DB Travel#

Plan journeys across Germany and Europe via the Deutsche Bahn REST API. Covers ICE, IC/EC, regional trains, S-Bahn, U-Bahn, trams, buses, and ferries — with real-time delays.

No API key required. Free public API. Rate limit: 100 req/min.

Script#

scripts/db-travel.py — standalone Python 3 CLI, no dependencies beyond stdlib.

Commands#

bash

# Search for stations/stops
python3 scripts/db-travel.py search "Berlin Hbf"

# Plan a trip (place names auto-resolve)
python3 scripts/db-travel.py trip "Berlin Hbf" "Munich Hbf"

# Depart at specific time
python3 scripts/db-travel.py trip "Berlin Hbf" "Flughafen BER" --time "2025-03-01T10:00:00+01:00"

# Arrive by a specific time
python3 scripts/db-travel.py trip "Hamburg" "Berlin" --time "2025-03-01T14:00:00" --arrive

# Departure board
python3 scripts/db-travel.py departures 8011160 --limit 10

# Arrival board
python3 scripts/db-travel.py arrivals 8011160 --duration 60

# Station details
python3 scripts/db-travel.py stop 8011160

All output is JSON.

Common Station IDs#

Use search to find IDs. Some common ones:

• Berlin Hbf: 8011160
• München Hbf: 8000261
• Hamburg Hbf: 8002549
• Frankfurt (Main) Hbf: 8000105
• Köln Hbf: 8000207
• Flughafen BER: 8089110

Products#

The API returns product types: nationalExpress (ICE), national (IC/EC), regionalExpress, regional, suburban (S-Bahn), subway (U-Bahn), tram, bus, ferry, taxi.

Presenting Results#

When presenting trip results to users:

• Show times in HH:MM local format, not ISO
• Summarize legs concisely: "🚄 ICE 507 Berlin Hbf → München Hbf (10:29–14:25, platform 3)"
• Flag delays: if delay_min > 0, mention it
• For departure boards, filter to relevant modes (skip trams if user asked about long-distance)
• Walking legs can usually be omitted unless distance is significant

Limitations#

• Primarily Germany, but includes international trains (IC/EC to neighboring countries)
• Rate limited to 100 req/min — don't hammer it
• No ticket purchasing
• For Norway, use the entur-travel skill instead