! Just hope we get something similar at Euston eventually if HS2 every arrives. Really impressed with ICE trains, comfortable with loads of leg and elbow room and smooth quiet ride. (so unlike the cramped Pendolino I had to endure later on). Brussels Midi is a bit of a dump in my opinion and Eurostar was tired and grubby. Bit of an adventure coming back on the train after flying out with Ryanair but I'd recommend it to anyone

I've done Berlin to St Pancras four times in the past few years. The ICEs really are fantastic trains that any InterCity operator should try to emulate. The ICE1 and 2 are my favourites as they are built to the larger German loading guage, whereas the ICE3 is built to UIC gauge.

Just a shame about DB punctuality - late nearly every time!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Just a quick FYI incase anyone else gets caught out...

When booking these don't select seat selections. I went through the whole process of paying only to find at the end a message right at the end to say, sorry seats sold out.
I tried a couple of options of Eurostar and a few options of connecting IC/ICEs, and they all came back with the same result. I just figured it being August Bank Holiday weekend I'd missed out and they'd sold out already.

I later thought I might be trying too early as the booking horizon has only just come in, so tried again after midnight. Same result but suddenly thought I wonder if my preference is trying to be matched - I was asking for a window table in quiet zone, which is a bit restrictive so tried without and to my surprise it went through.
It seems that if your specific selection isn't available on the Eurostar leg, rather than just booking anything available or suggesting to try another preference it instead tells you sorry, no seats left. It does this right at the end after you've entered all the payment details and hit confirm too.

I've had that problem too. I rang the DB office at Surbiton and operator couldn't explain the problem. However, he said there were plenty of seats available and booked us in. The tickets arrived in the post next day, and as they weren't print-at-home there was no need to show my credit card to the guards on the train.

So, if the website tells you there are no seats right at the end of booking, phone up DB.

 

[Oscar]

Indeed these tickets are fantastic if you book at the right time and end up with one, last year I managed Berlin - London for the same price.

Sadly with Eurostar now opening their bookings six months ahead rather than three, I get the feeling that at busy times the connecting Eurostars will already be booked up before DB even open their bookings!

I thought there was a fixed Eurostar quota for the London-Spezial tickets?

 

[gordonthemoron]

that's what I thought too, at least in 2nd class. When I've used it in the past, the entire coach had LS tickets

 

[davetheguard]

I've tinkered with the idea of buying a London Spezial ticket, but no more than that.

Obviously the Euro 59 price is the most attractive, but whenever I've tried putting various dates and final destinations in to the DB website, the only journeys I've found at this price involve an overnight stay in Brussels. All other services seem to cost more.

Is this usual, or have I just not looked hard enough?

 

[gordonthemoron]

you need to buy them as soon as they become available. However, I have had more luck in the opposite direction. Going London-Munich I used to choose to connect with the sleeper in Cologne but I'm not sure it's possible to do that anymore
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
just tried London-Munich late June, leaving at 15:04 with 1.5 hour stop in Cologne €99 for EST/ICE/ICE, with 2.5 hour stop shows me EST/ICE/CNL but no price

 

[lj9090]

Aswell as booking early if you haven't got a simple journey then I think you have to be quite careful with the stopover times to get on trains which still have quota available, not just on the Eurostar leg but also on the journeys within Germany.

The route I've booked is London-Brussels-Koeln-Nuernberg and then local trains onto Schirdning to get to CZ. I'm stopping overnight in Koeln and two nights in Nuernberg. I found I had to get the stopover timing exactly right; quite a few of the trains from Koeln->Nuernberg bumped the price up considerably so it took some tweaking to make sure I was on the cheaper ones.

I also had a choice between the 10.58 Eurostar and 20 minute Brussels connection for €89, or the 12.58 and a 2hr ish wait for €69, so there was that aswell. All in there was probably several hours of playing with the system.