Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S O N T E N T Overview... 3 Deutsche Bahn`s Host System... 3 RailGuide... 3 Sabre Rail DB... 3 Technical requirements... 3 A few words to the English translation... 4 Types of bookable tickets... 4 German domestic tickets... 4 Foreign and cross-border tickets... 5 Sabre Rail DB: Access and first steps... 6 Access... 6 Login... 6 First step: ticket stock... 6 The tabs - where to do what... 8 Functions and features of some of the mask fields... 9 Station: To and From fields... 9 Date... 9 Time... 10 Timetable... 10 How to request and print a connection... 10 Print a detailed timetable (routing)... 12 HIM (HAFAS Information Manager) messages... 12 Basic booking workflow (offers mask)... 13 Step 1 request an offer... 13 Step 2 book an offer... 14 Step 3 pay for the booking... 14 Step 4 issue and confirm the successful print of the ticket... 15 Step 5 close the order... 18 Offers screen details (for domestic German and to / from Germany cross-border tickets)... 19 Where to and when the schedule fields... 19 Who and what the fare influencing fields... 19 Standard offer... 20 Ticket sub-mask... 21 Class of service... 21 BahnCard... 21 DB fare... 22 Non-DB fare... 22 Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 1
Bahn Bonus... 22 CD nbr. Corporate Discounts and Military fares... 22 Request Type... 23 Search Mode... 23 Traveler profile sub-mask groups and multi-passenger... 23 Number of travelers (of the same passenger type)... 23 Passenger types... 24 Age... 24 DB Discount... 24 Class mandatory if DB discount is entered... 24 Non-DB Discount... 24 Class mandatory if non-db discount is entered... 25 Examples... 25 Transfer / Product sub-mask... 26 Transfer (very rarely used)... 26 Transfer times for all connections... 26 Product Category... 26 Bicycle... 27 Main Leg (almost never used)... 27 Border stations sub-mask... 27 TCV border station... 27 TCV routing... 28 TCV request... 29 NE/SEE transition... 30 Reservations mask... 30 Seat reservations on domestic German daytime trains... 30 Seat reservations without using the reservations mask... 30 Reservations using the reservations mask... 31 Importing train connections from timetable... 31 Importing train connections from offers... 32 Importing train connections from orders... 32 Seat reservation mask... 33 Reserving seats... 34 Free connecting seat reservations... 35 Requesting a different seat type for the connecting train... 35 Mandatory seat reservations... 37 Booking Bracket and Mandatory Reservations (Error 1248)... 37 Accept variation option... 37 Global fare trains... 38 Booking global fare trains... 39 Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 2
O V E R V I E W Deutsche Bahn`s Host System The Deutsche Bahn (DB) host system (NVS) offers licensed agents a large variety of different types of rail and rail-related capabilities. A total of over 3,000 products are bookable via the NVS system. Bookable products include: German domestic point to point tickets Day, week and month passes Tickets for most other European railways Night trains DB discount cards Local Transit Authority Luggage shipments RailGuide DB has an online reference system called the RailGuide. The RailGuide contains information about all of the bookable content provided in NVS as well as routes, fares, restrictions, promotions and agency responsibilities. Agents are expected (by DB) to stay informed by accessing the RailGuide frequently, if not daily. The RailGuide often has important current information such as cancellations due to strikes etc. The RailGuide can be accessed via: http://www.dbportal.db.de/railguide/en/ Request your credentials (ID and password) to access the RailGuide by sending an email to: agenturservice@bahn.de Sabre Rail DB Sabre Rail DB is a web based application accessible to DB licensed agents. It supports the full bookable content provided by the NVS system. Technical requirements PC with internet access and TLS 1.2 support (Windows 7 or higher, Internet Explorer 9 or higher) Internet Explorer (with Compatibility View enabled on version 10 or higher, see these instructions for help) Adobe Reader version 9 or higher Additionally a signature pad (provided by DB) and installation of related plugin are required to be able to sign electronic forms for Bahn Card application purposes (see details here). Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 3
A few words to the English translation The masks of the application are presented in English, however the NVS system is in German. Although we have endeavored to provide a wholly English application, occasionally a response in German is unavoidable. For example, names of fares are in German. A Sparpreis is a saver fare. DB refers to the fares in the RailGuide by their German name, so we present them in German accordingly. Tickets which are checked by German speaking conductors must also be printed in German. T Y P E S O F B O O K A B L E T I C K E T S German domestic tickets Product Categories Product Category A - ICE (InterCity Express) high-speed trains connecting major cities Product Category B - IC/EC/IR (InterCity/EuroCity/InterRegio) non-high-speed, more stops Product Category C - RE (Regional