There is a highspeed train in Germany called the ICE train. Can i buy tickets online?

Question

I have been trying to get the tickets at www.bahn.de, which I believe is the official German rail system page. I can get to the point of seeing schedules, etc. But the system tells me all the time they cannot give me rates. Is there any page that you know where I could get online tickets (maybe through an intermediary, the same way we buy airline tickets)??

Sincerely, I am not sure why is so complicated. Thanks to the first answerer for the link , but it only lists certain cities. I want to go from Frankfurt to Kassel (both German and pretty respectable in size, so it is not because the intinerary is outside of Germany or the cities are too small). I want to book in advance because I am from Spain, and do not want to show up and the train I want to get is sold out. It is very difficult to plan a trip with that possiblity hanging over your head. Even though I am Spanish, I am pretty "German" when it comes to plan my trips, nothing left for chance. I'll be only three days in Kassel, and having to wait three extra hours beacuse a train is not available is a big deal to me.

Answer 1

Just one thing to add to what everyone else is saying: If it says it can't give you the rates, then that may also be because you picked a route between two cities in the same "Verkehrsverbund". These are regional transport authorities, and within them, sometimes bahn.de refuses to give you a rate because these vary so much.

The comment about there being no point in booking online is off the mark: There are often long lines at the counters right at the station, plus if you book online reserving a seat is less expensive.

Answer 2

Besides the points brought up by the other answerers, if you book real early or late (less than 7 days before travel, I think,) you can not buy on-line.

If you get the same answer again but want to see what the price is like, try with a different date. (But do not buy those tickets.)

Your travel agent, shop or on-line, should be able to get you the tickets, but they also will have problems if you are way to early or too late.

Added:
I had a look and found that for Frankfurt-Kassel I was able to get a price and travel advice on this site:
http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/englisch/international_guests.shtml
I did take a random date, so maybe you will not be able.
As the trip is not too long, and runs several times a day, if you can not book on-line, you will not run the risk not being able to travel. But maybe not on the time you would prefer.

Answer 3

I often bought ICE-tickets online from http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en , so of course that's possible. If they can't tell you even the fares (before they are asking for credit card, etc) you probably are looking for a connection not only by Deutsche Bahn: for international connections (not taking only DB trains) or if another (private) company is involved, DB can't sell you a ticket online.

As already suggested you could try RailEurope for international connections:
http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fares_schedules/index.htm

Answer 4

Tickets for the InterCity Express (ICE) should be bought at the station. There is no benefit in buying them online.

Answer 5

http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/specialty/ice.htm?WT.mc_id=YahooSearch_ice_train&WT.srch=1&utm_source=Yahoo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ICE&ysmwa=MB1sPswQ__-1rav5qZFruATnxx421l67jrHQeBlKXjGUZNjCZZ4PnMLpDYjyFj_Q