Germany: €9 a month for 3 months from June 1

[P Binnersley]

Also valid on the unusual Oberweißbacher Bergbahn in Thuringia which normally has special fares.

 

[duesselmartin]

I will certainly enjoy less busy ICE trains during that time

 

[yorksrob]

It might actually be a good idea to exclude them. Here in Austria, the Klimaticket (a yearly rover ticket for all public transport in the whole of the country at a price of little over €1000), together with the end of Covid restrictions and an obvious desire to travel again, has led to a huge increase in passenger numbers. On long-distance trains (which in Austria, mostly, are actually more akin to German IC and RE trains, since the country is so small), passenger numbers are up by 10% compared to 2019(!).

This is certainly good, but it also results in very overcrowded trains.

That's interesting.

10% would make a difference but doesn't seem apocalyptic.

It's the sort of increase that this countries system might just about have been able to accommodate, had we not been busy scraping rolling stock without adequate replacement to save money.

 

[zero]

This has changed again, as the state of Baden-Württemberg has secured an agreement with DB Fernverkehr, that the 9€ ticket *will* be valid on the code-shared IC-RE trains between Stuttgart and Singen (IC-RE87 Gäubahn) after all. No mention yet of other states following suit with such agreements

Das 9-Euro-Ticket gilt auch auf der Gäubahn

Das 9-Euro-Ticket gilt auch in den für den Nahverkehr zugelassenen Intercity-Zügen auf der Gäubahn. Die zwischen Stuttgart und dem Bodensee verkehrenden Intercity-Züge, die auch bisher mit dem Nahverkehrsticket genutzt werden können, sind damit auch mit dem 9-Euro-Ticket nutzbar.

www.baden-wuerttemberg.de

Is it just that they haven't updated the page in the second screenshot below then?

 

[U-Bahnfreund]

Is it just that they haven't updated the page in the second screenshot below then?

Yeah I guess it takes a while for these annotations to update.

North Rhine-Westphalia's rail authority has also reached a deal now, making DB accept 9€ tickets on the IC34 between Iserlohn-Letmathe and Dillenburg

 

[DanielB]

Latest news is that Niedersachsen decided the 9-euro ticket will also be valid on the RB61 between Hengelo and Bad Bentheim, similar to the validity of the Niedersachsen-ticket.

For that reason it's validity will not be extended from Weener to Nieuweschans (where a Niedersachsen-plus ticket is required with the normal fares).

 

[Seehof]

Any news from any source how it is going?!!

 

[JaJaWa]

Any news from any source how it is going?!!

According to BBC News

No major rail problems were reported in the hours after the scheme kicked in on Wednesday morning.

Germans get €9-a-month travel in response to energy price rises

For the next three months, public transport costs are being cut to tackle the soaring cost of living.

www.bbc.com

 

[Beebman]

German news video with correspondents in Darmstadt, Wetzlar, Mainz and Wiesbaden all reporting no problems (in German but auto-translated English subtitles are available in Settings):

 

[The exile]

Mixed reports on German forums - with a lot emphasising “see what happens at the weekend”

 

[U-Bahnfreund]

My tram-train yesterday was definitely fuller than the day before. A lot of elderly day trippers apparently taking advantage of the ticket. They don't seem to be taking the tram-train as often, because when we entered the city centre, half the train marveled at the new tram tunnel (opened in December)

 

[dutchflyer]

Also happy in my 2nd day of using it-though I aim mostly for NON-trains: nice busrides in the Oberbergischer land, Wuppertal Schwebebahn+Solingen trolley today. Lady busdriver was hard trying to sell it to any new customer unaware of it and she sold 20+ on a long trip.
Now in an of course again delayed ICE (INterrail) and the nr of cancellations seems to rise by the day. But same for local trains.
Weekend coming up is a long weekend, so expect extra demand.
In this ICE no announcement at all to bar these cheapo people, just the usual.

 

[Planesandtrain]

Seen everything from normal to chaotic. I was one the RE8 from treuchtlingen to augsburg yesterday and at least five passengers were standing in the toilet. On my work route it's hit and miss whether I can make it out of the cab to check tickets.

 

[yorksrob]

So the sky hasn't caved in.

Perhaps our motor-centric government might attempt something to make the railway competitive in terms of value for money.

Given the dinosaurs in the treasury, in not holding my breath.

 

[blackfive460]

So the sky hasn't caved in.