Express) regional trains, stop at almost all stations Fares are applied by product category: ICEs have the highest fares Types of tickets FPL Timetable based tickets tickets for specific trains on specific dates (includes capacity controlled saver fares and night trains) EOF Express without timetable open point to point tickets in all product categories and passes generally only valid on product category C trains EMF Express with timetable full fare coach class open point to point tickets Passes There are a variety of passes. Passes are generally only valid on product category C trains. Frequently up to 5 people can travel all day for a deeply discounted fare. Several of the German federal states offer passes valid within that states borders. Please see the RailGuide -> German Domestic -> General Fares for more details Night Trains Night trains are bookable as FPL Time table based fares with supplemental mandatory reservation requirements. Reservations For most trains in Germany a seat reservation is not required, but advisable on Product Category A and B trains. The passenger can purchase a ticket only and take his chances finding an empty seat on the train. Seat reservations are booked as separate items and cost: 4,50 in 2 nd class and 5,90 in 1 st class. Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 4
Exceptions: Certain ICE trains are known as Sprinters. Sprinters are faster due to fewer stops (eg. Normal ICE from Hamburg to Frankfurt takes at least 3:36, a Sprinter takes 3:20). Reservations are mandatory on Sprinters and cost more: 11,50 in 2 nd class and 16,50 in 1 st class. Free reservation (called Integrated Seat Reservation or ispr) is available for number of 1 st class full fare offers. Details on isprs, reservation conversion and tickets with mandatory reservation are provided here. Limited number of free seat reservations is available for BahnCard 100 holders (based on BahnCard nbr. entry in Customer Details) The symbol in the offers display identifies trains (and fares) with mandatory reservation requirements. Foreign and cross-border tickets When DB co-operates with foreign rail companies on cross-border routes special conditions often apply. FPL (Timetable based) capacity controlled discount fares are offered (Europaspezial fares) for tickets originating or terminating in Germany Highspeed DB & SNCF highspeed routes between Germany and Paris DB and SNCF share routes between a few German cities and Paris. TGV trains and ICE trains alternate on these routes. Special conditions apply. Trains have mandatory reservation, however these reservations are free of charge. Global fare trains non-german Highspeed trains Several European countries operate high speed trains between major cities. These trains are booked as global fares. Global fare trains have mandatory seat reservations. The ticket and reservation is booked as a single item and issued on a single document (unlike domestic German trains where the seat is booked and issued separately). You will find detailed information on global fare trains in the RailGuide. Foreign Country tickets (within a single country) Open NRT (Non Reservation Tickets) point to point tickets. For foreign cross-border journeys wholly outside of Germany, the trip frequently needs to be pieced together with connecting single country NRT tickets. Passes There is a number of bookable passes for some European countries. Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 5
S A B R E R A I L D B : A C C E S S A N D F I R S T S T E P S Access Via URL: https://db.rail.sabre.com/ Access can only be granted once DB has confirmed to Sabre that the agency is approved to sell DB via Sabre. Login In the login screen enter your normal Sabre sign-in credentials and click on Login. You may select between the German or English version from the Language dropdown. First step: ticket stock Approximately 1 week prior to being granted access, you should have received delivery of your first ticket stock (size: A4, stock type: 6342, quantity: 900). Before you can book your first ticket you must confirm delivery / acknowledge receipt of the document: 1 2 1. Select the Administration tab 2. Select the Laser ticket stock button Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 6
3 3. Select the Confirm delivery button 4 4. The status changes to In use and you can now issue tickets. Note: these tickets are accountable documents. NEVER throw a misprinted or otherwise spoiled ticket away. They must be reported and sent back to DB. Heavy fines can apply for missing documents. Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 7
T H E T A B S - W H E R E T O D O W H A T The Sabre Rail DB application has a row of tabs representing masks for varying functions: Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 8
