Regional trains serve most of Germany, but are underused by tourists. DB Regio, federal states and transport authorities direct trains running on more than 300 lines, making them one of the country’s leading modes of public transport. 

Visitors to Germany can discover why about four million passengers a day use these trains. 

German regional trains are where travellers can use Germany’s cheapest rail tickets, including Deutschland-Ticket, Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket and Länder-Tickets. 

The network interlinks with bus and tram routes and tourists can plan their journeys on the DB website or in DB Navigator app, where tickets are sold. 

Regional trains have many brands

Non-DB Regio trains run under many colours. This guide covers most of Germany’s regional rail networks branded by private companies or DB Regio under the direction of federal states or regional transport authorities. 

The German rail company BeNEX owns several of these operators. 

Sometimes S-Bahn lines form segment of the services. Operating contracts are awarded for fixed terms. The S-Bahn systems of Berlin and Hamburg are part of the Deutschland-Ticket network. 

The networks in this guide are divided into northern, central and southern Germany. 

Regional train operators in northern Germany

Nordbahn: The Nordbahn network of eight RE and two RB train services interconnect the state of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. Two trains connect Itzehoe and Hamburg (one extending to Hamburg-Altona). Kiel-Schleswig-Husum, Kiel-Rendsburg and Kiel-Flensburg services extend to the Danish border and northern Frisia. 

Weser-Elbe Bahn: On the north-west German coast, the single EVB train service runs Buxtehude-Bremerhaven-Cuxhaven as RB33. Rail passes are valid between Bremerhaven and Cuxhaven. 

Metronom-Enno: Metronom and its partner Enno run four services including Hamburg-Bremen, Hamburg-Hannover-Wolfsburg and Wolfsburg-Hildesheim trains. Tickets can be booked through the HVV website. 

NordWestBahn: This operator runs more than a dozen trains in the lower Rhine and Westphalia (Niedersachsen) regions. Six are so-called Regio-S-Bahn lines. These include small networks converging on Bremen (including Bremen-Bremerhaven, Bremen-Oldenburg, Bremen-Osnabrück and Bremen-Verden), trains running Osnabrück-Oldenburg-Wilhelmshaven, Osnabrück-Bremen, Bielefeld-Paderborn, Paderborn-Kreiensen (with a branch to Göttingen). Rail passes are accepted on most trains (but not between Bremen and Vegesack or Bremen and Farge). 

Erixx: The Metronom network associate operates Lüneburg-Dannenberg Ost services. The Erixx website explains ticketing, but tickets are sold at the HVV or VBN websites. 

Usedomer Bäderbahn: The UBB Züssow-Şwinoujşcie/Swinemunde trains – with a branch to Peenemünde and an associated bus network – serve the Baltic coastal towns around Usedom and the Polish border. Tickets are available at the UBB website. 

ODEG: Ostedeutsche Eisenbahn runs multiple rail services in eastern Germany, including trains through Berlin and services in the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg and Sachsen, reaching into central Germany. 

Pasewalk-Greifswald-Stralsund
Rostock-Neustrelitz
Rostock-Sassnitz
Wismar-Schwerin-Berlin-Elsterwerda
Rehna-Schwerin-Parchim
Schwerin-Bad Kleinen
Hagenow-Parchim
Plau-Waren
Plau-Parchim
Potsdam-Jüterbog
Brandenburg-Rathenow
Nauen-Berlin-Baruth
Magdeburg-Berlin-Cottbus
Forst-Cottbus
Cottbus-Zittau
Hoyerswerda-Görlitz

Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn: The network of four short regional routes operates in Berlin’s hinterland, three leading from Berlin’s Ostkreuz, Lichtenberg and Gesundbrunnen stations and linking destinations such as Bernau, Kostrzyn nad Odrą/Küstrin (in Poland) and Frankfurt an der Oder (near the Polish border). 

