So, let's say you decide to take a trip to. The decision is quite justified: this is the largest country in Europe, which has preserved a lot of historical heritage, and it really has a lot of interesting things. The question arises: how to move in Germany?
Of course, it comes to mind first. Indeed it is convenient way - the rental service in Europe is well developed, and German roads are world famous for their convenience and speed of movement along them. However, let's say that you want to save money, or do not have a driver's license, or simply do not want to burden yourself with car-related worries. Moreover, Germany has excellent brewing traditions! What to do?
It's time to remember that Germany has a superbly organized rail service. Railways Germany's Deutsche Bahn is something completely different from what Russians are used to. At least out of natural curiosity, it's worth familiarizing yourself with them!
There are several companies operating by rail in Germany, and not only German ones - after all, there are no borders, both physical and economic, in Europe. However, the main railway operator in Germany is Deutsche Bahn AG, aka DeutscheBahn or simply DB. It is easy to recognize it - the logo with red letters DB.
Purchase of single tickets
Sale train tickets in Germany fully automated, so you don't have to communicate with cashiers. Terminals are at all railway stations... You will need at least minimal knowledge of the English language.
The process itself is extremely simple: you choose the starting and ending point of the route, and the system offers you several options (which we will discuss in more detail below). It does not matter where you are at the same time: the terminals are united, and at a small station somewhere in Bavaria you can easily buy a train ticket long distancedeparting from Hamburg.
What's more: you can choose your arrival points not only in Germany! You do not need to worry about connecting DB with rail carriers, for example, France or the Netherlands: the ticket will be one, regardless of the number of transfers.
Payment made by bank cards and cash.
Be sure to have cash with you - not all ticket machines accept Russian bank cards!
After payment you will receive a ticket printed on paper, and in case difficult route - also the schedule on a separate piece of paper. Changes, as a rule, fit perfectly - rarely when the waiting time for the next train on a more or less popular route is more than 10-15 minutes. Navigation at German train stations is very well organized, so you don't have to be afraid to get lost and be late.
By the way, tickets for DB trains can be bought and in advance - via the Internet, on the company's website. Everything is as simple as on the airline's website. Tickets and timetables - form on the main page.
Nobody checks the tickets when boarding, but controllers walk the train while it is moving... They do it in German punctually, even at a very late and very early time, even at short distances - so it’s better not to try to ride a hare. The fines are very serious!
Prices are on average higher than regular intercity busesbut the speed and comfort are worth it. The fare between the same points can be completely different depending on the selected train type. More on this below.
Types of passenger transportation within Germany
DeutscheBahn provides many types of transportation, among which, in our case, four should be distinguished: Intercity-Express, RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and S-Bahn.
Before we start talking about them in more detail, let's note an important point: train speeds in Germany completely different from what we are used to. Conventional intercity communication is carried out at a speed of 150-200 km / h, and high-speed trains running over long distances (from one end of the country to the other) develop up to 300 km / h. It is easy to travel between cities within the same federal state in half an hour, or even 15 minutes, while the bus will travel for at least an hour.
The choice of a specific type of transportation depends on how much you want to save money or time, as well as on the destination - “express trains” do not stop everywhere. Now let's talk about the types of trains themselves.
S-Bahn
S-Bahn is something like the usual suburban trains. The speed of these trains is low. They unite closely located cities, and also dock with the subway major cities (called U-Bahn).
In other words, you can take such a train in the suburbs of some Berlin or Hamburg, enter the city, and immediately change to the metro. The S-Bahn is also used within a large city if a trip is planned from the center to a remote area, or, say, to the airport.
S-Bahn cars are nothing special: they are just a comfortable, clean electric train, in which there are necessarily places for transporting a bicycle.
RegionalBahn
RegionalBahn, also known as RB, is a short-distance intercity train.
In lightly loaded directions, RB may well be the only type rail transport... On more significant lines RegionalBahn works in parallel with more expensive and faster RegionalExpress... RB trains stop at all stations and often take a slightly less direct route than the Regional Express. RB routes rarely exceed 200 kilometers.
It is worth noting that due to the low ticket price, you may not have quite pleasant fellow travelers at RB, although you should not worry about safety - the DB security service and the police monitor it strictly.
It is worth choosing RegionalBahn if you want to save money - but the travel speed on such trains is approximately the same as the maximum speed of domestic electric trains (usually no more than 80 km / h).
RegionalExpress
Regional Express, also known as RE, is the main type of rail transportation within Germany. These trains cover quite a long distance and run every 1-2 hours.