F U N C T I O N S A N D F E A T U R E S O F S O M E O F T H E M A SK F I E L D S Station: To and From fields Entry options: City name if the city name is entered an automatic station search is performed when offers or timetables are requested. A popup appears with a selection option. Station number all stations in Europe have a corresponding number (code) known as an IBN number. If the number is known, it can be entered. Car tag letters (German cities only) in Germany, the city in which a car is registered is indicated on the car tag. If car tag code is used in the station field it defaults to the main station (Hbf = Hauptbahnhof = Main Station) Airport code airport rail station (if existing) can be found by providing IATA code of the airport City name Station number (main station) Car tag letter (Hamburg car tag) Station number (airport station) Airport code (IATA) Berlin 11160 B 60109 SXF 96030 TXL Düsseldorf 85 D 45928 DUS Frankfurt 105 F 281 FRA Hamburg 2549 HH 2547 HAM* München (Munich) 261 M 4168 MUC * HAM does not work for Hamburg airport station as it is a car tag letter for city Hamm Manual search is performed by clicking on Date You will not find pop up calendars or day/month/year dropdowns in the Sabre Rail DB application. It`s easier! Format options: +0 Today (leave a date field blank and it defaults to today) +7 7 days from today (entered in the return date = 7 days after departure) -1 Yesterday (minus only used in searching for orders and daily sales reports) 15 the next 15 th of the month 1508 August 15 th (format: ddmm; the year is not required) Mo next Monday (2 letter abbrev. of the weekdays) Mo+7 a week from next Monday Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 9
Time Time fields can be entered with a single digit, left blank defaults to now Format options: +30 30 minutes from now 8 8:00am 14 2:00pm (24 hr. clock) T I M E T A B L E How to request and print a connection Example: Outbound: Bus stop in Hamburg to Rome departing December 15 th at 10:00am Return: 7 days later departing at 8:00pm 1 3 4 2 1. Click on the search field 2. Select H Stops from Limit to dropdown 3. Enter the name of the stop 4. Click on Find Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 10
5 6 5. Select the correct stop by clicking on it 6. Click on Apply 7 8 7. The result populates the From field. Enter ROMA in To, add Date and Time and desired return Date (simply +7) and Time 8. Click on the Timetable button. Select proper station for Rome from displayed list. Note: the Offers button in the Timetables mask does not request offers but switches to and fills in the Offers mask with the data entered here Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 11
Print a detailed timetable (routing) 1 2 3 4 1. Number of returned connections per direction is visible in the tab name 2. To print the connection, select a connection by checking the checkbox 3. Display the return connection and select a connection to print (as in point 2.) 4. Click the Print button (you can change the language by clicking the arrow). The connection is created as a pdf file and can be printed on any normal printer or sent to a customer as email attachment. Though the information is displayed is in German, the print out is available in English. The English translation comes directly from the DB (NVS) host system (a few remarks might still appear in German). HIM (HAFAS Information Manager) messages Both timetable and offers result can include important real-time messages regarding particular train coming from HIM (HAFAS Information Manager) system: - low/medium/high priority messages about disruptions / disturbances in train operation - information about no free places in 1 st class / 2 nd class / at all Details (which may not be available in English) both with affected train number are presented on mouse over: Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 12
B A S I C B O O K I N G W O R K F L O W ( O F F E R S M A S K ) There are 5 basic mandatory steps to book a ticket and reservation from Offers tab: 1. Request an offer 2. Book an offer 3. Pay for the booking 4. Issue and confirm the successful print of the ticket 5. Close the order Note: unlike airline tickets, paying for and issuing a ticket are separate functions. Example: One way, Hamburg to Frankfurt, February 15 th, ticket & reservation, cash payment, issue ticket. Step 1 request an offer 1 2 1. Fill in To / From / Date / Time fields 2. Click on Offers Notes: You can use Sparpreis-Finder to quickly search for lowest fares, see details here. Details on booking EcoPlus supplement can be found here. Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 13
Step 2 book an offer 3 4 5 3. Select the fare for chosen journey from respective dropdown 4. Select the seat preference 5. Click on Book Note: See details on how to combine several (sub-) fares from Offer details window for roundtrip offer request here. Step 3 pay for the booking The order (booking) is displayed is a separate tab in the lower half of the screen. Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 14
6 7 8 6. Select the checkbox (all) for the items to be paid 7. Click on Pay for by Cash. Once an item is paid, the status symbol is displayed with a check (with details on mouse over) Notes: other forms of payment available: Debit Card, Credit Card (incl. AirPlus with DBI data support), Invoice, Voucher, Reservation voucher Credit Card payments for long distance tickets with a value exceeding EUR 50,00 are subject to a minimum transaction fee of EUR 0,50. unpaid order items will be cancelled by Deutsche Bahn after several hours Step 4 issue and confirm the successful print of the ticket 8. Click on Laser print the print window will open: Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 15
