Travel information
The symbols beside a connection show how high demand is for a specific train. The "Show details" section explains the meaning of the symbols.
Information about seat availability
How full is my train?
Information about demand levels
When you view your selected connection on bahn.de and in DB Navigator, you can see how full your train is likely to be.
Thanks to this information, you can decide if you want to reserve a seat or would prefer to catch a different train.
Changing trains
The level of demand refers to the part of a journey when a train is at its fullest. If you are changing trains, the system shows the level of demand for each train.
Information in DB Navigator
To see the symbols, click the details of a specific connection.
What do the symbols mean?
The demand indicator has 3 levels.
Low to medium demand expected
Enough seats will be available on this train.
Over 50% of seats are likely to be occupied
Over half of all seats are like to be occupied during certain parts of your journey.
Exceptionally high demand expected
The train could well be overbooked on certain sections of your journey. Many passengers will be forced to stand. For this reason, you can no longer book tickets or reserve seats. If you have not yet bought a ticket for this connection, we recommend taking another train.
Answers to FAQs
What travel class does the information pertain to?
The information about demand always pertains to the class you select when searching for a connection. Second class is the default setting.
Why is no demand-related information visible for certain connections?
- Demand levels are visible only for DB's long-distance trains (ICE, IC, EC). Our system cannot show demand levels on other operators' services, in particular regional trains.
- Our system is also unable to display information for certain other trains, in particular services operating outside of Germany.
- This information is normally on display 28 days before the day of departure. No information is displayed for connections that are more than 28 days in the future or if no data is available.
If this is the case for all connections displayed as search results, then the "Demand" column is not visible on your screen.
Where does the information come from?
Information about demand is based on forecasts. As a result, the actual conditions in a given train can be different to our system's prediction.
Additionally, the information pertains to the train as a whole (plus each travel class). Demand can vary considerably from carriage to carriage: for example, more seats are normally available at the ends of the train than in the middle.
My ticket is restricted to a specific train (i.e. saver fare). Can I catch another train if demand is high in mine?
Your ticket remains restriction to a specific connection. This means that you cannot use it on another train.
Our tip: book your ticket as early as possible. This way, you will probably be able to select the seat you want. Demand can change, and if lots of people want to take a specific train, you might not be able to reserve a seat after a certain point. We therefore recommend booking as early as possible.