Regional Express trains stop only at major stations, and travel quite fast: their maximum speed is 200 km / h, and the average speed is about 150 km / h. As a result, it may well happen that you will get to the station longer than taking the train itself to a rather remote city.
A characteristic feature of RE - trains are made up of unusual double-decker cars, so their capacity is quite high. As a rule, inside there is a division into "first" and "second" classes, but they differ little, and in the "first" class usually almost no one travels. RegionalExpress are ordinary "sitting" cars with free occupancy.
Travel time is up to six hours. The RE lines are served not only by DeutscheBahn, but also by other German rail operators.
RegionalExpress is the best price-comfort-speed ratio way to travel between german citiesunless you are crossing the country from one end to the other.
Intercity-Express
Intercity-Express (ICE) are high-speed trains serving mainly distant directions... However, they also run between major cities located nearby - for example, Dusseldorf and Cologne.
The speed of ICEs traveling on specially equipped tracks is up to 330 km / h - in practice this is the fastest way to travel in Germany, even faster than air transport.
ICE's cabins are very comfortable - they look more like an airplane than a train. ICE also usually has a dining car. In short, the comfort and speed of the trip are consistent with the high cost of the ticket.
Rail transport in Germany is convenient
We hope that the above descriptions are sufficient arguments for you to try this way of traveling in Germany. It is worth doing at least in order to see firsthand what the system of railroad transportation should actually be in a sufficiently large country.
German Railways (Deutsche Bahn, DB)
Train timetables throughout Europe, fares in Germany and to / from Germany, tickets and special offers. Online ticket sales. Special internet offers.
http://www.bahn.de/p/view/index.shtml
German Railways: Berlin Main Station Berlin-Hauptbahnhof
http://www.hbf-berlin.de/
Company of interregional lines in East Germany InterConnex
http://www.interconnex.com/
http://www.connex-gruppe.de
Berlin suburban trains S-Bahn Berlin
http://www.s-bahn-berlin.de/
Bavarian regional trains Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft
http://www.bayern-takt.de/
For convenience, we will divide all trains into 2 groups (we do not consider night trains to the Netherlands and Switzerland here) - fast (ICE - up to 300 km / h, IC, EC - up to 200 km / h) and slow, such as our electric trains (S, RB, RE, IRE, and some private lines like ME). All the seats in both groups of trains are seated - mostly carriages not divided into compartments, some of the cars are divided into 6-seater compartments. The division into fast and slow trains is convenient in order to understand which ticket is the most profitable for the trip.
In Germany, there are (the list is constantly changing) the following main types of tickets:
1. Regular ticket - the most expensive - valid for a round trip on all types of trains - you can take absolutely any train at any time. Ticket exchange and refund is free. In addition, for a small (3.5 euros or 1.5 euros via the Internet) surcharge, you can book a specific seat on a specific train, in the absence of such a booking, you can take any free places in a carriage of the corresponding class (there are 2 classes in total - they are written in large letters on the carriage). Seats can only be booked on fast trains. In the absence of seating on all trains, you can stand or sit all the way in a restaurant or vestibule.
2. Tickets with a 25% discount - Sparpreis 25 - and with a 50% Sparpreis 50 - a limited number of tickets sold at least 3 days prior to travel on specific trains. Sparpreis 25 provides for the possibility of exchanging or returning tickets for an additional charge of 15 euros. The Sparpreis 50 provides for return travel no earlier than the next weekend or later. These types of tickets offer a 50% discount for passengers traveling with you. All these tickets can be bought online (except for most international lines), at vending machines (six-language interface - no Russian) or at the Reisezentrum ticket office at the train station (2 euros more expensive than vending machines).
I note that direct trains run between major cities, and usually you have to make several transfers - they take a little time, the ticket indicates the arrival and departure routes, and at the connections of the main directions, late trains usually wait. In any case, if you did not make it in time due to the train being late for the connection, your ticket will be valid for the next train in the desired direction.
3. Group tickets valid for unlimited travel on slow trains for groups of up to and including five people.
There are 2 main types of such tickets - a weekend ticket Schönes Wochenende Ticket for 33 euros, according to which on one of two weekends or holidays you can ride throughout Germany from 00:00 to 03:00 the next day.
The second type of group tickets - land tickets (NiedersachsenTicket, NRW-Ticket, etc.) - they are usually valid within one federal state on weekdays from 9.00 to 03.00 the next day, or on weekends from 00.00 to 03.00 the next day. The price in different lands fluctuates around 25-28 euros. In some lands there are Single options - at a price of 18 euros.
