I have a lot more to write about Cologne, as I’m partial to wittering on, but I’d better catch up with the rest of the trip I made last week before I forget the last bit of it. I had spent three nights in Cologne and I was then spending one night in Dortmund before leaving Germany. So, that meant a train journey and I like a train journey.
Mine was the 12:14 train to Leipzig.
This is Cologne’s main railway station and it first opened in 1859, replacing the rather awkward and sub-optimal arrangement of separate railway termini that had grown up as different companies did their own thing in the traditional nineteenth century manner. Putting the station beside the cathedral was, on one level, completely logical, because it placed rail travellers right in the middle of the city. On another level, it was a bold little decision to squeeze one of Germany’s key railway hubs next to one of Europe’s great Gothic buildings and simply hope the whole arrangement would somehow look dignified.
And they’ve failed in my view with the new building, there’s the grand cathedral on the right and the rather dumpy frontage of the railway station. But, it’s rare for a central railway station to be this central, I’m impressed at their forward planning.
It is an odd mix really, but anyway, back inside.
The current railway station is largely the result of rebuilding in the late nineteenth century and then, of course, the rather undesirable outcome on the city from the Second World War. After 1945, the station was rebuilt and it remains one of Germany’s most important railway interchanges, at least being quite grand inside.
I was meant to be getting the train from platform 5, but then the Brussels train was running late, so we were shunted to platform 4. This was not much of an inconvenience, since it’s a walk of around three metres.
And here comes the FlixTrain storming into the platform. I’ve taken many FlixBus journeys, but this is the first version by train. I’d note that the prices were low, this journey cost under £10. Trains in Germany are generally cheap as it’s possible to pay £60 a month and then get unlimited free local travel on trains, something I’d love to be introduced in the UK. This FlixTrain isn’t included in that offer as it’s a private operator, but they made lots of clear announcements about that.
Everyone is given a seat, although passengers can change it on the app, and mine was in the front carriage. Unfortunately, that was quite a way from where I was standing, and there were quite a lot of passengers shuffling along to the appropriate place. I meandered slowly, there were some passengers that seemed entirely panic-stricken by the whole process.
The interior was spacious and everything was clearly signed.
The train wasn’t that busy and there was no-one in the window seat for the journey, so it felt spacious. There were no power points, but the seats were comfortable enough.
I was impressed that there was enough space to use my laptop, it’s often the situation on trains where the tray isn’t wide enough or the seat pitch doesn’t allow it.
A photo of the carriage with its wavy ceiling.
We arrived into Dortmund 35 minutes late, but I’m used to lengthy delays on the German rail network.
And the outside of Dortmund railway station.
I was impressed at the whole arrangement as the booking process was easy and used the same app as the bus service. It was clear where to get the train from, the seating options were easy to understand and the pricing was firmly towards the lower end of the scale. I’d certainly use this again and I hope that FlixTrain continues to expand their operations.