Perhaps our motor-centric government might attempt something to make the railway competitive in terms of value for money.

Given the dinosaurs in the treasury, in not holding my breath.

Perhaps it might be better if they provided funding for the resources required to offer a reliable, useful service first?

 

[yorksrob]

Perhaps it might be better if they provided funding for the resources required to offer a reliable, useful service first?

Well at least they've got one half of the equation.

Our lot don't want to provide the service or a decent offer to passengers.

 

[alf]

My tram-train yesterday was definitely fuller than the day before. A lot of elderly day trippers apparently taking advantage of the ticket. They don't seem to be taking the tram-train as often, because when we entered the city centre, half the train marveled at the new tram tunnel (opened in December)

What city? Karlsruhe?

 

[gordonthemoron]

My observations over the past few days:

2/6
S11 Dusseldorf Airport-Dusseldorf Hbf, lightly loaded
S-bahn to and from Wuppertal, busy but spare seats
Wuppertal Schwebebahn, ful and standing in places
U-bahn in central Dusseldorf, rammed

3/6
U-bahn Dusseldorf-Krefeld and back, lightly loaded
RE1 Dusseldorf-Cologne, rammed

4/6
Trams in Cologne rammed
Car traffic in Cologne horrendous

5/6
S11 Cologne-Dusseldorf Airport, lightly loaded

Both Dusseldorf and Cologne city centres were extremely busy, as were their respective Hbfs, so perhaps the €9 tickets are generating revenue for other businesses.

Train punctuality, esp Regional trains was poor, Departure information on DB App and in stations was inconsistent, or just plain wrong. eg RE1 Cologne to Dusseldorf was showing on App as on platform 9, which was closed, and there was no mention of it at all in the Hbf departure board

 

[YorkshireBear]

My observations over the past few days:

2/6
S11 Dusseldorf Airport-Dusseldorf Hbf, lightly loaded
S-bahn to and from Wuppertal, busy but spare seats
Wuppertal Schwebebahn, ful and standing in places
U-bahn in central Dusseldorf, rammed

3/6
U-bahn Dusseldorf-Krefeld and back, lightly loaded
RE1 Dusseldorf-Cologne, rammed

4/6
Trams in Cologne rammed
Car traffic in Cologne horrendous

5/6
S11 Cologne-Dusseldorf Airport, lightly loaded

Both Dusseldorf and Cologne city centres were extremely busy, as were their respective Hbfs, so perhaps the €9 tickets are generating revenue for other businesses.

Train punctuality, esp Regional trains was poor, Departure information on DB App and in stations was inconsistent, or just plain wrong. eg RE1 Cologne to Dusseldorf was showing on App as on platform 9, which was closed, and there was no mention of it at all in the Hbf departure board

Doing Dusseldorf cologne and Bamberg in two weeks, can't wait! Sounds like it will be good fun.

 

[rvdborgt]

My observations over the past few days:

2/6
S11 Dusseldorf Airport-Dusseldorf Hbf, lightly loaded
S-bahn to and from Wuppertal, busy but spare seats
Wuppertal Schwebebahn, ful and standing in places
U-bahn in central Dusseldorf, rammed

3/6
U-bahn Dusseldorf-Krefeld and back, lightly loaded
RE1 Dusseldorf-Cologne, rammed

4/6
Trams in Cologne rammed
Car traffic in Cologne horrendous

5/6
S11 Cologne-Dusseldorf Airport, lightly loaded

Both Dusseldorf and Cologne city centres were extremely busy, as were their respective Hbfs, so perhaps the €9 tickets are generating revenue for other businesses.

Train punctuality, esp Regional trains was poor, Departure information on DB App and in stations was inconsistent, or just plain wrong. eg RE1 Cologne to Dusseldorf was showing on App as on platform 9, which was closed, and there was no mention of it at all in the Hbf departure board

Sounds like just another week. Although maybe a bit busier.

 

[duesselmartin]

This weekend had a public holiday to it so it was bound to be busy.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Doing Dusseldorf cologne and Bamberg in two weeks, can't wait! Sounds like it will be good fun.

You could try a Super Spar Preis for IC/ICE to and from Bamberg, might cost 20-30€ more, much faster, you can reserve seats. Longer trips on the 9€ ticket can be tedious with lots of changes.
..
Remember, the ticket is good for buses too, they go to all sorts of interesting places.