9 9. Use the print icon to display Windows print dialog: Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 16
10 10. Verify printer settings and click Print Once the ticket has been printed, click on Before After The status changes from Printing to Printed and your stock is reduced by the appropriate number of tickets Note: you must report to Deutsche Bahn that the tickets were printed successfully (close with print confirmation) in order to keep ticket stock balance accurate Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 17
The print status has changed to Printed The Ident Number is displayed 11 Step 5 close the order 11. The booking is complete and can now be closed by clicking on Close. Notes: it is not mandatory to enter a passenger name in a Deutsche Bahn booking other delivery modes available: o o Bahntix see here (German version only) (Mobile) Online ticket see here. Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 18
O F F E R S S C R E E N D E T A I L S ( F O R DOM E S T I C G E R M A N A N D T O / F R O M G E R M A N Y C R O S S - B O R D E R T I C K E T S ) Note: offers screen provides access to German domestic or journeys originating from or terminating in Germany, i.e. at least the departure (From) or arrival (To) must be in Germany. Where to and when the schedule fields 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. OW: Oneway / Outward RT: Roundtrip/ Return Simply fill in From, To, Date and Time fields Leave RT From and To fields blank. Enter only the return date and time. Return cities are automatically filled in when the offer is requested. Provide them only when requesting open jaw journey. 2. Station search Click on this symbol to perform a manual search for a station code 3. Date Departure date; formats described on page 9 4. Time Departure time; formats described on page 10 5. Arr. If checked, the Date and Time entries will be treated as the desired arrival time 6. Via (1 and 2) Provide cities which should be included in the routing of the journey 7. Minimal stopover time Enter the minimal length of stopover in the Via city (in minutes). Note: Stopover length is limited by ticket validity period limit, see RailGuide for details Who and what the fare influencing fields There are 3 sub-masks (1) and a pop-up (2) in the Offers mask with optional entry fields that influence the offers returned such as Corporate discounts, group and family tickets. Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 19
2 1 The following pages of the handbook will explain the different fields and their influence on returned offers. Standard offer The default standard offers are always the lowest available 2 nd class and lowest available 1 st class fares and the full normal fares: SP Aktion / RIT Aktion Sparpreis Flexpreis Special fares available for certain period of time and routing, consult the RailGuide Saver fare Full unrestricted fare Note: for round trip offers a cheaper combination of two individual fares may be available in details dialog Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 20
Ticket sub-mask Examples of how entries in the optional fields influence the offers Class of service 2+1 request 2 nd class fares + the lowest available 1 st class fare (default) 2 request only 2 nd class fares 1 only 1 st class fares Example: class 1 was selected - only 1 st class fares were returned BahnCard BahnCards are picture ID personal discount cards valid for 1 year BahnCard 25 2 nd class (BC25 2KL) 2 nd class offers with 25 % discount BahnCard 25 1 st class (BC25 1KL) all offers with 25 % discount BahnCard 50 2 nd class (BC50 2KL) 2 nd class offers with 50 % discount BahnCard 50 1 st class (BC50 1KL) all offers with 50 % discount BahnCard Business (BCB) for business travel, with special conditions for companies Note: traveler must present the Card to the conductor; discount might not apply to all saver fares Example: BahnCard 25 for 2 nd class was selected. The second class fares are discounted by 25%. No discount is applied to the 1 st class fare for a 2 nd class BC Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 21
DB fare FP + weit. Angebote (default) Normal (Flexpreis) and further offers. The default FP + weit. Angebote will return offers with the lowest applicable fare. In some very rare cases for very specific tickets, you might be required to select a specific fare type from the dropdown. Consult the RailGuide. Non-DB fare On very rare occasions it may be necessary to select a fare type belonging to a non-db rail company that covers a leg of the journey. Consult the RailGuide. Bahn Bonus BahnCards holder can collect points similar to Airline Freq. Trvlr. mileage programs. Enter the BahnCard number here for point accrual. Always enter the BahnCard number before requesting the offer. It cannot be added to the booking at a later stage. Note: not all offers are eligible for BahnCard points. Only offers displaying the symbol are eligible CD nbr. Corporate Discounts and Military fares GKR GrossKundeRabatt Large Customer Rebate If a corporation has a BMIS nbr. (CD nbr.) enter it here and offers are return with the appropriate discount. Generally only the full (Flexpreis) fare is discounted. Note: DB requires minimum annual bookings for GKR accounts. Accrual only with entered CD nbr. Example: the corporate discount was applied to the Flexpreis fare in the offer. For military ticket offers select MIL In the order a corporate discounted and military ticket is displayed like this: Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 22
