Travelling by Train

Passengers coming to Berlin by rail arrive first at either the station Zoologischer Garten (Zoo), via stations in the suburbs - Spandau or Wannsee, from Hamburg, Hannover, Frankfurt/Main and points west, or Ostbahnhof, from Leipzig, Dresden, Prague, Warsaw and points south and east. Most services run through the city to the other main station.

Zoo Station map in pdf format click here.

Both stations have porter and left luggage services, together with cafes, newsagents, taxi ranks, and are directly on the S-Bahn network (in the case of Zoo, the U-Bahn net as well).

Each station offers long distance services - the ICE (fastest, most modern, runs between major German cities), EC (somewhat slower, links Berlin with other countries), IC (also somewhat slower, runs between major German cities); and regional services - the IR (runs between adjoining German Länder/States, stops more often, slower), RB (stops at every station, the slowest, mostly within a State).

All trains have toilet facilities. Most of the ICE, EC, IC and IR have buffet facilities. For those waiting to board a train or meet someone from a train, each platform has a board providing information about which carriage (and seat number) will pull in at which section of the platform (labelled A, B, C etc.). Announcements about delays or platform changes for arrivals are also displayed on electronic boards above each platform.

Deutsche Bahn have a particularly interesting offer for those who want to explore the countryside around Berlin - the Weekend Ticket. For DM 35 up to 5 passengers can travel anywhere on the regional network (RB) from 24.00 on Friday till 24.00 on Sunday.

You can book your train tickets online at the Deutsche Bahn by following this link. Click here.