Children must hold a valid passport or identity card in their own name.
Children must have all the required visas or other immigration documents for the countries they are travelling through.
Children travelling alone or with an adult who is not their parent or legal guardian must present written evidence that their parents give consent for the journey.
You will find an example of a consent form on the central government website for you to download.
The form is an aid, and parents or guardians can also draft a letter themselves in which they give consent.
The central government website also provides useful information on travelling abroad with minors.
Children travelling alone
Children aged 12 upward can travel alone on ICE. Parents are responsible for judging whether their child is in fact capable of travelling alone. Please take the following into account:
There is no supervision on the train or at the stations during the journey.
The child travels under the parents' responsibility.
During the journey, the child must also be in possession of written proof that the parents give consent for the train journey. (See also attachment).
Conditions for accompanied children by age category Children aged up to 3
Children aged up to 3 travel for free if they are travelling accompanied by an adult. This does not need to be a parent or grandparent. They do not require their own ticket.
Although you can take pushchairs for free, luggage space is limited. We recommended only taking a folding buggy, and stowing this on the luggage racks.
Children aged 4 to 14
Children aged 4 to 14 travel for free for the Accompanied Child fare if they are accompanied by a paying passenger aged 15 or over.
This does not apply to the Sparpreis Europa Gruppe and Supersparpreis Europa Gruppe fares. Each physical person is regarded as one passenger, so 1 child = 1 passenger. This means that children up to the age of 15 do not travel for free with these fares.
One adult may accompany a maximum of four children.
If an adult is taking more children, they travel for the Unaccompanied Child fare.
You can reserve a seat for the child (€ 4). While this is not obligatory, it is strongly recommended.
Children will be included on the ticket of the accompanying adult.
State that you are travelling with children at the time of booking. It is not possible to add children for the Accompanied Child fare to a booking already made. A new booking will be made for this at the fare available at that time.
Children aged 15 and over
Children aged 15 and over travel at regular fares.
Please note: Within Switzerland and Denmark, children aged up to 15 accompanied by a parent or grandparent travel for free. If they are travelling with an adult who is not their parent or grandparent, they travel with a 50% discount for the Unaccompanied Child fare.
Family section and children's compartment
In second class in coach 25 (ICE Frankfurt) and coach 35 (ICE Basel).
The children's compartment (KleinKindabteil/KKA) is particularly suitable for families with small children aged up to around 3.
The family compartment is intended for families with children aged up to 14.
You will also find baby-changing facilities near the children's compartment.
There is a play area in the coach.
The KKA is equipped with a power socket for a bottle warmer
What next
Where can you book your tickets and reservations?
Tickets for children aged up to 14, if you book them with the accompanying parent or grandparent at the same time:
At almost all stations in The Netherlands you can find a NS service desk or ticket vending machine that offers a limited assortment of international tickets (without seat reservations) to popular German destinations