Corporate discount Military ticket Request Type Timetable-based (default) offers for specific departure dates and times Express w/o timetable open, non-capacity controlled fares & passes Express with timetable open, non-discounted/full fare tickets (Consult the RailGuide) Search Mode With the Search mode you can set the offer search priority on departure time or price (rarely used because Normal mode, the default, almost always returns all options T R A V E L E R P R O F I L E S U B - M A S K G R O U P S A N D M U L T I - P A S S E N G E R DB allows up to 5 travelers to travel on a single printed standard ticket. 6 Travelers becomes a group ticket. The Traveler profile popup is used to enter the number of passengers as well as discount cards. Number of travelers (of the same passenger type) 1-5 will bring offers for normal fares. 5 Adults can travel on a single ticket 6 and more automatically brings offers for group tickets Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 23
Example 1: 5 adults - the fares reflect 5 x the single fare Example 2: 6 adults - group fares are returned. Notes: Group tickets have special requirements, see here (German version only) For details on optional booking of group tickets see this file. Passenger types There are 5 passenger types: Adult anyone over the age of 14 Child between the age of 6 and 14 (not sons or daughters, but minors) - fare is 50 % of Adult fare Family child Sons and daughters or grandchildren o o Travel for free with accompanying parents 1 parent (not 2 parents) can travel with 4 family children for the single adult fare. Dog consult the RailGuide Child special seat consult the RailGuide Note: child is defined differently among different European railways, eg. In France on SNCF a Child is 6-13 years old, 14 is already an adult. Age Age is mandatory for children only. If it is not entered, no offers are returned. Note: if several children between the ages of 6-14 are travelling together only enter 1 age (avg.) DB Discount Dropdown includes BahnCard 25 and 50 discount cards but also foreign railway cards which can often be applied to DB routes and fares, eg. RailPlus cards Class mandatory if DB discount is entered No discount is applied to 1 st class fares with a 2 nd class BahnCard, so the card class must be indicated Non-DB Discount Identical to the DB discount dropdown. A frequent traveler might have discount cards on another European railway in addition to a DB BahnCard. On cross-border journeys from Germany to Austria for example the DB BahnCard will only discount the German portion of the trip the trip. By selecting the Austrian Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 24
discount card in the non-db discount field he would get the German and Austrian portions discounted in the fare (extremely rare). Class mandatory if non-db discount is entered Class of the Non-DB discount card Examples The fare display in offers only indicates the fare amount but not the number of travelers. The number of travelers is shown in the booking. 1 Adult Hamburg to Frankfurt fare (Flexpreis) is 124,00 Euro (default w/o any entry in traveler profile) 2 Adults 1 has a 2 nd class BahnCard 25 1 Adult & 4 Family children (up to 4 family children travel with a parent for free) 2 Children (50% of the adult single fare) 6 Adults (6 travelers constitutes a group and a group fare is booked) Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 25
4 Adults & 2 Children (6 travelers constitutes a group but the children are still discounted) T R A N S F E R / P R O D U C T S UB- M A S K In the Transfer / product section you can further define routing, layovers, and train types desired for the offer request. Transfer (very rarely used) Transfer attempts to restrict the number of changes in the routing N Change permitted (default) - requests the best available standard routing G Direct on whole distance - attempts to avoid routings with a change of trains K Direct on core leg - by using the VIA1 and VIA2 fields you are able to define the core leg: If I have to change frequently, then not between these stations Transfer times for all connections Minute field Used for travelers requiring a little more time to change trains. If you enter 30 in these field, all returned offers will have at least 30 minutes connecting time for all transfers. Product Category By X ing the symbols you can restrict the type of train in the offer request. If you only want offers with high speed ICE trains deselect all other categories and you will only receive offers for ICE connections. city light rail very similar to subway ferry underground subway Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 26
