James Howard
20-05-2011, 13:25
I've just spent a week commuting between Frankfurt and Darmstadt in Germany and thought I'd jot down a few comments by way of comparing the experience with the Irish equivalent. Feel free to move this if it violates any guidelines.
I think in general, our experience isn't too bad. We pay a lot less in Ireland if we use TaxSaver and the comparable trains are more comfortable. Overcrowding and speed are the main points that struck me as being a lot worse in Ireland than in Germany.
The distance is roughtly equivalent to Dublin and Maynooth. Frankfurt city is about the same population as Dublin city - Darmstadt is about 10 times the size of Maynooth.
Cost
Seemed about similar to the Irish system. I paid about 50 euro for a weekly pass that gave me unlimited access to all local transport in Frankfurt and Darmstadt and in between. Day return pricey enough at 20ish euro. By european standards, Ireland appears average or cheap for buying rail tickets - I noticed this in Finland as well a couple of years back.
Fare Enforcement
They had a much less intrusive system than Irish Rail for fare enforcement - no barriers anywhere but I had tickets checked three times, twice by plain clothes inspectors (with valid ID).
Service Frequency
We were using regional services which would be about equivalent to Sligo services. Mostly there were two trains per hour. The frequency was a lot better than the equivalent in Ireland but the populations were a bit higher. I don't know how frequent the local trains were as there were much slower. There were also ICE trains that would have done but our ticket didn't allow us on there. This would about double the available frequency if we had used these.
Comfort
Poorer than 22ks, much better than 29ks. Trains were modern double-deckers with electric locomotives. They were spotlessly clean and well-maintained but seats were a bit denser and there were no tables apart from a shelf at the windows. Rubbish bins at each seat a good idea. Overhead storage would only fit a old-fashioned briefcase due to lack of headroom.
Speed
Much better than Ireland. Seemed to take about 15 minutes - arriving a couple of minutes ahead of timetable except for one morning where there were delays.
Integration
Full ticket integration. Local busses at Darmstadt seemed to be timed to match the trains.
General Impressions
Frankfurt station excellent - you could get yur breakfast, etc and very good information systems. On train info a bit poor. Darmstadt station rubbish - stairs too small for the amount of traffic. The trains were a lot less crowded than in Ireland.
I think in general, our experience isn't too bad. We pay a lot less in Ireland if we use TaxSaver and the comparable trains are more comfortable. Overcrowding and speed are the main points that struck me as being a lot worse in Ireland than in Germany.
The distance is roughtly equivalent to Dublin and Maynooth. Frankfurt city is about the same population as Dublin city - Darmstadt is about 10 times the size of Maynooth.
Cost
Seemed about similar to the Irish system. I paid about 50 euro for a weekly pass that gave me unlimited access to all local transport in Frankfurt and Darmstadt and in between. Day return pricey enough at 20ish euro. By european standards, Ireland appears average or cheap for buying rail tickets - I noticed this in Finland as well a couple of years back.
Fare Enforcement
They had a much less intrusive system than Irish Rail for fare enforcement - no barriers anywhere but I had tickets checked three times, twice by plain clothes inspectors (with valid ID).
Service Frequency
We were using regional services which would be about equivalent to Sligo services. Mostly there were two trains per hour. The frequency was a lot better than the equivalent in Ireland but the populations were a bit higher. I don't know how frequent the local trains were as there were much slower. There were also ICE trains that would have done but our ticket didn't allow us on there. This would about double the available frequency if we had used these.
Comfort
Poorer than 22ks, much better than 29ks. Trains were modern double-deckers with electric locomotives. They were spotlessly clean and well-maintained but seats were a bit denser and there were no tables apart from a shelf at the windows. Rubbish bins at each seat a good idea. Overhead storage would only fit a old-fashioned briefcase due to lack of headroom.
Speed
Much better than Ireland. Seemed to take about 15 minutes - arriving a couple of minutes ahead of timetable except for one morning where there were delays.
Integration
Full ticket integration. Local busses at Darmstadt seemed to be timed to match the trains.
General Impressions
Frankfurt station excellent - you could get yur breakfast, etc and very good information systems. On train info a bit poor. Darmstadt station rubbish - stairs too small for the amount of traffic. The trains were a lot less crowded than in Ireland.