Wunderbarer Hauptbahnhof mit Dach. Die Imbiss und Sandwichshops sind offen. Es ist warm und sehr…read morehell. Review: 5

Central station for the city of Köln (Cologne), it is one of the busiest rail stations in Germany…read more It is quite large and I got to explore it a bit today thanks to a delay by the wonderful folks at Deutsche Bahn. My tip to you is that if you do have an extended layover here, use the luggage storage for your suitcases and step outside. You'll find the tremendous Kölner Dom that is worth photographing and touring. I did not have THAT much time so it was pictures only today. The train station has coffee (including Starbucks, yuck), pastries, lots of restaurants, restrooms, a waiting lounge if your train ticket includes that service, car rentals, ATMs and yes, the Ibis hotel. [Review 21267 overall - 271 in Germany - 232 of 2024.]

Considering that I spent three days in Düsseldorf, it's surprising that I only stopped in the…read morehauptbahnhof the one time when I arrived. It is a large station with 16 rail platforms plus four tram platforms and four Stadtbahn platforms. As such, it is Germany's sixth busiest station. The parts that I encountered were step free but I'm not sure if the entire station is such. I was able to roll my spinner suitcase easily from the train, through the station and out to the tram. Signage looked good and easy to read. Lots of food and some retail shopping opportunities here. And in 2021, masks are required throughout the train system. [Review 16340 overall - 151 in Germany - 1847 of 2021.]

This is the central train station in Dusseldorf, Germany. The station is very clean and modern…read more There is an Information Desk at the entrance. There are a lot of shops and places to get food. Signage is excellent, and all overhead announcements are in English in addition to German.

This station is very moderate in size making it easy to navigate and easy to use in general. The…read morelocation is decently convenient though many of the sites of interest in Aachen are scattered throughout the city. Built in the Art Nouveau style and opened in 1905, the facade of the facility is rather nice in appearance. With seven platforms, it is quite user friendly. The amenities are fairly limited compared to larger stations but there are at least a couple of quick food and retail choices. The route options are impressive for the size of the station as there are trains that can be taken to Pairs, Brussels, Berlin and other prominent cities of interest.

Arriving in the afternoon and departing super early in the morning a few days later, I found the…read morestation easy to navigate with great signage. No problem scanning my ticket to get past the ticket barricades either time. My only complaint? Early on Sunday morning, there is not much open. The one shop is "groundside" and yes, my ticket let me scan out and then back in a second time thankfully. The station is clean, well lit and needs more seating for waiting passengers. The passage way is fine but the platform was super cold so everyone was waiting here. [Review 21270 overall - 75 in Netherlands - 235 of 2024.]

If I could give a zero-star review, I would. The ticket system at Terminal 3RLN64 went down at…read more14:25, causing an issue with my ticket printing from the machine. The cashier who initially served me provided great customer service, but her colleague was very abrupt, aggressive, and rude. When the system went down, I was unable to receive my train tickets. I also have a railway discount that I can only get at the ticket office. I was charged twice. When they first tried to give me a refund, I was charged again. When I brought this to the attention of the aggressive colleague, she did not seem convinced that I was telling the truth, even though there were transaction receipts nearby and one in my hand. When I asked if I could receive a discount at another station, the colleague became very aggressive, waving her hands in the air and telling me that she had told me everything I needed to know and that I wasn't listening. I replied calmly, asking her why she was shouting at me. She interrupted me again. I told her I didn't understand why she was talking to me this way. The aggressive staff member then said she had already explained herself and that I was not listening. She walked off. When I asked the original cashier my initial question about whether I could purchase a ticket at another station to receive a discount, she kindly explained that the system had gone down across the whole network, so I might not be able to buy another ticket at another station. I was not told the system had gone down, only that the tickets were not printing, which is why I inquired whether I could purchase another ticket from another station. When I first explained that I was charged twice, the reaction I got made it seem like I was lying, even though the transactions on my card were processed twice. The aggressive staff member needs further customer service training. She is very aggressive and has poor customer service skills. She failed to listen and acknowledge the issue and was very abrupt about the situation. I am a tourist visiting Eindhoven, and this type of customer service is not a good reflection on the culture of the station. Unfortunately, I was not able to get the staff member's name because it was not visible, and when I asked, staff members were not willing to provide it. I was also told there was no manager available to discuss further what had happened. The aggressive staff member was a white female with short hair and she wore glasses. This incident occurred between 14:35 and 14:50 on 26/07/24 at Terminal 3RLN64.

Well, as it turns out, the railway station for a small town will still be referred to as an…read morehauptbahnhof, even if it only has four platforms, elevators that look like they have never worked in ages, and a passage that basically has no shops whatsoever (though it seems . In fact this place reminded me of those unstaffed stations back in Australia, with a basic shelter and a vending machine so you can grab something to eat. Mind you, since we missed the train taking us to the Netherlands, we had an hour to wait, so as is typical of me, I decided to catch the train to the end of the line and change trains there - it was somewhat better than spending an hour standing on an empty railway station.

This is one ugly bahnhoff I use this twice a day to go to work. The graffiti everywhere and the non…read moresmoking platforms where all people smoke and no one seems to care . I hope in the future the burgermeister realises how ugly and embarrassing this is as I love viersen and this is a not good

Yes, it's a very small station but when one train comes in at the same time as another, there's one…read morebottleneck at the door to get from the platform into the station hall. Some very unclever person didn't think that through. And worse, all of these people are in a rush to get to their train. Dumb design and I'm surprised no one got hurt today.

The lady behind the counter couldn't be bothered to help explain how to buy a ticket at the machine…read moreand which one to choose. She clearly was not there to help customers find their way and seemed annoyed by my questions. Why is she there???

I'm always amazed at this country when there is such a nice station for a small city like Sittard…read more The Intercity NS train stops here every 30 minutes (or more) as well as other regional trains. From here you can go to anywhere in the Netherlands, sometimes as far north as the trains go, without exiting the train. Did you know that this is actually the longest train platform in the Netherlands? With a platform length of 700 meters (2,300 feet). This makes it the longest railway platform in the Netherlands and one of the longest in Europe. The long platform is necessary to accommodate the long-distance trains that stop at the station, as well as the frequent local traffic. This is a smaller station but packed with features. A nice bike parking facility, a huge bus platform out front (since there are no trams in Sittard), an Albert Heijn, kapsalon (barber), a Doner food place and a Kiosk. From this station you can walk anywhere in the Centrum, even to the big Market square in minutes. Nicely lighted, great design too.