Heyy! I’m currently in the München Airport with a 5 hours delay to my Amsterdam flight. This is already my rebooking, so I have a question. I need to be asap in the NL, but I don’t need to be in Amsterdam per se. The NS (Dutch national train system) is all litterally down, so I plan on travelling via DB and abandoning my flight. Is THIS route with DB reliable enough to get me to my destination or will I further get stuck in Germany?
EDIT: after carefully reading all the advice (thank you so much), I decided to take the flight for now and see from there. Since some of you may not know and the reason why I came to this conclusion: Schiphol, the Amsterdam airport, has been cancelling flights over the weekend and extending into NOW Tuesday due to weather issues. My flight yesterday was cancelled, this is a rebook. This is one of the only TWO flights that are still flying out of München to Amsterdam today. Which is more than the 0 on the day before. However, it’s not been unheard for people to wait hours these days before their flights got, sadly, cancelled… As such, Schiphol is a hellish place to be in rn…
https://i.redd.it/mgtq6ka1robg1.jpeg
Posted by IndependentRound8768
34 Comments
You must be really desperate to abandon a flight for a journey with DB during snowfall…
I would recommend using the official DB website to look for a fitting route.
Don’t use the train in Germany if you want to be on time.
The most important part is the time between connections. DB is almost always some amount late. If the connection requires you to run to another platform as soon as you arrive, DB will make sure you never get the chance.
Look for connections around 1hr to be safe.
München Hbf → Amsterdam Centraal
Di. 06.01.2026
ICE 680
Nach Hamburg Hbf
Ab 11:22 München Hbf, Gleis 19
An 15:32 Hannover Hbf, Gleis 8
ICE 142
Nach Amsterdam Centraal
Ab 15:56 Hannover Hbf, Gleis 12
An 20:01 Amsterdam Centraal, Gleis 15a
https://www.bahn.de/buchung/start?vbid=e35db8d7-f3fe-4c01-abe9-73864eeece99
Reading “DB” and “reliable” in the same sentence made me giggle. Especially in combination with the need to be somewhere asap. If I were you I wouldnt risk it tbh.
DB is sketchy always, but the snow overnight isn’t going to help.
go [bahn.de](http://bahn.de) (or DB navigator app)
calculate like 60% trains are only on time
so when changes are, you might need to catch the following train (many run like hourly). very good plan is to check when the next train runs or plan times for changing trains longer (works both on website and app)
but: Dutch railways are suspended with switch malfunctions, idk what runs there, [bahn.de](http://bahn.de) should know
Just avoid the RE2 between Göttingen and Hannover. A few days ago a cargo train derailed and caused serious damage.
From Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe take the RE11 to Altenbeken and get into the S5 to Hannover-Flughafen. It stops at Hannover Hauptbahnhof too.
Just do. You won’t be later there then already is.
Take the flight or book a car. Flight is still going to be the faster option.
I’d recommend you use the DB app to plan the route and not Google Maps, good luck. Must be in quite a mess to pick DB in the snow over a flight rip
Taking the ICE to Hannover and then another ICE from Hannover towards Amsterdam certainly is more reliable than having lots of smaller trains with lots of stops and connections. Also, right now there is not so much snow forecast for today. However, nobody knows if it will work out. Meteorologists say the weather generally has the potential to cause hefty snow fall locally, it seems a bit instable.
Also, as the Netherlands train system is down and could stay so until you arrive at the border, it is quiet possible that you will not be able to travel the last leg towards the Netherlands even if everything works out fine in Germany. It is also not sure you would be able to rent a car in NorthWestern Germany to go to the Netherlands, as car rentals tend to be sold out if the train system fails because of weather.
Personally, I would probably expect the airport in Amsterdam to be cleared faster than you would be able to travel to the Netherlands by train from Munich Airport, but I can’t know of course, and even if the airport is cleared then still a lot of planes and passengers will be stuck where they do not belong, so your flight might even be canceled.
I think if I were in Munich needing to go to Amsterdam as quick as possible I would probably try to take a train to Hannover and reevaluate there – possibly getting a rental car there or in Bremen or Osnabrück to get to the Netherlands if the train system is still not working then.
Keep your flight.
so let’s recap:
– the trains are out
– you have a flight in 5 hours
– so you want to take multiple trains for 9 hours
– all of which will be late because the DB doesn’t know about the concept of weather
– none of which will be waiting because the DB doesn’t care about you
take that flight. then rent a car or take a bus or even taxi from amsterdam.
More reliable and cheaper than DB is FlixBus.
Hire a car
I would rent a car
> The NS (Dutch national train system) is all litterally down, so I plan on travelling via DB
So how are you going to get from the border to wherever it is you need to be going?
> will I further get stuck in Germany?
If the Dutch rail network is down, it’s likely there will be serious issues on the German side near the border. And we can’t predict what effects the weather will have: heavy snowfalls could bring trees down onto the line, ice could damage the catenaries or freeze up points, anything can happen.
Why not try BlaBlaCar?
Flight will be faster and more reliable.
You will most likely get stuck with db at some point. Unfortunately the flight is your safest option
You may get into the worse trouble with Deutsche Bahn and get much longer delay.
Well you’re not gonna make it in time using German Railway that’s for sure. I guess your best bet would be to find a long haul taxi but that’s also iffy and going to be insanely expensive.
Flixbus? However it’s not so comfortable to sit in the bus for 12 hours or so… but there are tickets for about 60-70€
Rent a car an go for it!
Hi, we are in Amsterdam right now. All flights are cancelled to and from Amsterdam. we waited for 2 days in the airport, and we had only promises. I suggest flying to Brussels and coming by train or car from there
The Hannover Area and generally northern Germany has quite some problems because of the snow, you have to expect delays and train cancellations. At least that was the case with our trains yesterday.
Take the Cologne flight if possible, you may then have more alternatives to reach NL. Bla bla, rent a car, train, bus.
Ah DB. Fond memories of my friend and I running up and down stairs with suitcases because they keep changing platforms. One of my suitcase handles exploded (I was able to repair it) in Köln.
OP, just take the flight. DB is the peak of German inefficiency. Actually, walking might get you there faster.
Flixbus!
I think the most reliable way will be to rent a car and drive that distance yourself.
Why not take a flight close to the border?
For example Münster Osnabrück or Bremen.
From Bremen to Leer works fine by train. Yes some cancellations but also a lot of regional trains.
Nah, take a flight. Trains in Germany are unreliable especially in such weather conditions.