Travelling by Train in Germany

Trains are very reliable but not infallible, i.e. a bit of a storm or technical issues can throw things completly awry, but thats the exception rather than the rule.
Anyhow, a 14 minute connection is a massive amount of time so you should be ok. You just go down the stairs to a connecting tunnel and up the next stairs to the next train.
Should your incoming service be delayed then you just take the next service in the direction of your destination, even if your original ticket is restricted to specific trains. You have a train every hour from Saarbrucken to Mannheim and Mannheim to Munich, so if the connection is missed you arent waiting all day, just an hour.

If you really arent in a rush and want a bit of scenery, rather than going via Saarbrucken (to the south) you could route via the Mosel and Rhine valley (to the east) by adding Mainz or Koblenz as an intermediate stop. The bahn.com journey planner allows you to specifiy intermediate stations, and even add a duration of stop should you want to get out and have a break, leave it at 0.00 stop duration if you just want to pass through a certain station.
Heres a few pics of the Mosel valley https://theculturetrip.com/europe/germany/articles/the-top-10-things-to-see-and-do-in-the-moselle-valley/
and what you pass on the Rhine valley
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/germany/articles/the-11-most-scenic-spots-on-a-rhine-river-cruise/

I noticed announcements on the train in Germany telling people of alternative connection also if the train is delayed.

There are direct bus services from Luxembourg to Frankfurt which probably see more of the country as it drives through and stops off at Trier. Flixbus do that route and I am sure others too, it's around 4 1/2 hour trip.

Numerous direct trains then from Frankfurt hb to Munich. Takes about 3 hours.

German efficiency at it's best.

https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Luxembourg.htm



Luxembourg to Munich, Salzburg, Innsbruck...
Option 1, by daytime trains...

Simply check times & buy tickets at German Railways site www.bahn.de, Luxembourg to Munich in as little as 6h56. You print your own ticket.

Fares start at €29 in 2nd class or €59 in 1st class.

just avoid any journeys shown in the search results as including a bus as this is indeed just a bus and not a proper train.

Option 2, by Nightjet sleeper train...

Step 1, take the 18:33 regional train from Luxembourg to Koblenz - or perhaps take the 17:33 and have dinner in Koblenz.

Step 2, take the excellent Austrian Nightjet sleeper train from Koblenz to Munich or Innsbruck, leaving Koblenz at 22:18 and arriving Munich at 07:12 & Innsbruck at 09:14. Change in Munich for regular trains to Salzburg.

Fares for the Nightjet start at €59 in 6-berth couchettes, €69 in 4-berth couchettes, €99 with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper or €139 with a single-bed sleeper all to yourself. The sleeper & couchette fares include a light breakfast with tea or coffee in the morning.

Book this train at German Railways www.bahn.de - the cheapest way to split the journey is to book from Trier to Munich, Innsbruck or Salzburg (tip, I'd change Duration of transfer from standard to at least 45 minutes), as this is usually the same price as from Koblenz but includes the regional train between Trier and Koblenz. You print your own ticket. Then buy a Luxembourg-Trier regional ticket at the station and stay on the same direct train from Luxembourg to Koblenz, no need to get off at Trier or anything.

Now add a regional train ticket from Luxembourg to Trier either bought at the station or as another transaction at www.bahn.de. You'll need to leave Luxembourg around 18:00, but by all means leave earlier to avoid any delay and perhaps have dinner in Koblenz. Regional tickets are valid on any train.

If you are not in any hurry, you could use a Quer-durchs-Land ticket, 44 euro for all day after 9am, travel on any Regional train (not ICE or IC).

https://www.bahn.de/p/view/angebot/regio/index.shtml?dbkanal_007=L01_S01_D001_KIN0001_top-navi-flyout_angebote-regio_LZ01

https://www.bahn.de/p/view/angebot/regio/qdl.shtml?dbkanal_007=L01_S01_D001_KIN0014_REGIO-VERGLEICH-QDL-OBEN_LZ01

jetsonx wrote: »

The German train network is over-rated. As has been said, it is great but certainly not infallible can be subject to delays.

The Austrians and Swiss actually run a better network.

Have travelled the Swiss one extensively and this is true. But it ls also a damn sight more expensive than DB.

riffmongous wrote: »

To some extent.. but the routes are much more linear so you don't have to delay trains further to wait for transfers if there is a delay elsewhere, the Germans do

+1
even in France which has a comparible network length, its still not comparible.
TGVs run on dedicated lines through 1000s of km of wilderness bypassing towns. They also tend to be shuttles to and from Paris rather than going from one end of the country to the other like german trains, so if one line / route / region suffers disturbance it does not transfer to other regions.

but, back to the OP, why are you leaving Luxembourg so late if you have to catch the last connecting in Munich in the evening?
Is there any reason you couldnt get up off your rear end to get a train at 7am rather than 9am, which would have the pleasant side effect that you could spend a few hours in Munich without being in a rush should all go well?

But even for that 9am departure, theres plenty of buffer. Should you miss the connection in Saarbrucken theres a train an hour later to Mannheim (regional, but no slower than the TGV) and it connects with a train to Munich, as theres a train every hour from Mannheim to Munich.