Missed Your Train Connection in Germany? Exact Steps to Take | Trainvave

Usually no. If the missed connection was caused by a delay on the DB system (first train late arriving), you have the right to take the next available train to your destination without buying a new ticket — including the next ICE if your original was an RE, as long as your total journey time increases by at least 20 min. Show your original ticket and explain to the conductor. This right applies even on Sparpreis tickets, provided the delay is DB's fault.

That's your problem, not DB's, and a standard Sparpreis ticket won't be re-honoured. You'd need to buy a new ticket for the next train. Lesson: never book a connection with less than 10 minutes at a major hub, and add buffer for a first-time visitor.

Open DB Navigator app and enter your destination — it'll immediately show the next options factoring in live delays. Or check the departure board at the station for your destination city. Announcements in German plus bilingual (English) on long-distance lines. Conductors on the platform can help redirect you to another train.

If your missed connection was DB's fault and the last train of the night has departed, you have the right to reasonable accommodation costs (DB publishes no flat nightly hotel cap) and, if you are stranded after midnight, to another means of transport such as a taxi up to EUR 120. Keep receipts. See our hotel & taxi reimbursement guide for the current DB rule. Ask conductor or at the DB service centre: 'Welche Möglichkeiten habe ich wegen der Verspätung?' (What are my options due to the delay?).

Yes, if delay at final destination is 60 minutes or more: 25% of the ticket price back. 120 minutes or more: 50%. Fill out the Fahrgastrechte form at any DB service centre or online at bahn.de. Processing takes 2-4 weeks. Tourists can claim via the online English form even after returning home. See our refund guide.

No — buying a new ticket can actually jeopardise your refund claim. If you take an alternative DB train and the conductor challenges your original ticket, explain the missed connection caused by delay (get the delay printed on a 'Bestätigung' slip from the original conductor if possible). Only buy a new ticket if you're switching to a non-DB service (like FlixTrain) where your original doesn't apply.