How to take the rail journey from Cologne/Köln to Hannover

Final Destination: Berlin Ost or Dresden

All trains also call at: Bielefeld

The trains which depart in even hours are now 10 mins faster, because they don't call in Hamm and ICE 4 and ICE 1 trains are now used for these services.
The trains which depart in odd hours call in Hamm, where there are joined to other trains that have travelled from Dusseldorf and the ICE 2 trains always used for these services.

Also in the odd hours there are ICE 1](/travel-on/train/9-ice-1-germany/) trains and IC trains which share a route which travels beyond Hannover to Dresden, but these are the trains with a slower journey time of around 3hr 10mins.

When looking up this journey on DB, these ICE trains can cost the same price as the IC trains, so when they are, they become the logical choice of trains to take.

Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date - but this period of time is shorter when looking up journeys in August to October.

A choice of tickets

Four types of tickets are available:
Two types of discounted tickets, which will be cheaper the further ahead you book - Sparpreis and Super Sparpreis
Two types of non-discounted ticket - Flexpreis Aktion and Flexpreis

A key difference between these types of tickets is refunds:

• Super Sparpreis tickets are cheapest, but they can't be refunded at all.
• Sparpreis tickets can be refunded for a fee, but the refund will be in the form of travel vouchers to be used for alternative / future journeys.
• Flexpreis tickets can be refunded at no additional charge.
• Flexpreis Aktion tickets can't be refunded either - but their higher cost is due to...

...the other key difference is that both types of Flexpreis tickets live up to their name, as they can be used on any departure on your travel date - in contrast, both types of Sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific departures selected when booking,

Note that none of the tickets can be exchanged to a different departure.
There's no need for this to be available for both types of Flexpreis tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis ticket and want to travel by a different departure you can refund it and then use the travel voucher towards the cost of the new booking.
Super Sparpreis tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.

When travelling to and from the major cities, the Sparpreis, Flexpreis Aktion and Flexprei tickets also include 'City tickets', which can be used on public transport between locations in the city centre and the stations in Cologne and Hannover.

Seat reservations

Seat reservations are optional on ICE trains for journeys within Germany.
They cost €4.90 when travelling in 2nd Class and €5.90 when travelling in 1st class.
Specific seats can be selected from seating plans - you don't have to accept the seat(s) that you will be automatically offered.

They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis tickets and both 1st and 2nd class Flexpreis Plus tickets.
Though despite seats being automatically assigned when booking these three types of ticket - and these tickets being valid on any departure, you will need to pay to re-book the reservations, if you subsequently decide to travel on an alternative train.
So because you won't save by booking these types of tickets in advance, it can be a good idea to wait until you are sure when you will want to travel.

When booking Super Sparpreis, Sparpreis and 2nd class Flexpreis tickets, you have the option of purchasing seat reservations later.
It can be worth re-looking up a journey a week or two ahead of travel, because the DB website will indicate how busy a departure will be.

1st Class tickets

No matter what type of ticket booked, if you choose to travel 1st class, you will have access to the same seating areas on the train, ICE trains do not have Business or Executive lounges.
Though only those who have booked 1st class Flexpreis or Flexpreis Plus tickets can access the DB Lounges at the major stations.

Booking on the DB website

When looking for tickets from Köln Hbf on the DB website type ‘K‘ or 'COLOGNE' into the ‘from‘ box and not ‘Ko‘.

To see all the combinations of trains and journey options, some of which may be cheaper, take off the 'fastest connections' default.

Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so if you can be flexible with your departure time use the 'best prices' tool - at the top right on the list of journey options.

Final Destination: Berlin or Leipzig or Dresden

There are two different train services from Koln/Cologne to Hannover:

(1) These slower IC trains, which travel via Essen

(2) The [alternative ICE trains which travel via Wuppertal

When looking up this journey on DB, those ICE trains can cost the same price as these IC trains, so when that is the case, they become the logical choice of trains to take.

The ticket prices depend on how popular a specific departure is, and how quickly the discounted tickets sell out, so you can save more than €20 by taking these IC trains.

The ticket terms are the same as when taking the ICE trains.