 

[YorkshireBear]

You could try a Super Spar Preis for IC/ICE to and from Bamberg, might cost 20-30€ more, much faster, you can reserve seats. Longer trips on the 9€ ticket can be tedious with lots of changes.
..
Remember, the ticket is good for buses too, they go to all sorts of interesting places.

Ah yes. Sorry. This trip was planned before this ticket was even a rumour.

Our tickets from Köln to Bamberg are via the Rhine on EC7 changing at Mainz onto regional and already bought. Then Bamberg to Frankfurt Flughafen is an ICE which again is already bought. Was just going use local tickets for all other travel but obviously now changed to a 9€ ticket which will sort out everything from when we land at Düsseldorf.

Think we will be using some buses but waiting for weather forecast to finalise our plans firmly on what to do when in Bamberg, although it might mostly be the local smoked beer!

 

[slowjoe]

I tried a trip Berlin-Wolfsburg yesterday (a public holiday):

RE4 Berlin - Rathenow
RB34 Rathenow - Stendal
RB35 Stendal - Wolfsburg

Around 3hr10 vs 1hr05 by ICE.
The RE4 was busy but bearable, everyone got a seat.
The RB34 and RB35 are very small DMUs - clearly "local trains for local people" - and are now on the fastest €9 route for Berlin to Hannover and beyond.
They were hopelessly overcrowded yesterday, passengers crammed on (just), but bicycles not.

It is these kinds of connections which have the biggest problems due to the ticket - I think over the course of the next 3 months they will have to be either scaled up or relieved in some other way.

 

[Feuillesmortes]

RE4 Berlin - Rathenow
RB34 Rathenow - Stendal
RB35 Stendal - Wolfsburg

Around 3hr10 vs 1hr05 by ICE.

Thank you. Frankfurt to Cologne via Koblenz would be similar I guess.

Can anyone recommend a blog or Twitter feed showing pictures or data on these pinch points?

 

[Beebman]

Here's a vlog by a German YouTuber who calls himself Prince Damien of a journey he undertook at the weekend from München to Köln using a 9 Euro ticket:

He travels via Nürnberg (where his intended next train is caped), Würzburg, Frankfurt, Koblenz and Troisdorf. His total journey time is 13 hours (but he does make it on time to the concert he's going to). The trains he takes are well-filled but there's quite a party atmosphere on some of them!

 

[185]

Like 'Bruno' in the above post we're there next week with a few trips on the €9 pass. Might be getting the credit card out and sticking to ICEs sensibly.

Will let you know how (bad) it goes

 

[U-Bahnfreund]

Thank you. Frankfurt to Cologne via Koblenz would be similar I guess.

Can anyone recommend a blog or Twitter feed showing pictures or data on these pinch points?

Well the routes through the Rhine valley aren't single coach DMUs, in principal they do have some amount of capacity. Only problem if three of the four routes north of Koblenz are partly cancelled due to construction works, like they did last weekend, and everyone crams onto the RB27. In that case I'd recommend taking the S-Bahn from Cologne to Troisdorf and change for the RE8 there, it was fairly loaded but not rammed full like the RB27.

 

[geoffk]

Sounds like a genuine attempt to provide a good value ticket, of the sort that our treasury focused railway would never except.

Here we'd get "blah blah but we have advanced purchase.…..etc" to try and destroy the idea.

It's amazing that Germany is doing this to attract people back to the trains just as our DfT/Treasury is wanting big cost reductions on our railways to pay for Covid. Germany has also had Covid and presumably their train usage fell away much as ours did. The railways weren't to blame for Covid but here it's being used as an excuse for the biggest fare increase in nine years and service cuts, but this won't be the end of it. If the UK tried to replicate Germany's offer it would be chaos as we don't have nearly enough trains or crews to cope with the resulting increase in passengers. How many other European countries treat their railways as we do in Britain?

 

[yorksrob]

It's amazing that Germany is doing this to attract people back to the trains just as our DfT/Treasury is wanting big cost reductions on our railways to pay for Covid. Germany has also had Covid and presumably their train usage fell away much as ours did. The railways weren't to blame for Covid but here it's being used as an excuse for the biggest fare increase in nine years and service cuts, but this won't be the end of it. If the UK tried to replicate Germany's offer it would be chaos as we don't have nearly enough trains or crews to cope with the resulting increase in passengers. How many other European countries treat their railways as we do in Britain?

Even just getting the pre-covid timetables running where necessary would be a start, but that would never happen with our lot.