Germany · Scenic
Rasender Roland: Putbus to Göhren
Scheduled steam between Rügen's Baltic resorts
1h 15m · Rügensche BäderBahn (Pressnitztalbahn)
- Scenic
- Panoramic
- Heritage
Photo: sludgegulper · CC BY-SA 2.0
Country hub
Germany by train
One of the densest surviving networks of narrow-gauge steam in Europe, alongside Alpine rack railways and the ICE corridors that connect them.
German rail travel divides cleanly by what the railway was built for. A narrow-gauge steam line on Rügen or in the Ore Mountains and the Harz still runs to a daily public timetable rather than as a museum piece. A rack railway climbs to a summit and returns you the same afternoon. An ICE corridor is a booked seat between two cities.
Each journey here records the operator's own published route, season and reservation detail; nothing is estimated.
9 published journeys · 4 groupings
Featured journeys
Start with these
Germany · Scenic
Fichtelbergbahn: Cranzahl to Kurort Oberwiesenthal
Steam up to Germany's highest town
1h · Sächsische Dampfeisenbahngesellschaft (SDG)
- Scenic
- Heritage
- Steam
Photo: awlodarski · CC0 1.0
Germany · Engineering
ICE Sprinter: Berlin to Munich
Germany's two biggest cities in under four hours
3h 55m · Deutsche Bahn
- Engineering
- High-speed
Photo: Reinhold Möller Ermell · CC BY-SA 4.0
4 journeys
Narrow-gauge steam railways
Working steam lines still timetabled as public transport.
Germany · Scenic
Rasender Roland: Putbus to Göhren
Scheduled steam between Rügen's Baltic resorts
1h 15m · Rügensche BäderBahn (Pressnitztalbahn)
- Scenic
- Panoramic
- Heritage
Photo: sludgegulper · CC BY-SA 2.0
Germany · Scenic
Fichtelbergbahn: Cranzahl to Kurort Oberwiesenthal
Steam up to Germany's highest town
1h · Sächsische Dampfeisenbahngesellschaft (SDG)
- Scenic
- Heritage
- Steam
Photo: awlodarski · CC0 1.0
Germany · Scenic
Brocken Railway
Steam to the top of the Harz on Germany’s most famous narrow-gauge mountain train.
50m · Harzer Schmalspurbahnen
- Scenic
- Heritage
- Steam
Photo: Andreas Tille / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Germany · Scenic
Selke Valley Railway
The quieter, more pastoral side of the Harz narrow-gauge network.
3h · Harzer Schmalspurbahnen
- Scenic
- Heritage
- Steam
Photo: simon tunstall / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0
2 journeys
Rack and mountain railways
Cog lines climbing to a summit, usually a half-day return.
Germany · Scenic
Bavarian Zugspitze Railway
Cogwheel rail from Garmisch into Germany’s highest mountain landscape.
1h 15m · Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG
- Scenic
- Engineering
- Excursion
Photo: Phil Richards from London, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0
Germany · Scenic
Wendelstein Cog Railway
A half-hour cogwheel climb from the Bavarian valley floor to the Wendelstein.
25m · Wendelsteinbahn
- Scenic
- Engineering
- Excursion
Photo: Herbert Ortner / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5
2 journeys
High-speed corridors
ICE services between the major cities, booked by seat and departure.
Germany · Engineering
ICE Sprinter: Berlin to Munich
Germany's two biggest cities in under four hours
3h 55m · Deutsche Bahn
- Engineering
- High-speed
Photo: Reinhold Möller Ermell · CC BY-SA 4.0
Germany · Engineering
ICE: Cologne to Frankfurt
A steep, fast hour through the hills above the Rhine
1h 05m · Deutsche Bahn
- Engineering
- High-speed
Photo: DIZer · CC BY-SA 3.0
1 journey
More German journeys
Sweden → Denmark → Germany → Austria · Sleeper
Snälltåget Night Train to the Alps
Fall asleep in Scandinavia and wake up in the Austrian Alps.
20h 40m · Snälltåget
- Sleeper
- Epic
AI-generated editorial illustration by Rail Atlas
Operators on this page
Keep exploring