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Berlin to København / Copenhagen by train
How to take a train journey from Berlin to Copenhagen
Now that Danish trains are used for the daytime rail journeys from Germany to Denmark, direct journeys by day are no longer an option when travelling by train between Berlin and Copenhagen/København.
Though from early April to mid September and overnight train will be an option, thanks to the new summer Snalltaget train from Berlin to Sweden, which will be arriving at Hoje Taastrup station on the outskirts of Kobenhavn at 06:20.
Connect there for local 'S-Tog' trains to multiple stations in the city centre.
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Routes
From Berlin Hbf to København H /Copenhagen H
Journey Summary
from 6hr 54min
Daily
Travel Information
The direct daytime train service between Berlin and Koebenhavn (German spelling) was discontinued a few years ago.
During the day connections now have to be made between trains at Hamburg Hbf.
Depart from Berlin daily at 10:38 and 14:38 (and at 06:38 on Mon-Fri) and the end-to-end journey time is scheduled to be 6hr 55min, which includes making a 22 min connection between trains in Hamburg.
However, as the trains on to Koebenhavn depart infrequently (and the 14:38 will be connecting into the final train of the day on to Denmark), the recommendation is to plan your journey so that you will be departing earlier from Berlin and allow more time to transfer between trains in Hamburg.
There are usually two trains per hour from Berlin to Hamburg.
When looking up the journey with DB (German national railways) online, an option is to increase the connecting time between trains to 45 mins.
The journey options you will then see will have an end-to-end time of around 7hr 55mins, because they will allow 80 minutes to make the connection in Hamburg.
The street beside Hamburg Hbf is named Kirchenallee and it is line with cafes which will be convenient locations in which to while away the time between trains.
Mon- Fri: 3 x connections per day
Sat/Sun: 2 x connections per day
Change trains in: Hamburg
Tickets
Book in advance and save: YES
Online bookings usually open: 3 months ahead of the travel date
Reservations on the Berlin to Hamburg train:
Book 1st class ticket journey tickets and your seat reservation is included - but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.
Though for this comparatively short journey the reservation fees of €4.50 in 2nd class and €5.90 in 1st class are relatively expensive.
Reservations on the Hamburg to Kobenhavn/Copenhagen train June 11th - Sept 3rd:
Between theses dates reservations are compulsory on these trains, the reservations SHOULD automatically be included when booking both 1st AND 2nd class tickets.
Rail Pass users will need to have made seat reservations prior to boarding.
Reservations on the Hamburg to Kobenhavn/Copenhagen train on other dates:
Book 1st class ticket journey tickets with DB and your seat reservation is included - but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.
Though we recommend paying the reservation fees of €4.50 in 2nd class and €5.90 in 1st class, as these can be busy trains, particularly on Fridays - Sundays.
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Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB Bahn | from €35.90 (approx) |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final destination: Hamburg or Kiel
Departing from Berlin:
At Berlin Hbf the train should depart from the lower level (tief) platforms/gleis.
All of these trains also call at: Berlin-Spandau
If you will be setting off from West Berlin, your best option may be to commence your journey at Berlin Zoologischer Garten (Berlin-Zoo) station.
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey description:
These trains used to be shunted on to a ferry for a sea crossing between Germany and Denmark, but the Danish part of that route is being affected by engineering weeks in preparation for the opening of the Fehmarn Fixed Link tunnel in around 2028.
Hence this train service between Hamburg and the Danish capital has been re-routed to travel overland
via the Jutland peninsular.
So a less fascinating journey than the previous route and scenically this route is uninteresting, but it does have three highlights, which you can't miss if you will be travelling when it's daylight.
(1) The spectacular crossing of the Kiel Canal on the Rendsburg High Bridge - the corkscrew descent into the town and its station is quite something.
(2) After departure from Kolding the train will cross the Little Belt Bridge, which connects Jutland to the island of Funen.
(3) Then around 15 mins after departing Odense, the train will cross the Great Belt Fixed Link between Funen and the island of Zealand.
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This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
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