Germany's regional trains – Regionalbahn (RB) and Regional-Express (RE) – are the local train services that connect thousands of small towns and many key attractions that Germany's high-speed rail network misses. 

These regional trains run often, need no seat reservation, and are covered by cheap, flat-rate tickets such as Deutschland-Ticket – making them the best-value ways to search beyond Germany's major cities. 

In short, Germany’s regional trains help travellers see more, get them to more destinations, and get them there more often. 

Because regional trains exist as part of government-sanctioned public service obligations – not for profit – standard regional fares are not expensive. 

Regional trains get visitors to destinations preserving the essence and variety of Germany – cities and towns such as Lübeck, Trier, Görlitz, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Füssen, Goslar, Quedlinburg, Wernigerode and Xanten. Regional trains run the bulk of services stopping in classic cities for German culture, such as Weimar. 

Germany has about 40,000km of rail lines, but of these less than 2,000km are designed for high-speed trains. So the vast majority of the network is made up of regional lines. 

RE trains are mostly operated by Deutsche Bahn’s DB Regio on more than 300 lines. These include some specialist trains, such as the weekend Harz-Berlin Express (HBX), connecting Berlin with the Harz region.

German trains comparison table

* With a few exceptions 

Why visitors should use regional trains

Regional trains might be slower, but travelling on them brings benefits: 

• RE and RB trains usually offer cheaper flexible fares than IC and ICE trains
• Deutschland-Ticket, Germany’s cheapest rail ticket, can be used
• Regional trains are best for short distances
• No advance booking is needed
• The ease of using regional trains adds flexibility
• It’s possible to reach historic regional towns 

Fast travel is not always the best tourism experience.

RB & RE German trains – plus S-Bahn

Germany has two types of regional trains. RE trains generally travel at higher speeds – up to 160km/h – and connect towns and cities quickly. RB trains are slower and stop at all stations. 

Some of these trains also cross German borders. 

S-Bahn trains serve a similar purpose to regional trains in some parts of Germany, including connections between Leipzig, Halle and Wittenberg, and with towns and cities around Cologne, Stuttgart and Hannover. 

The table below summarises the regional trains of Germany.

 German regional trains at a glance

RE trains often have power outlets and better seating. RB trains are basic local transport. But some trains in either category do offer first-class seats. 

Only one IRE (Interregio-Express) train still operates, the Kulturzug event train connecting Berlin-Lichtenberg and Warsaw via Frankfurt an der Oder and Poznań. 

DB Regio-operated trains travel in the corporate colours of traffic red and pale grey.

How regional train tickets & fares work

One big difference between Germany’s regional trains and main-line expresses such as the IC, ICE and EC trains is in the structure of fares. 

Fares on regional trains are basically fixed and do not vary according to when (or where) you buy the ticket. 

Tickets on regional trains run on regional pricing structured by integrated transport associations (Verkehrsverbünde) overseeing connections in various parts of Germany. Passengers often buy tickets at Verkehrsverbund websites, which generally translate to English in browsers. 

You can travel when you like. You can make a decision to ride, go to any station, and buy a standard ticket from a window or at Verkehrsverbund ticket machines. Tickets can also be bought on the DB website or in the DB Navigator app. 

One group of Deutsche Bahn discount fares allows use of regional trains only. These are: 

• Deutschland-Ticket: The ultra-cheap (usually) subscription-based ticket allowing travel for €63 a calendar month
• Länder-Tickets: A range of dozens of state-based or regional day ticket variants
• Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket: A day ticket allowing travel across Germany on regional trains only 

If you are visiting as an international traveller, read the comprehensive Deutschland-Ticket for tourists guide to see how to buy it and navigate the fine print. You can also see Raven Guides’ side-by-side cost breakdown of cheap German rail tickets to see what will suit your itinerary. 

Because DB Fernverkehr-operated regional trains (see above) double as express services, you generally cannot use Deutschland-Tickets on them. Exceptions appear in the next section.

Exceptions to Germany's regional train rules

DB Fernverkehr, Deutsche Bahn's long-distance branch, operates Germany’s IC, ICE and EC fast trains. 