In addition, there are tickets for groups of 6 people and other options for discounts and offers. For example, under the Surf & Rail program, the ticket price for some popular destinations starts from 19 euros (online purchase only). To buy a ticket on the Internet, you need to register on the DB website, print it on a printer and present it to the controller on the train along with the credit card (in your name) with which this ticket was paid.
I will try to make life easier for those who will acquire
1.Familientageskarte family ticket, which gives the right to travel [i] around Dresden and the surrounding area (like Meissen, Moritzburg, etc.). It costs 14 euros, you can ride on it for a day for two adults and 3 children.
It looks like hellish mashyna
Click on the blue rectangle here)))
Choose your language (English)
Back to the blue rectangle
Choose Verbundraum here
Here Familientageskarte
If you did everything correctly, then the final picture is this:
You can pay by card or cash. PIN code is not asked.
2.land ticket - costs 27 euros, up to 5 people can ride it a day... These tickets are available in all states of Germany.
Now is the red rectangle
Second rectangle from the top in the first column (Landerticket)
Here you can choose which ticket you need: for Saxony family, single, Saxony-Bohemia family, Saxony-Bohemia single. We chose the family one (the one for 5 people)
Choose when you drive
If you have a bike with you, then you also need a ticket for it))
You can pay by card or cash, no pin code is needed.
German railways in pictures .....
Unlike the railways of France, trains for the most part are much more decent, as well as stations, which are not divided into stations of a large-medium-small town, but into a metropolitan station and stations of a small town (these are very clean, pleasant, and often represent local architectural monument).
An example of a metropolis train station is one of the largest train stations in Europe - Frankfurt.
An example of a small train station is the station in Bad Nauheim
Train type locomotive
A more modern locomotive is a two-story one.
in Limburg we also saw such trains - this is a private railway company, but it seems to operate according to general rules (unlike the Umbrian railway in Italy, for example).
and special Deutscheban bicycles
So far we have learned about them purely theoretically. The general meaning is as follows: take your iron horse at the special parking lot, and call the number indicated on the frame (you need to register in advance on one of the DB websites (http://www.callabike-interaktiv.de), they deposit 5 euros, which immediately get into your account, and go to pay the rent), you are told the code of the bike lock, and you ride as long as you need. When you have ridden off, return the bike to the station (Stuttgart or ICE stations) or, in some large cities, bicycles can be left at road signs or special parking lots. When you close the lock, indicate that you are returning the bike, the account code will light up on the lock. Then call again and give the account code and the place where you left the bike (in the second case) or the parking number (in the first case). Renting costs € 0.08 per minute, € 9 per day maximum, € 36 for 7 days.
... and a few words about the land ticket
During the trip, we traveled on a land ticket across the land of Hesse, which costs 30 euros per day (and, let me remind you, can travel on it from 2 to 5 people). I will note that many people use this: for example, one day a grandmother was walking along the carriage, who asked everyone if they were traveling on a land ticket. It turned out that she was looking for a company of 2-4 people, to whom she could join and travel for free. Not having reached us, she has already found herself a company - four elderly Americans who enthusiastically accepted this idea of \u200b\u200bhers: crazy:
How to buy a land ticket for the land of Hesse from the machine, which stands right on the platform of the Frankfurt station, we did not understand (once poked about 15 minutes, found that for some reason there were all types of travel cards, except for those that we needed, and did not spend more on this time), besides these, there are still spacious ticket offices (with an electronic queue) and vending machines at the entrance to these ticket offices (where you can buy the required land ticket, but the vending machine did not want to "eat" our cards, demanding cash).
Then a strange story happened: one day, when we took a ticket from the electronic queue, and entered the hall with the ticket office, an elderly aunt, a railway employee, rushed across to us, who usually asked people at the entrance, on what issue they were and sent them to different windows ( besides the cash registers themselves, there are some other windows). We replied modestly that we had come to buy a land ticket, to which she snatched a ticket from the line and exclaimed "why stand in line!" dragged us to the machines (which thought our cards were not tasty, yeah). The husband, like a well-mannered man, began to explain to her that the machine would not suit us, because We don’t want to pay in cash, and the machine doesn’t take our cards, but my aunt began to press some buttons with the expression “they came in large numbers here, they don’t know how to use machines”. I, as an ill-mannered creature and [s] not wanting to be late for the train, practical, went and took a new ticket from the electronic queue. Approaching the machines, I found that my aunt was proving to her husband how cool it was to pay the machine in cash (the cards, of course, the machine did not want to "eat"), and, waving the ticket to the queue (prudently keeping it away from my aunt), [ s] told her aunt to leave us alone, smiled sweetly at the lady, and her husband - to follow me to the cashier that had already called us. So I did not understand why this aunt decided to make us fork out for cash - maybe I recently found out that vending machines also sell tickets, or maybe their cash plan was not fulfilled? :)
Germany has perhaps the most powerful and efficient railway system in the world. The railway accounts for the vast majority of intercity and suburban public transport trips, as well as a significant part of intracity ones. Most regions of the country have a dense network of lines, and railway stations are usually the main transport hubs in cities.
