Berlin Hauptbahnhof, built on the site of the 19th-century Lehrter Bahnhof and reopened in its current form in 2006.
Photo: Benjamin Janecke / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Munich to Berlin by Train
A domestic route within Germany.
Reviewed by Eurotraintrip on 2026-07-30
- Duration
- 3h 55m – 4h 15m
- Price from
- 17 EUR
- Distance
- 623 km
- Operators
- Deutsche Bahn (ICE)
- Frequency
- 16 ICE Sprinter departures a day each way under Deutsche Bahn's December 2026 timetable (up from 3 previously), plus additional standard ICE services with more stops
Compare and book Munich–Berlin tickets
Check pricesWhat makes Munich to Berlin different
- Starting with Deutsche Bahn's December 2026 timetable, ICE Sprinter frequency on Munich-Berlin - officially Germany's busiest long-distance corridor - jumped from 3 to 16 nonstop-style departures a day each way, each covering the trip in about four hours.
- After the original ICE Sprinter launched in December 2017, ridership on this corridor roughly doubled: Deutsche Bahn logged about 1.8 million rail passengers in 2017 and projected close to 3.6 million for 2018, as rail overtook flying as the default way to make the trip.
- Munich Hauptbahnhof, this route's starting point, is a modernist stub-end terminus largely rebuilt after WWII bombing and reopened in its current form in the 1950s, with platforms 11-26 laid out side by side on one level - a very different building from the glass-roofed, through-station Berlin Hbf built new in 2006 at the other end of the line.
Munich station
Departs from Muenchen Hauptbahnhof, a modernist stub-end terminus largely rebuilt after WWII bombing and reopened in its current form in the 1950s - long-distance trains use platforms 11-26, arranged side by side with level access, and it's a level, roughly 15-minute walk down the pedestrianized Neuhauser Strasse/Kaufingerstrasse to Marienplatz.
Berlin station
Arrives at Berlin Hauptbahnhof, built new on the site of the 19th-century Lehrter Bahnhof (opened 1871, its last train ran in 1951) and reopened in its current form in 2006 as Europe's largest crossing-station - long-distance trains use the upper level, with S-Bahn and the U55 U-Bahn connecting on to Brandenburg Gate and central Mitte.
Train vs. other options
Flying still exists on this pairing - Lufthansa has said its Berlin-Munich passenger numbers didn't fall even as rail traffic boomed after the 2017 Sprinter launch, and EasyJet added eleven daily flights on the route around the same time. Even so, both airports sit well outside their city centers, while the Sprinter runs Hauptbahnhof to Hauptbahnhof in well under 4.5 hours.
Booking tips
- Book Deutsche Bahn Sparpreis fares (from about 17 EUR) as early as you can - DB releases them roughly 6 months ahead on this corridor, and the cheapest tiers go first.
- Under the December 2026 timetable, ICE Sprinter frequency on this route jumped from 3 to 16 departures a day each way - a much wider spread of roughly 4-hour options than in previous years.
- A BahnCard 25/50 can beat even an advance Sparpreis if you're travelling in Germany more than once, but it only pays for itself after a few trips.
Good to know: This is officially Germany's busiest long-distance rail corridor, so the cheapest Sparpreis seats on the newly expanded 16-a-day Sprinter schedule tend to sell out faster here than on almost any other domestic German route.
While you're in Berlin
The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin's best-known landmark and a former symbol of the city's Cold War division.
Photo: Norbert Nagel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Few European capitals wear their 20th-century history as visibly as Berlin: Cold War landmarks, a rebuilt Reichstag with a free glass dome, and the East Side Gallery's murals sit a short ride from Museum Island's five state museums - register for the Reichstag dome online before you fix a return train time.
Full Berlin travel guide →Frequently asked questions
How long does the train from Munich to Berlin take?
The fastest ICE Sprinter services cover the 623km in around 3 hours 55 minutes to 4 hours 15 minutes.
How many direct trains run from Munich to Berlin each day?
Under Deutsche Bahn's December 2026 timetable, there are 16 ICE Sprinter departures a day each way on this corridor.
Is there a low-cost alternative to Deutsche Bahn on this route?
No - unlike some other major German corridors, budget operator FlixTrain does not run on Munich-Berlin.