But it also operates several specific IC or ICE trains that double as RE services. These function as hybrid RE routes under state agreements, running with IC carriages. 

RE lines operated by DB Fernverkehr include: 

RE3: Dresden-Freiberg (Sachsen)-Chemnitz
RE17/RB17: Berlin-Ostkreuz or Berlin Hauptbahnhof-Elsterwerda
RE28: Berlin-Eberswalde-Prenzlau
RE34: Dortmund-Dillenburg (Hessen)
RE56: Potsdam-Berlin-Cottbus (also the Berlin-Spandau S9 S-Bahn line)
RE56: Bremen-Oldenburg-Norddeich Mole
RE87: Stuttgart-Horb-Konstanz
RE35: Overlapping with IC35 (Baden-Württemberg)

Because these lines use long-distance rolling stock rather than traditional regional trains, they offer a higher level of comfort and usually require a standard long-distance or regional ticket rather than local transit passes. 

However there is also a handful of fast trains, found by Raven Guides, where Deutschland-Ticket can be used. This is not easily accessible to English-speakers. 

These hybrid IC-RE trains, operated by DB Fernverkehr, are officially approved for local transit and Deutschland-Ticket is valid for specific trains on the routes. Some are short. 

IC51-RE (between Erfurt and Gera)
IC17-RE (between Dresden and Chemnitz)
IC87-RE (between Stuttgart and Singen)
IC56-RE (between Bremen and Norddeich Mole) 

Most tourist trains are not part of Deutschland ticket. The Harz Schmalspurbahnen, the interconnecting steam narrow-gauge tourist network across the Harz mountains, is not classified as regional rail and no rail passes are accepted. But Deutschland-Ticket is valid on the Wernigerode-Nordhausen Nord and Quedlinburg-Eisfelder Talmühle routes. On the Drei Annen Hohne-Brocken branch connection, it is not.

Private companies operating regional trains in Germany

Trains running on many of Germany’s regional RE and RB rail services, as well as some S-Bahn lines, are run and branded by transport companies under contract. 

This means that their trains have a different look to Deutsche Bahn trains. But they still carry RE or RB-coded numbers like the DB trains. 

Rail passes are accepted by these private transport operators. Travellers can also use Deutschland-Ticket on all regional trains. 

These operators also run branded websites distributing information about their services. Many site resist foreign IP addresses for online access – use a German VPN address to read these, most of which can be translated to English in a browser. 

Check out Raven Guides’ resource on German regional trains running under other brands.

Best places to visit on Germany's regional trains

Some of Germany’s small cities and regional towns are among the country’s leading attractions, but are reachable usually (or only) by regional train. 

• Lübeck: Medieval and Renaissance port city that was once centre of the Hanseatic League
• Trier: Germany’s oldest city with Roman remains
• Rothenburg ob der Tauber: The 17th century town that preserves many medieval buildings and its walls
• Füssen: The town at the foot of the Alps, end of the Romantische Straße and jumping-off point for visiting the Hohenschwangau castles
• Quedlinburg: The town that hosted Germany’s 10th and 11th century kings
• Goslar: Site of Germany’s oldest palace, medieval walls and hundreds of half-timbered buildings
• Wernigerode: The colourful half-timbered Harz town
• Görlitz: The restored historical centre on the Polish border favoured by film directors
• Xanten: A medieval town and site of a recreated Roman legionary base
• Amberg: The walled historic town in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria
• Bautzen: Centre of Germany’s minority Sorbian culture and site of medieval walls
• Cochem: In the Moselle wine region, site of a popular tourist castle and jumping-off point for the medieval castle Burg Eltz 

Travellers who miss all these places by travelling on fast trains miss some of the richness of Germany. See the table below.

Regional journey examples 

German rail travel with a regional focus

Many visitors to Germany are eager to move quickly between main cities using fast main-line trains. 

But there are cheaper ways to travel by using Germany’s regional trains, a slower method that gets us closer to the essence of Germany. Sometimes they are the only way. 

Regional trains get travellers to more destinations than express trains, and get them there more often. Frequency, flexibility and cost of services are the chief advantages of RE and RB services. 

To find out about all German travel modes, check out Raven Guides’ post on transport in Germany. 

German regional trains FAQs