Eurobahn

Eurobahn has run regional passenger trains under that brand name since 1999, across four networks in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. Together they add up to around 16.4 million train kilometres a year. Two of its lines cross into the Netherlands, and that border is where the ticketing gets specific.

Where Eurobahn runs

The network covers regional (RE) and local (RB) trains linking cities such as Dortmund, Münster, Bielefeld, Düsseldorf and Hamm. The RE 13 Maas-Wupper-Express runs from Venlo through Düsseldorf and Wuppertal to Hamm. The RB 61 Wiehengebirgs-Bahn runs from Hengelo through Osnabrück to Bielefeld. Those two carry passengers over the German-Dutch border. Eurobahn drivers also crew the international high-speed service between Dortmund, Cologne and Aachen on behalf of Eurostar, but that train runs under the Eurostar brand and its own ticket rules, not Eurobahn's regional network.

Buying a ticket

Most trains have onboard ticket machines that take cash or card. RE 3 and RE 13 are the exception. Buy before boarding at a station machine, because there is no ticket sale once you are on those two trains. Which fare applies depends on the line: the WestfalenTarif and NRW-Tarif cover most of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Niedersachsentarif covers Lower Saxony, and the Deutschland-Ticket at €58 a month works across the whole network. One thing to know at the machine: it will not take 100, 200 or 500 EUR notes.

Crossing into the Netherlands

RB 61 passengers travelling to Hengelo or Oldenzaal need only one ticket for the whole trip, priced under the Niedersachsentarif, no matter which side of the border they start on. The same applies from Münster and Bielefeld. Do not assume your usual NRW ticket covers the last stretch. The WestfalenTarif and standard NRW-Tarif are not valid to Hengelo. The Deutschland-Ticket does cover this route.

RE 13 passengers travelling to Venlo use the VRR-Tarif all the way, and NRW-Tarif flat-price products such as the SchönerTagTicket also carry through to Venlo. Buy the Dutch-side portion at an NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) service counter if you need to.

Once you are past these cross-border tickets and travelling further into the Netherlands, switch to the Dutch OV-chipkaart system. Check in and out at the platform readers. There is no tourist-specific card, so buy a single-use paper ticket or an anonymous reusable OV-chipkaart from a station counter, machine, newsagent or supermarket instead.

Bikes and practical notes

A bike on an Eurobahn train into the Netherlands needs its own ticket: a Niedersachsentarif day bike pass, or the DB-tariff flat-rate bike ticket depending on where you start. Severely disabled pass holders should note that the German concession only carries as far as Bad Bentheim. Travel beyond that point into the Netherlands needs a normal-tariff ticket bought on board.