There are many options for travelling long distances.
1. Train – Deutsche Bahn
In Germany, long-distance rail services are provided by trains called InterCity-Express (ICE) and InterCity (IC).
You will find the prices and timetables online at the www.bahn.com website.
There are different prices for the connections. In addition to the normal price (Flexpreis), there are offers (Sparpreise). These offers, however, are not always available and you have to choose a specific train in advance. If you miss this train, you will have to purchase a new ticket. Additionally, these tickets cannot be exchanged for free and cannot be returned.
Seat reservations have to be purchased separately. Seat reservations are only included for free with 1st class tickets.
If you travel regularly by train, you can receive a discount of 25% or 50% on ticket prices by purchasing a BahnCard.
You can purchase tickets online, in travel centers in larger train stations and at ticket machines. Tickets are not sold on the trains.
2. Train – Flixtrain
The second operator of long-distance trains is Flixtrain. Journeys are generally cheaper than with Deutsche Bahn. The trains aren’t as comfortable as those of Deutsche Bahn. There is no air conditioning on the trains.
You will find the prices and timetables online at the www.flixtrain.com website.
3. Bus – Flixbus
Flixbus operates a large network of connections in Germany and throughout Europe.
The bus station in Leipzig is located on the east side of the central train station.
You will find the prices and timetables online at the global.flixbus.com website.
4. Zug – Nahverkehr
You can travel short journeys with the Regionalexpress (RE [Regional Express]), Regionalbahn (RB [Regional Train]) and S-Bahn (S [Suburban Train]). With frequent connections, you can reach even distant destinations.
Compared to ICE and IC trains, your journey will take considerably longer (Leipzig to Berlin approx. 3 hours compared to 1 hour 15 minutes) and you’ll have to change trains more often. There are no seat reservations for these trains.