Regional train operators in central Germany 

Abellio: Abellio Deutschland regional trains interlink towns and cities in Hesse, Thüringen and Sachsen-Anhalt. Abellio operates the Saale-Thüringen-Südharz (STS) network of about a dozen regional services, including the RB20 Eisenach-Erfurt-Naumburg train, and the Dieselnetz Sachsen-Anhalt (Disa) network. Lines include: 

Halle-Nordhausen-Kassel/Wilhelmshöhe (likely affected by work closures during the second half of 2026)

Leipzig-Naumburg-Jena Paradies-Saalfeld
Halle-Naumburg-Weimar-Erfurt-(Eisenach)
Naumburg-Weimar- Erfurt- Gotha-Eisenach 

WestfalenBahn: Abellio’s Nordrhein-Westfalen train network operates three interlinking routes: Münster-Rheine-Emden (the Emsland-Express), Rheine-Osnabrück-Hannover-Braunschweig/Brunswick and Bielefeld-Hannover-Braunschweig. 

Eurobahn: The Düsseldorf-based Eurobahn runs 15 train routes in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Niedersachsen and the Netherlands, including: Düsseldorf-Dortmund-Hamm, Venlo-Düsseldorf-Wuppertal-Hamm, Münster-Dortmund, Hengelo-Osnabrück-Bielefeld, Münster-Rheine, Münster-Osnabrück, Münster-Bielefeld and Münster-Hamm-Paderborn. The Venlo (Netherlands) Mönchengladbach-Düsseldorf-Hamm Maas-Wupper-Express transitions to a DB Regio subsidiary late in 2026 and German Rail Pass and Deutschland-Ticket are valid as far as Venlo. 

Rhein-Ruhr-Express: The National Express-operated Rhein-Ruhr network brands its RE services as RRX. The lines, converging on Cologne, Düsseldorf-Duisburg and Essen, are: 

Aachen-Cologne-Düsseldorf-Duisburg-Essen-Dortmund-Hamm-Kassel
Wesel-Duisburg-Düsseldorf (with links to Emmerich and Bocholt)
Osnabrück-Münster-Essen
Duisburg-Essen-Dortmund-Minden
Cologne-Duisburg-Essen-Dortmund-Kassel
Koblenz-Cologne-Düsseldorf-Duisburg-Dortmund-Bielefeld-Herford
Düsseldorf-Duisburg-Essen-Münster-Osnabrück

Wi-fi and sockets at seats are provided.

Erixx: The Metronom affiliate operates in Niedersachsen state, with routes converging on Goslar. Braunschweig-Uelzen, Hannover-Goslar (with an extension to Bad Harzburg), Brunswick/Braunschweig-Goslar (with an option to Bad Harzburg). The Erixx website sets out the ticketing structure, but tickets are sold at the VBN or VRB websites. 

Regio-Bahn: The two-line Regio-Bahn operation in Nordrhein-Westfalen runs an S-Bahn Wuppertal-Düsseldorf-Neuss-Kaaster See train and a regional Düsseldorf-Solingen-Remscheid line that was using replacement buses in mid-2026. 

Erft-Schwalm-Netz: Two small VIAS-operated trains link Düsseldorf with Bedburg and Mönchengladbach with Rheydt and Dalheim. 

Niederrhein-Netz: This small VIAS network connects Düsseldorf and Duisburg with Mönchengladbach, Gelsenkirchen and across the Dutch border to Arnhem via the RE19 service, where German Rail Pass and Deutschland-Ticket are valid for travel as far as the Dutch city. 

Ruhr-Sieg-Netz: Three train services run Essen-Hagen-Iserlohn, Hagen-Siegen and Bochum-Gelsenkirchen. 

Cantus: In central Germany’s Hesse, Niedersachsen and Thüringen states, Cantus operates train services on four lines – Kassel-Fulda, Kassel-Göttingen, Bebra-Göttingen and Bebra-Eisenach. 

Hessische Landesbahn: The HLB network of 17 lines interconnects Frankfurt am Main, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Kassel, Limburg, Siegen, Gießen/Giessen, Marburg, Darmstadt and Aschaffenburg with smaller towns in Hesse and Nordrhein-Westfalen. Rail passes are accepted on all trains except those running Kahl-Schöllkrippen. 

MittelrheinBahn: Trans Regio's MittelrheinBahn runs hourly Köln-Bonn airport-Cologne-Koblenz-Mainz trains on the high-volume route along the Rhine and Remagen-Altenahr services. 

RheingauLinie: The VIAS company runs RheingauLinie trains connecting Koblenz, Wiesbaden, Mainz-Kastel and Frankfurt central station with stops at smaller stations, including middle Rhine cruise stops.

