Mutter sitzt im ICE und hat ihre zwei Kinder kuschelnd im Arm

Travelling by rail with children

Find out about the age at which children travel free of charge, tickets for children travelling alone, seats for families and our free services for children and families on Deutsche Bahn's long-distance rail services.

Advantages:

Services for families

You will find specially designated family areas in second class on almost all ICE trains. The compartments or seating areas here are primarily aimed at passengers travelling with children of primary school and kindergarten age.

The seating areas are located near an entrance, a luggage storage area and a lavatory. For families with infants, we recommend the specially equipped family compartments.

The family compartment is available on all ICE and most EC/IC trains. On ICE trains, it is usually located between the on-board restaurant and first class, or directly next to the bistro car.

The location of the family compartment is marked on the inside and outside of the train with the family compartment symbol. It is also displayed in the current coach sequence on our website or in the app.

Information on our childcare service on ICE trains

If you are travelling in a family group of up to five people, you can book the family reservation on bahn.de or in the DB Navigator app. To use this option, please indicate the number of children travelling with you when booking online. The family group must consist of one or two adults and at least one child aged up to 14.

Children up to 5 years of age travel free of charge on Deutsche Bahn long-distance trains and do not need to be indicated on the ticket. We recommend that you indicate children regardless of age, however, as this allows you to reserve a seat in the family compartment or toddler area. Accompanying children are only listed on the ticket from the age of 6.

Children aged 6 to 14 travel free of charge when accompanied by passengers aged 15 and over, but must be indicated when booking. Up to four children can travel on each ticket. It is not possible to add children on the adult's ticket once the journey has started.

If you are only using local transport, it is generally possible to take up to three children with you free of charge. Regional and transport association tariffs may deviate from this rule. 

Adults with a ticket for cross-border travel to Switzerland or Austria can take a child or grandchild up to the age of 5 free of charge (i.e. the child must accompany the parent or grandparent). It is not possible to add children on the adult's ticket once the journey has started. 

When travelling to Switzerland or Austria, children aged 6 to 14 travel free of charge. Children must be included on the adult's ticket.

If you are travelling with children using a City-Ticket issued with a saver or super saver fare, children pay the child fare for a single journey in the respective transport association. 

Children up to 5 years of age always travel free of charge and do not need to be specified when booking. Children aged 6-14 travel free when accompanied by someone aged 15 or over. However, they must be specified at the time of booking. The ticket holder can bring up to 4 children per ticket.

Yes. Please note that the space available on the train is limited. We recommend slings or pushchairs that can be easily folded and stowed away.

In Germany, children up to the age of 14 always travel free of charge. Children aged 6-14 must be specified during booking.
Different conditions for children apply to the following offers:

  • Flexible fare
  • Saver fare Europe London, Saver fare Europe France, Saver fare Europe Sweden and Saver fare Europe Czech Republic