Tram/Streetcar Note: Don t expect to find offers including Taxi. Bicycle If the traveler(s) plan to take bicycle (s) with them enter the number of bicycles here and only trains with facilities for bicycles will be return in the offers. Bicycles are not allowed on ICE trains. Main Leg (almost never used) Here you can select the product category you desire for the main leg of a journey. The default offer request usually brings back the best available connection and train category so that this field is almost never required. B O R D E R S T A T I O N S S U B - M A S K For cross-border trips the DB system will in most cases return fare offers. On rare occasions the manual entry of a routing number is required in order to force the system return a fare. This response instead of a fare is an indication that a manual routing code entry is probably required to obtain the price. Some domestic tickets that involve non-db train companies and ferries may occasionally also require the entry of the transition station from DB to the non-db carrier. TCV is a French abbreviation for European cross-border passenger rail travel TCV border station In case TCV routing number entry is required to get a fare, providing border station is also mandatory. Border stations are identified as TCU stations and have (GR) appended to the name of the station. Note: Every border station has at least 2 IBN numbers, 1 for each country Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 27
TCV routing The routing is identified with a code number. To find the code number use the support service: 5 1 2 3 4 1. Click on the search button to open a support service 2. Enter the desitionation and border stations and use to select proper stations 3. Click on Find 4. Note or copy the routing number (Code) 5. and enter it in the TCV routing field. Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 28
Note: Occasionally the system will automatically provide the support service with the codes as a pop up. The manual entry of the code number in the TCV routing field is still required to obtain a fare. TCV request You have the ability to split a ticket between the German domestic and the non-german parts of the trip. A lower fare Sparpreis (saver fare) might be available on the German domestic route which might make the total fare of 2 tickets cheaper than the through fare German portion domestic portion i.e. from a German city to border Whole distance the entire route Foreign country German border to final destination The example below illustrates the function of this field. The trip is from Hannover, Germany to Rostov, Russia. Here you can see how the offers and bookings look like for each option: Note: offers still display the full route whereas bookings only the priced part Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 29
NE/SEE transition NE Non DB (domestic) rail companies. SEE stands for ferries. Occasionally it might be necessary to enter the transition station from DB to the non-db railway or ferry in order to get a fare. The opens a support service similar to TCV routing. R E S E R V A T I O N S M A S K The Reservation mask is used primarily to book seat, couchette and bed reservations. Reservations are booked as separate order items in addition to the ticket, priced separately and printed on a separate sheet of ticket stock. Seat reservations on domestic German daytime trains Seat reservations are not mandatory in German domestic daytime trains, with the exception of a small number of ICE trains known as Sprinters respective offers are marked with mandatory seat reservation icon (1). Seat reservations without using the reservations mask Whenever possible you should book the seat reservation in a single step with the ticket using the Seat request field next to the Book button in the offers (2). By making a selection in this field prior to clicking on the Book button a seat reservation is booked at the same time as the ticket. 1 2 Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 30
Reservations using the reservations mask In order to book a reservation the train connection must first be imported into the reservation mask. This can be done from timetable or offers or booked tickets in an order. Importing train connections from timetable 3 1 2 Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 31
1. Select the connection for which you want to reserve seats 2. Click on >> Reservation 3. Trains will be imported to the Reservation tab Importing train connections from offers 1 2 1. Select the connection by clicking anywhere in the row 2. Click on >> Reservation. Trains will be imported to the Reservation tab as in the first example Importing train connections from orders 1 2 Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 32
1. Select a booked ticket 2. Click on >> Reservation. Trains will be imported to the Reservation tab as in the first example Seat reservation mask In the seat reservation mask you can make specific requests for different types of seats, including neighboring seats, child compartments, quiet area or mobile phone area etc. Seat reservations are only available on Product Category A (ICE trains) and B (IC / EC trains). Product Category C trains do not provide for pre-reserved seats. 3 1 2 1. Once the trains have been imported select the checkboxes of the trains for which you want to reserve a seat (all reservable trains will be marked by default) 2. Click Seat Note: Product Category C train is not reservable (3) Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 33