Vlexx: The central German Vlexx network converges on Mainz, Bingen and Bad Münster am Stein with services including Frankfurt-Mainz-Koblenz, Frankfurt-Mainz-Saarbrücken, Koblenz-Kaiserslautern, Mainz-Worms and Homburg-Saarbrücken. Among others are is the Mainz-Wissembourg Elsaß Express excursion service into France (April-October). 

OdenwaldBahn: The VIAS-operated OdenwaldBahn links Frankfurt with Darmstadt, Hanau and smaller towns in Hesse over five regional trains. 

Nahverkehrsservice Sachsen-Anhalt: This state-run operation is at the centre of regional and S-Bahn train services in Sachsen-Anhalt, converging on Magdeburg and Halle and crossing into Thüringen, Sachsen and Niedersachsen. Lines in the region include: 

Magdeburg-Berlin
Magdeburg-Wittenberge
Magdeburg-Wolfsburg
Magdeburg-Brunswick/Braunschweig
Magdeburg-Brandenburg
Magdeburg-Leipzig
Magdeburg-Erfurt
Halle-Goslar
Halle-Leipzig
Halle-Naumburg-Erfurt

A group of lines also interlinks Magdeburg, Goslar, Quedlinburg, Thale, Halberstadt and Blankenburg. An overhaul of the region’s rail network is scheduled for December 2028

Erfurter Bahn: This operation converges on Erfurt and Gera in Thüringen, extending through four states including Bavaria’s northern districts. About a dozen services include: 

Leipzig-Gera-Saalfeld
Gera-Hof
Erfurt-Weimar-Gera
Erfurt-Saalfeld
Saalfeld-Blankenstein
Erfurt-Saalfeld
Schweinfurt-Meiningen
Schweinfurt-Gemünden

Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn: Five Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn train services interlink Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz in Sachsen with Elsterwerda to the north in Brandenburg and Hof in northern Bavaria. These include Dresden-Chemnitz-Hof, Leipzig-Chemnitz, Dresden-Chemnitz-Zwickau and Chemnitz-Riesa-Elsterwerda. 

S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland: The 11 S-coded lines of this network in Sachsen-Anhalt and Sachsen interlink Halle and Leipzig and surrounding towns and was heavily reorganised in 2025. 

Trilex: This regional network, where Germany, Czechia and Poland join, runs Dresden-Bautzen-Görlitz-Zgorzelec, where there are connections to Wrocław/Breslau in Poland. Other services include Dresden-Zittau-Liberec and Seifhennersdorf-Zittau-Liberec trains. Other Trilex trains operate inside Czechia. 

KD: The government-owned, Poland-based operator Koleje Dolnośląskie operates a Dresden-Görlitz train service that connects with Polish Silesia via Zgorzelec and through its Forst (Lausitz)-Wrocław and Görlitz-Zgorzelec-Wrocław services. From Poland, the network crosses into the Czech Republic at Liberec from a hub at Jelenia Góra in Poland. KD has a website with an English version. 

SÜWEX: This south-western DB Regio network runs five separately branded services connecting cities such as Mainz, Koblenz, Trier, Kaiserslautern und Ludwigshafen in the state Rheinland-Pfalz with Saarbrücken, Mannheim, Frankfurt, Karlsruhe and across the border into Luxemburg. Services include: 

Koblenz-Trier-Luxemburg
Koblenz-Mainz-Frankfurt
Mainz-Ludwigshafen-Mannheim
Mainz-Ludwigshafen-Karlsruhe
Koblenz-Trier-Saarbrücken-Mannheim

Regional train operators in southern Germany

Arverio Bayern: Munich is the node of this Bavarian network, which has a long Würzburg-Steinach bei Rothenburg-Donauwörth-Munich service as well as trains running Munich-Augsburg-Ulm and Munich-Lindau. 

Vogtlandbahn: The Vogtland regional trains cover the southern parts of Thüringen and Sachsen, converging on Plauen, with branches into northern Bavaria at Hof and into north-western Czechia at Kraslice and Cheb/Eger – these connect with the Oberpfalzbahn. The four services are Zwickau-Cheb (with branch services to Hof), Zwickau-Kraslice, Gera-Weischlitz and Zwickau-Kraslice. Rail passes and other German budget tickets are accepted as far as the Czech border. 

