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Hamburg to København / Copenhagen by train
How to take the rail journey from Hamburg to Copenhagen / København
Take the typically straightforward journey by train from Hamburg to Danish capital and connections will be available in København to trains on to Sweden; and to ferries on to Norway.
Though early booking is recommended, particularly during June to September, when some departures can sell out days in advance!
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Routes
From Hamburg Hbf to København H /Copenhagen H
Journey Summary
4hr 40min
Daily
Travel Information
- Final Destination: Koebenhavn H (German Spelling)
All trains also call at: Odense and Ringtsted (connect for Roskilde)
Until June 16th:
The trains are typically scheduled to depart from Hamburg at 08:56; 12:53 and 16:54.
From June 17th:
An enhanced summer service will be available with six departures per day including a train which travels overnight.
Usual connections in Hamburg:
Into the 08:56 departure:
- 07:54 Nightjet train from Zurich via Basel
- 08:25 ICE train from Berlin
- 08:47 Nightjet train from Innsbruck, Munchen and Wien; though the 9 min connection will be something of a gamble, book a separate ticket for 08:56 train on to København and you will likely have to re-purchase a ticket for the 12:53 departure if the Nightjet train doesn't arrive on time
Into the 12:53 departure:
- 11:36 ICE from Basel via Freiburg, Karlsruhe and Frankfurt (Main) (until March 31st)
- 11:58 ICE from Munchen via Nurnberg and Wurzburg
- 12:14 ICE from Munchen via Ulm, Stuttgart, Koln and Dusseldorf
- 12:21 ICE from Nurnberg via Erfurt and Berlin
- 12:35 ICE from Stuttgart via Frankfurt (Main)
Into the 16:54 departure:
- 15:11 EC from Praha/Prague via Dresden
- 15:35 ICE from Zurich via Basel, Freiburg, Karlsruhe and Frankfurt (Main)
- 15:51 ICE from Mainz, Koblenz, Bonn, Koln and Dusseldorf
- 16:14 ICE from Munchenm, Ulm, Stuttgart, Koln and Dusseldorf
- 16:21 ICE from Nurnberg via Erfurt and Berlin
3 or 6 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date
Seat Reservations:
Book 1st class ticket journey tickets and your seat reservation is included - but they're usually optional* when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.
If you won't be purchasing 1st class tickets, reservations are highly recommended; particularly on Friday and Sunday afternoons.
Travelling Between June 17th and Aug 20th: which is when the summer timetable is operating.
During this time rail pass users will need to pay a reservation fee prior to boarding - €5.90 1st class, €4.50 2nd class; though reservations are recommended at any time, these can be popular trains.
Rail pass reservations can be booked through the DSB website (the tech is provided by the B-Europe reservation system); 30kr = approx €4.
When booking 1st AND 2nd class tickets between these dates, your seat(s) will be automatically assigned.
Finding tickets:
If you will be using DB Bahn to book tickets, enter KOBENHAVN- in the 'To' box
On the DB booking site look for journeys that have 0 in the Chg. column
Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB Bahn | from €27.90 | |
| Trainline | from €29 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Good to Know
On German rail timetables and on the station info, these trains are referred to IC trains, but Danish IC trains and not German trains are used on this route.
Connections by train on to Sweden:
From Apr 8th the Berlin Night Express will be departing from Hamburg Hbf at 23:59 and arriving into Malmo at 07:25 and into Stockholm at 14:15.
If these dates and timings and don't suit, the 08:56 (Until June 17th and from Aug 22); 10:53 (June 18 to Aug 21) and 12:53 departures from Hamburg both have easily timed 46 min connections in København H station into trains on to Stockholm which arrive there at 19:36 and 23:39.
The departures from Hamburg which leave before 15:00 also have 55min connections in København H station into trains on to Goteborg/Gothenburg.
Connections by train and ferry on to Norway:
The connections on to Goteborg when departing Hamburg at 08:56, arrive there only 10 mins before the final train of the day will have departed Goteborg for Oslo.
So when heading to Norway from Hamburg solely by train on this route, an overnight stay will be required in København or Goteborg.
The Berlin Night Express connect in Stockholm (not Saturdays) into a train on to Oslo, which will be typically scheduled to depart the Swedish capital at 15:29.
Or take a ferry from København; the 08:56 departure from Hamburg is due to arrive in København H station at 13:33 and the ferry operated by DFDS to Oslo, will depart København at 16:15 and arrive in the Norwegian capital at 09:00 the following morning.
(This won't be an option between June 18th and Aug 21st).
To access the DFDS ferry terminal from København H station take these steps:
- Take a local S-Tog train (line A to Hillerod, line B to Farum or line E to Holte) to Nordhavn station
- Turn left on exiting the station and walk for around 5 mins along the street until you can turn left into a subway/passage under the railway lines, it has a mural of past transport around its entrance.
- When exiting the subway/passage go straight ahead across a multi-lane road, when you're at the other side, turn right and you will see the DFDS terminal ahead of you, the total walking time be around 8 - 15 mins.
Other connections by train and ferry to Norway from Germany are available when taking trains from Hamburg to Aarhus.
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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