German Rail Discount Summer 2022

[Jdsk]

Effect on pollution, and who used the tickets:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... -emissions

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

The 2023 scheme: €49/month from 1 May:
https://www.businesstraveller.com/busin ... -on-may-1/

Jonathan

PS: The UK scheme:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... t-concerns
(abandoned)

[MrsHJ]

It’s a great scheme but it kind of puts me off cycling in Germany when it’s running as I suspect the trains will be rammed. I do need to tackle touring in Germany at some point though. Maybe I’ll stick to the ice trains if I figure out how to book the bike spaces.

[foxyrider]

It’s a great scheme but it kind of puts me off cycling in Germany when it’s running as I suspect the trains will be rammed. I do need to tackle touring in Germany at some point though. Maybe I’ll stick to the ice trains if I figure out how to book the bike spaces.

Hopefully i'll be doing a tour in Germany late summer, maybe the excirement will have waned by then

[st599_uk]

It’s a great scheme but it kind of puts me off cycling in Germany when it’s running as I suspect the trains will be rammed. I do need to tackle touring in Germany at some point though. Maybe I’ll stick to the ice trains if I figure out how to book the bike spaces.

I used them last year - a bit busy at weekends, but never had an issue, even in big cities like Köln.

[MrsHJ]

It’s a great scheme but it kind of puts me off cycling in Germany when it’s running as I suspect the trains will be rammed. I do need to tackle touring in Germany at some point though. Maybe I’ll stick to the ice trains if I figure out how to book the bike spaces.

I used them last year - a bit busy at weekends, but never had an issue, even in big cities like Köln.

I’m just being a bit of a wuss as Germany is slightly out of my comfort zone partly because I don’t speak the language (I speak French and a small amount of Italian). I’m ok now in German speaking Switzerland and Austria so I just need to expand my net a bit further. My husband pointed out last night whilst watching race across the world that my neuroses on travel would make me a great candidate for the programme. I was a bit peeved as I’ve travelled really widely, often solo, but he’s not entirely wrong.

[Galactic]

It’s a great scheme but it kind of puts me off cycling in Germany when it’s running as I suspect the trains will be rammed. I do need to tackle touring in Germany at some point though. Maybe I’ll stick to the ice trains if I figure out how to book the bike spaces.

I wouldn't worry so much about the local/regional trains in Germany being as rammed as they were during the 9€ ticket. Putting the price at 49€ means that it's often not worth buying unless you regularly commute or live in a large city and use the public transport a lot. If you only take the train for a few regional outings a month, then it's often a fine calculation whether the ticket is worth it, particularly since you've got the hassle of having to sign up to a subscription, and remember to cancel it before the 10th of the month before.

For families (which I'm guessing made up a large proportion of the outings in 9€ times), the new ticket is hardly attractive. I'm not even sure there's a reduction for kids, and since kids younger than 14 travel free on long distance services (if traveling with adult), the Deutschland Ticket often won't be a cheaper option.

To put the price into context, a 2½ hour trip from Berlin to the Baltic Sea costs 26€ for a Stadt-Land-Meer ticket, so if that's your only regional trip that month then it may be worth paying an extra 3€ on a return trip just to avoid the subscription hassle. Or if eg four of you are going, you'd take the Quer-Durchs-Land ticket for 65€ together (plus 6€ per bike, which you'd have to pay with the new ticket anyway). And if you want to go a bit quicker, or further away, you'll buy advance tickets on an IC or ICE, because the new ticket isn't valid on them.

So, yes, the new Deutschland Ticket can work out cheaper for many, but not for all, and the added hassle of comparing fares and signing up and cancelling the subscription all mean I wouldn't expect local trains to be so packed as last summer (although the trains between Berlin and the Baltic coast are always overfull on summer weekends, and are best avoided if you have a bike with you!).

[Jdsk]

The 2023 scheme: €49/month from 1 May:
https://www.businesstraveller.com/busin ... -on-may-1/

PS: The UK scheme:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... t-concerns
(abandoned)

Tickets now on sale... the German ones:
https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/04 ... -and-trams

Jonathan