Alex: The Alex network operates some of Germany’s longest regional train services, one branching deep into Czechia. The RE25

Munich-Regensburg-Plzen/Pilsen-Prague/Prag service is one of the cheapest options connecting the four cities, although German Rail Pass, Deutschland-Ticket, Länder-Tickets and Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket are valid only as far as Fürth im Wald. The RE23 Munich-Regensburg-Schwandorf-Hof service runs through the Oberpfalz region.

Oberpfalzbahn: This small network overlaps with Alex services from Regensburg, but the hub is Schwandorf. The routes are Regensburg-Marktredwitz, Schwandorf-Furth im Wald-Domažlice (Czechia), Schwandorf-Lam and Schwandorf-Waldmünchen. 

Waldbahn: The eastern Bavarian Waldbahn network carries travellers into the forests of Bayerischer Wald, starting at Plattling on the main Regensburg-Passau rail line. Passengers can travel Plattling-Bayerisch Eisenstein (near the Czech border, where trains are available to Plzeň) with branching Gotteszell-Viechtach, Zwiesel-Bodenmais and Zwiesel-Grafenau services. 

SWEG: The company operates a dense transit network in Germany’s south-west, among its trains a cross-border Offenburg-Kehl-Strasbourg/Straßburg service, where German Rail Passes and German budget tickets are valid only as far as Kehl. A regional S-Bahn train runs Ulm-Aalen and scattered small regional trains connect towns in Baden-Württemburg. 

Agilis: This Bavarian rail company has regional trains running two services forming an Ulm-Ingolstadt-Regensburg link, an Ingolstadt-Regensburg-Plattling service, a Nuremberg-Regensburg-Landshut-Munich airport service, and a Nuremberg-Regensburg-Plattling service. A Plattling-Passau link runs from April to October along the popular Danube cycling route. 

Metropolexpress: This hybrid between an S-Bahn network and regional trains is set up as a commuter shuttle using MEX-coded trains that bypass some stops. The seven lines extend from Stuttgart out to regional cities such as Pforzheim, Heilbronn and Tübingen with usually half-hour frequency. See the VVS website for a route map. 

Arverio Baden-Württemberg: Arverio network in Germany’s south-western state operates two of the Metropolexpress lines, one running between Stuttgart and Ulm, and RE-coded trains running Stuttgart-Würzburg, Stuttgart-Regensburg and Stuttgart-Karlsruhe. 

Bayerische Regiobahn: Three BRB RE-coded services operate from Munich, two reaching into Austria. The Munich-Salzburg, Munich-Kufstein and Munich-Rosenheim lines are complemented by RB lines serving Bayrischzell, Lenggries and Tegernsee. Two RB services leading to Füssen, one from Munich and one from Augsburg, and Augsburg-Ingolstadt, Ingolstadt-Eichstätt and Freilassing-Berchtesgaden trains, are among the rest.

Bodensee-Oberschwaben-Bahn: This small operator runs Aulendorf-Ravensberg-Friedrichshafen (on the shores of Lake Constance/Bodensee). 

Seehas: The short, Swiss-owned Engen-Singen-Konstanz or Seehas train service takes travellers to the Swiss border at Lake Constance. German Rail Pass, Deutschland-Ticket and Länder-Tickets are valid to Konstanz. 

Regio-S-Bahn Basel: This Swiss network includes one line extending into Germany. The S5 line runs fully within Germany, Weil am Rhein-Lörrach-Steinen, to join the Zell im Wiesenthal-Lörrach-Basel (S6) line. DB Regio’s RB27 Freiburg im Breisgau-Basel service and RB35 Basel-Lauchringen train are also part of S-Bahn Basel but accept German Rail Pass, Deutschland-Ticket and Länder-Tickets.

Berchtesgadener Land Bahn: The BLB service begins at Berchtesgaden and Ostermiething on the German side of the Austrian border and converges at Salzburg as part of its S-Bahn before branching further into Austria. Rail passes are accepted as far as Salzburg.

For the full picture on travel modes, visit the Raven Guides transport in Germany page.