Reserving seats 1 4 2 3 5 1 Passenger (1) wants 1 Aisle seat (2) in the parlour coach (3) on all trains (4). Note: The reservations are by default booked into a new order service (e.g. 2.1 for ticket 1.1). In order to add new reservation to a new position of an existing service (e.g. 1.2 for ticket 1.1) select the service in Add to service dropdown (5). Compare results below: Reservation booked into new service: Reservation added into existing service: Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 34
Free connecting seat reservations DB provides all except first reservation in the same direction free of charge, provided they are booked together in one booking request. Requesting a different seat type for the connecting train If the passenger wants a different seat requests for the connecting train, then only 2 trains can be selected and reserved at a time. In this example we are requesting a window seat in the parlour section on the first train and an aisle in a compartment on the second. 1 2 1. Select only 2 trains 2. Click on Seat Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 35
3 3. The 2 trains appear in their own rows with possibility to provide custom preferences for each of them After booking, the information about assigned seats are presented in order items: If more than 2 trains are selected the mask defaults to All and all trains are booked with the same seat type. Notes: Free reservation (called Integrated Seat Reservation or ispr) is available for number of 1 st class full fare offers. Details on isprs, reservation conversion and tickets with mandatory reservation are provided here. To reserve double-deckers see this file. Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 36
Mandatory seat reservations Most DB daytime trains do not have mandatory seat reservation requirements. The Sprinter is the exception. Trains with mandatory reservation are identified in offers with the symbol (with details on mouse over). With very few exceptions mandatory reservations must are booked with a Tariff Code. The Sprinter is booked with Tariff Code 17, resulting in a fee of 11,50 instead of the normal 4,50. When the seat reservation is booked together with the ticket in a single entry from offers using Seat request selection, Tariff Code 17 is applied automatically in the background. If the seat is booked separately in the reservation mask, the reservation is only bookable if the Tariff Code is provided manually. Booking Bracket and Mandatory Reservations (Error 1248) The booking bracket (Buchungsklammer) is a test that the DB system applies to verify that the correct Tariff Code has been applied to a mandatory seat reservation. The test is applied at the time of payment. A ticket for a mandatory reservation train cannot be paid or ticketed if the seat reservation was not booked or was booked with the wrong Tariff Code. Attempts to do so will result with the following error: Accept variation option Uncheck the option (available on seat reservation screen) in order to: 1. Override reservation lock on given section. Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 37
Some short sections are locked for reservation by DB. An attempt to reserve seat on such section will return error: Die Strecke ist fur Reservierung gesperrt Section locked for reservation. Example of such route is Frankfurt (Main) Hbf - Frankfurt (Main) Airport. Excluded from this rule are trips beyond the specified routes, group travel, mobility-impaired travelers, as well as cyclists. Consult RailGuide for details. 2. Allow to scatter group reservation when consistent reservation is not possible. G L O B A L F A R E T R A I N S Some non-db trains known as global fare trains are not bookable via the Offers mask. Global fare trains must be booked in via the Reservation mask. Tickets and reservations are combined on a single printed document (unlike DB domestic where the reservation is printed on a separate document). Example of global fare cross-border train is Eurostar. Additionally several countries have global fare category trains (high-speed) domestic routes. You will find detailed information on global fare trains in the RailGuide, under Global-fare trains. Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 38
Booking global fare trains This example demonstrates the booking process for a TGV train from Paris to Nantes. 1 3 4 2 1. If you request an offer and instead of receiving a fare, you receive Angebot nicht bepreisbar Offer not priceable 2. select the offer row and click Details (or just double click the row) to display the offer details. 3. If it is a global fare train you will see Reservierungspflichtig, Globalpreis Mandatory reservation, global fare 4. Export the train to the reservations mask Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 39
5 5. Open the seat mask 6 7 6. Beyond regular data, provide the appropriate tariff (consult RailGuide) and the number of related passengers 7. After booking the ticket and reservation will show up in your order: Sabre Rail DB Quick Reference Page 40