How come I see two ICE trains scheduled for the same platform at the same time?

Question

I'm traveling from point A to point B in Germany, by train (an ICE line to be exact). I have my ticket, which lists the origin and destination stations and the ICE train number.

So I go to the train station, walk along the platforms and find the relevant one. But - I notice something weird on the electronic display: Another ICE train (to another destination, with a different number) is scheduled on that platform for exactly the same time today!

What gives? Will the trains leave one after the other? Will one be delayed or be switched to another platform? Or - could it be a system error?

Answer 1

There are several possible scenarios how this can happen.

• The train might be split at some point in the journey. This happens regularly for both regional trains and long distance trains. Usually the train consists of two independent units and you can not walk from one unit to the other during travel. If you're in the wrong part of the train, you don't have to worry. Splits always take place at a train station and take a few minutes, so you can always change to the right part later. Curiosity: There is even an ICE service from Munich to Dortmund which gets split at Würzburg and the two parts of the train go to Dortmund on different routes...

• There are actually two separate trains on the same platform. Platforms at major stations are often up to 400m long while many trains are only 200m or shorter. There might be two shorter trains waiting at the same platform at the same time. They either leave at the same time (in opposite directions) or with a delay of a few minutes in the same direction. Stations known for this are Cologne central station (normally trains are shown as "platform 9 A-C" and "platform 9 D-F") and Frankfurt central station where one train is marked as "außerhalb der Bahnhofshalle" (outside the hall, at the far end of the platform)

• If it's just the display at the platform there might be a malfunction. Either one of those trains doesn't exist at all or has been rescheduled to another platform and the display has not yet been updated. In case the train has been diverted to another platform, there is usually some information given via loudspeaker.

Answer 2

Unless a delay is indicated for one of the trains, it is quite likely that these will actually be the same train for some part of the journey, and get split up at some way point. Check the map for the routes of these two trains, see if they coincide initially - to make sure.

If you can spare the time, go to the Reisecentrum - the DB service center at the train station - and ask. You can skip the line and go to the "reception" counter if they have one.

Also, when the train doors open, go inside and look at the LED display which is (always?) present and will tell you which part of the train you're on. Some trains may have these LED displays outside instead of / in addition to the inside displays, YMMV.

Note: If you're travelling past the point of separation, then at that point you must be on the part continuing to your own destination. On most/all ICE trains with this partition - you can't move from one part to another while on board. You might be able to make the switch at a station before the partition, but don't risk it - make sure you board the right part to begin with.

Answer 3

Usually, those would be multiple units going to different destinations. It's quite common in several European countries, for ICE in Germany, TGV and Thalys in France, regular Intercities in the Netherlands, etc. Both halves of the train will travel together on part of the route and be split at some intermediary stop. Concretely:

• If you don't need/have an assigned seat and your destination is on the first part of the route, you can get in either unit.
• If seat reservation is mandatory, the trains will typically have different numbers and/or a different set of carriage numbers and you need to pay attention to the signage on the train itself (nowadays usually LED but sometimes still sheets of papers attached to the doors' windows).
• And if there are no seat reservation and you need to go to one specific half of the train, you have to figure what the final destination of your half of the train is and orient yourself based on that.

Although it is rare, another possibility is that there are really two distinct trains on that platform. The platform names might be slightly distinct (“1a” and “1b”). Either the trains will leave in different directions or one of them will use a switch to go to a third track in-between the platforms. Personally, I have never seen that with ICE in Germany and, more often than not, there will be a few minutes between the departure times but that's something to keep in mind if you encounter such a confusing situation elsewhere.