Take a seat, everyone.
For this is today's thread about
absurdity.
Today's little trip is Bonn Hbf
to Paris
.
For this example trip I want to leave Bonn between 08:00 and 12:00 on Wednesday 26 August.
For this is today's thread about


Today's little trip is Bonn Hbf


For this example trip I want to leave Bonn between 08:00 and 12:00 on Wednesday 26 August.
First of all, what is the best route from Bonn to Paris?
There are no direct trains on this route. So you would either do Bonn-Köln-Paris, or (longer geographically) Bonn-Mannheim-Paris.
There are some routes with changes in Koblenz, Saarbrücken or Luxembourg as well.
There are no direct trains on this route. So you would either do Bonn-Köln-Paris, or (longer geographically) Bonn-Mannheim-Paris.
There are some routes with changes in Koblenz, Saarbrücken or Luxembourg as well.
So I start with Deutsche Bahn's Reiseauskunft. This gives me 4 options for my trip:
ROUTE
08:04 Bonn - 12:05 Paris, RegionalExpress + Thalys, 1
Köln,
4:01
ROUTE
09:04 Bonn - 14:35 Paris, RegionalExpress + ICE + Thalys, 2
Köln + Brussels,
5:31
ROUTE



ROUTE



ROUTE
10:14 Bonn - 16:31 Paris, ICE + RegionalExpress + TGV, 2
Koblenz + Luxembourg,
6:17
ROUTE
11:14 Bonn - 16:53 Paris, EC + TGV, 1
Mannheim,
5:39



ROUTE



But how do I actually get a
for any of these?
DB @db_bahn
ROUTE
- no price offered
ROUTE
- no price offered
ROUTE
- no price offered
ROUTE
- €54,90 + €4 
How do other portals fare?

DB @db_bahn
ROUTE

ROUTE

ROUTE

ROUTE


How do other portals fare?
Trainline @thetrainline
ROUTE
- route not shown
ROUTE
- €48,90 + €4
+ €0,75 fee
ROUTE
- €57,90 + €4
+ €0,75
ROUTE
- €54,90 + €4
+ €0,75
It also offers ROUTE
B -
Koblenz + Kaiserslautern, otherwise as ROUTE
- €54,90 + €4
+ €0,75 fee
ROUTE

ROUTE


ROUTE


ROUTE


It also offers ROUTE




RailEurope @raileurope
ROUTE
- route not shown
ROUTE
- route not shown
ROUTE
- €57,90 + €4
+ €5,95 fee *
ROUTE
- route not shown
* - RailEurope has dropped its fees temporarily to zero due to COVID
ROUTE

ROUTE

ROUTE


ROUTE

* - RailEurope has dropped its fees temporarily to zero due to COVID
Omio @OmioGlobal
ROUTE
- route not shown
ROUTE
- route not shown
ROUTE
- route not shown
ROUTE
- €54,90 + €4 
Like Trainline also offers a ROUTE
B -
Koblenz + Kaiserslautern, otherwise as ROUTE
- €54,90 + €4
ROUTE

ROUTE

ROUTE

ROUTE


Like Trainline also offers a ROUTE




NS @NSInt_info *and* CFL Intl @CFLinfos (results identical)
ROUTE
- no price offered
ROUTE
- €48,90 + €4 
ROUTE
- €57,90 + €4 
ROUTE
- €76,50 + €4
ROUTE

ROUTE


ROUTE


ROUTE


And then 
SNCF @ouisncf
ROUTE
- route not shown
ROUTE
- route not shown
ROUTE
- route not shown
ROUTE
- €162,20 (inc.
)

SNCF @ouisncf
ROUTE

ROUTE

ROUTE

ROUTE


But SNCF does show *two other routes*
An adapted ROUTE
B that leaves 10 mins earlier from Bonn - at 07:54 - but using an ÖBB NightJet for the Bonn-Köln component... although that train is diverted via Beuel and not Bonn Hbf that day
- no price for that route given
An adapted ROUTE


An adapted ROUTE
C -
Köln + Mannheim, otherwise same as ROUTE
, but starting on an Intercity train that according to DB *never* serves Bonn Hbf
- and the price for that one - a hefty 164,20 (inc.
)





But hang on, I hear you thinking, what about that ROUTE
...
08:04 Bonn - 12:05 Paris, RegionalExpress + Thalys, 1
Köln,
4:01
A full 90 mins quicker than any other route...
AND NO-ONE CAN BOOK IT

08:04 Bonn - 12:05 Paris, RegionalExpress + Thalys, 1


A full 90 mins quicker than any other route...
AND NO-ONE CAN BOOK IT

The only way to get that one - split the booking into two parts
Bonn-Köln part is local transport authority ticket for a RegionalExpress- DB can sell it for €7,38. Second part is a Thalys that you can book from Thalys website (or via SNCB, NS Int or SNCF) for €48,00.
Bonn-Köln part is local transport authority ticket for a RegionalExpress- DB can sell it for €7,38. Second part is a Thalys that you can book from Thalys website (or via SNCB, NS Int or SNCF) for €48,00.
Or - in other words - DB can sell a
for German local trains, but refuses to sell
for Thalys to Paris.
Thalys does not sell tickets for any German trains except its own services, but can sell Köln-Paris.
So that renders the best connection... un-bookable in 1 transaction.


Thalys does not sell tickets for any German trains except its own services, but can sell Köln-Paris.
So that renders the best connection... un-bookable in 1 transaction.
This demonstrates why relying on DB or SNCF (that is majority owner of Thalys) to solve this sort of issue is *never* going to work - DB wants you to take its ICE, cross border, to Brussels, and not take a Thalys. Thalys doesn't want you to take DB services.
Also in this one, Thalys at least will give its data to third parties - NS International or Trainline can sell you a Thalys ticket.
But *no one* other than DB and the local transport authority can sell you a RegionalExpress ticket for Bonn-Köln.
But *no one* other than DB and the local transport authority can sell you a RegionalExpress ticket for Bonn-Köln.
The likes of @thetrainline or @OmioGlobal could partially solve this by offering an earlier InterCity connection for Bonn-Köln, rather than the RegionalExpress, but neither site is clever enough to do this - although both have the data to do so.
The conclusion?
Want the
FASTEST
connection - you have to do a manual ticket split
Want the
CHEAPEST
- @NSInt_info is your best bet, for ROUTE
Want the


Want the


