The train link between Germany & Scandinavia...

Air-conditioned trains link Hamburg with Copenhagen, city centre to city centre 3 times per day in each direction, taking around 4h40.  You can easily look up train times & buy tickets at the German Railways website www.bahn.de.  Fares start at €29.90 in 2nd class or €59.90 in 1st class.  You print your own ticket.

COVID-19 update:  At least 2 out of 3 trains are running on this route each way now, check what's running at www.bahn.de.  More COVID-19 travel info.

  What's the train like?

  What the journey like?

  Travel tips - make sure you read these!

  Train times & route map

  How much does it cost?

  How to buy tickets

With the timetable change on 15 December 2019 the Hamburg-Copenhagen trains were re-routed the longer way round through Flensburg & Odense via the Great Belt Fixed Link and no longer go via the Puttgarden-Rødby train ferry.  They were also reclassified from EuroCity to Intercity.  On the plus side, journey time is reduced to 4h40 (18 minutes quicker) and the trains are no longer be limited to 3 cars because they need to fit on the ferry, most departures doubled to 6 cars.  Trains will use this longer route while the direct line via Puttgarden is rebuilt and the Fehmarn Link constructed which will take some years.

Train times 2020

What is the train like?

The direct Hamburg-Copenhagen trains are now operated by Danish IC3 trains like this, shown in the timetable as IC for Intercity, a generic term used by many European train operators for quality trains.  The trains are air-conditioned and there's free WiFi.  There's no catering car on these trains, so bring your own along.  Read more about IC3s at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC3.

A Danish IC3 train at Copenhagen station...		1st class seats on an IC3 train...

2nd class seats on a IC3 train...		Boarding an IC3 train to Copenhagen in Hamburg.

A Hamburg-Copenhagen IC3 at Copenhagen station.  Photo courtesy of Tom Simpson...

The trains no longer go onto a ferry...

The highlight of the journey used to be the 50-minute ferry crossing between Puttgarden in Germany & Rødby in Denmark where the train went onto a ship.  This ceased from 15 December 2019.  The planned Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link will replace the ferry with a tunnel, dramatically cutting travel time between Germany and Copenhagen, perhaps as early as 2028.  The associated railway lines are being modernised, and while this happens the trains are re-routed.

The train entering the ferry.  Photo courtesy of Keith White.		The IC3 train on the ferry's car/train deck.  Courtesy Tom Simpson.

The Rendsburg Loop & High Bridge...

There are still things to see on the way.  Just north of Hamburg, the trains to Copenhagen cross the high and imposing Rendsburg High Bridge (Rendsburger Hochbrücke) over the Kiel Canal, built 1911-1913, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendsburg_High_Bridge.  The bridge is 42m (138 feet) above the canal, it's also a transporter bridge, with a gondola suspended below the deck ferrying cars across the canal.  The trains then go around the Rendsburg Loop to lose height (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendsburg_Loop) before passing non-stop through Rendsburg station.  You can see Rendsburg marked on the route map below.  On the map you'll see another loop at Flensburg, but these trains don't call at Flensburg and by-pass that loop.

This Hamburg to Copenhagen train has crossed the Rendsburg High Bridge and is about to go around the Rendsburg Loop.  Photo courtesy of Discoverbyrail.com.

The Great Belt Fixed Link...

Hamburg-Copenhagen trains now use the Great Belt Fixed Link between the islands of Funen (on which Odense sits) and Zealand (on which Copenhagen sits), see the route map below.  For a century, trains were ferried across the water on a train ferry, this ended when the Fixed Link opened to trains in 1997.  It opened to road traffic in 1998.  The Great Belt Fixed Link is 18 km (11 miles) long, consisting of a box-girder bridge for the western section for both road and railway, then a suspension bridge for road traffic and tunnel for the railway for the eastern section.  It's a major piece of engineering, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Belt_Fixed_Link.  If you get any good photos from the train to illustrate this part of the journey, please get in touch!

So civilised...  Crossing the Great Belt on a stormy winter's day in 1st class armchairs.  Photo courtesy of Discoverbyrail.com.

Travel tips...

• 1st or 2nd class? 

  2nd class is absolutely fine.  The seats in both classes are very similar, 1st class ones are a bit wider and arranged 2+1 across the car width rather than 2+2, so you get more elbow room and fewer people per car, and there are solo seats and face-to-face tables-for-two on one side of the aisle, that's the only significant difference.

  The small 1st class section at one end of each 3-car unit is indicated by a yellow stripe above the windows.

• A seat reservation is strongly recommended!

  Seat reservations are optional for most of the year on this route as on most German & Danish trains, but they are compulsory for the peak summer period from June to September as demand for seats can exceeds supply in the summer months.  However, I strongly recommend reserving a seat at any time of year, as these trains have limited seats and can be busy all year round.

• To make a seat reservation if you have a Eurail or InterRail pass or have already bought a ticket...

  Bahn.de lets you add a seat reservation when you buy a ticket, but it can't sell stand-alone seat reservations on this route, if you try to use the Seat only (no ticket) link it'll say reservation impossible.  But you can make a stand-alone seat reservation at the Danish Railways site www.dsb.dk like this:  Click In English right at the bottom of the page, then scroll back up and click Train ticket to Europe.  Now click Buy your international seat reservation and run the relevant enquiry.  The seat reservation costs around 30Kr, about €4.  You print your own reservation.

• Finding & boarding your train...

  As with most European trains, there's no check-in, just board the train any time before the doors close and off it goes.  The platform number will be shown on the departure screens all around the station.  If you run an enquiry at German Railways www.bahn.de it'll usually tell you the planned platform number at Hamburg Hbf.

• First class lounge in Hamburg...

  If you have a full-fare Flexpreis first class ticket you can use the DB Lounge at Hamburg Hbf before or after your journey, with complimentary refreshments & free WiFi.  You can't use the lounge with a 1st class railpass or an advance-purchase sparpreis or supersparpreis fare.

• Luggage & bikes...

  Like any European train, you take your bags into the train with you and stick them on any suitable rack near your seat.  There are overhead racks above your seat which take anything up to backpack size.  Nobody weighs or measures bags, so no worries.  Bikes are not carried on this route.

• Food & drink...

  There's no catering car on these trains, so bring your own food and drink along.

• Power sockets and WiFi...

  You'll find power sockets at all seats and free WiFi, although the WiFi only works when the train is in Denmark.  Danish Railways (DSB) free WiFi will appear on your phone or laptop as TDC.

• See Hamburg Hbf station information.

• See Copenhagen station information.

• General information for train travel in Europe.

Route map...

Train times...

• Three direct Intercity (IC) trains link Hamburg & Copenhagen in each direction every day, journey time 4h40.  Simply check times using the German Railways website www.bahn.de.

How much does it cost?

• Cheap advance-purchase tickets...

  These start at €29.90 in 2nd class, €59.90 in 1st class.

  If you're happy to book ahead and commit to a specific train, this is what you want.  These sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific train you book, limited or no refunds or changes to travel plans.  Prices vary, with limited availability at each price level, they sell out close to departure, but they're often available even just days in advance.

• Flexible full-price tickets bought on the day...

  This costs around €87 or so in 2nd class.  If you want to stay flexible and/or buy a ticket at the station on the day, this is what you pay.  They are good for any train that day.  Unlimited availability, they can't sell out.

How to buy tickets...

• Buy online at www.bahn.de.  Booking opens up to 180 days in advance, but significantly less than this when the mid-December timetable change intervenes.  You print your own ticket.

• Seat reservation is optional for a small extra charge (about €4.50 per seat) except May-September when it becomes compulsory and is included free of charge.

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