Train types
Germany has a rather complex system of train types. They are divided into mainline (Fernzuge or Fernverkehr) and regional and suburban (Nahverkehr). Mainline trains are white, regional trains are usually red.
Trunk lines include:
- ICE (InterCityExpress) - high-speed (in some sections up to 300 kilometers per hour) express trains with the least number of stops. However, on many routes, they are no faster than other fast ones.
- IC (InterCity) - ambulances, following between major cities in Germany.
- EC (EuroCity) - similar to InterCity, but followed abroad.
- CNL (CityNightLine) - sleeping night trains, mostly international. Lying places are only in them.
Regional and suburban areas include:
- RE (RegioExpress) - a regional train with stops in large and medium-sized cities.
- IRE (InterRegioExpress) is a relatively rare type of train, found on some long routes. Otherwise similar to RE.
- RB (RegionalBahn) - regional train with frequent stops.
- S (S-Bahn, Stadtbahn) - suburban train. The route always starts or passes through big City and is part of a network of such lines. Often used for intercity travel, supplementing or replacing the metro.
Movement features
Most of the lines are very busy. All trains, except for night trains, run at clock intervals. In the vast majority of cases, it will be an hour, half an hour, 20, 15, or 10 minutes. There is often a choice of 5-10 different train connections per hour between nearby cities. Traffic usually starts at 5-6 am and ends at about midnight, on some routes - an hour or two later. In addition to sleeper trains, some popular lines have occasional daytime trains at night.
Rates
At first glance, the tariff system is also quite confusing. However, if you understand it, getting around Germany is relatively inexpensive.
Basic fares (tickets that allow you to board any train on the required route and make stops of your choice) are very high. For example, a 3.5-hour journey between Berlin and Dortmund costs 86 euros in IC / EC and 98 euros in ICE. A standard ticket from Cologne to Munich (4.5-6 hours) will cost 108 euros in IC / EC and 112-142 euros in ICE. The road from Berlin to Leipzig or Dresden (1.5-2 hours) costs 40 euros in IC / EC and 47 euros in ICE. A little cheaper and tickets for regional trains... The first class is about one and a half times more expensive.
However, if you buy in advance (at least one day in advance, but the sooner the cheaper), Sparpreis discount tickets are available. They are available on pre-sale for all domestic and most international routes from Germany at prices of 19, 25, 29, 35, 39, 45, 49, 55, 59, 65, 69, 75, 79 euros and so on up to 119 euros (for long-distance routes). At the same time, the number of seats for each price level in each train is limited, and tickets for 19 and 25 euros are available only for transfers with a distance of no more than 250 kilometers.
Thus, when planning in advance, the price can be brought down several times, and the whole country, with some luck, can be crossed for 29 euros. But it should be borne in mind that such a ticket is valid only for the selected train. Refunds and exchanges of these tickets are subject to a 15 EUR fee.
In the first class, Sparpreis fares start from 29 euros (on routes over 250 kilometers - from 39 euros). The booking must have at least one mainline train (IC, EC or ICE).
A similar system operates on night trains. For example, the standard fare on the Berlin-Munich train is 152 euros in a seated carriage, 162 in a six-seater coupe, 172 in a four-seater, 207-335 euros in various versions. sleeping car... With preliminary purchase, the price can be reduced by 2-3 times.
When buying Sparpreis tickets, you should pay attention to the numerous possibilities of the www.bahn.de website booking system - the most advanced in Europe. In particular, there you can choose the type of trains - say, abandon the most expensive - ICE, or completely limit yourself to only the cheapest - regional.
In addition, the passenger can indicate at which station he wants to change trains and how long he wants to spend there. For example, if you are traveling from Frankfurt to Hamburg, but would like to see the Cologne Cathedral on the way, indicate the need for an hour or two-hour stop in Cologne. In this case, the ticket will be one and much cheaper than two separate tickets from Frankfurt to Cologne and from Cologne to Hamburg.
There are discount offers for regional trains. In particular, you can buy a Wochenende-Ticket on any weekend. It allows unlimited travel all day throughout Germany for 44 euros for up to five people at once, but only on regional trains - RE, IRE, RB and S-Bahn, as well as in public transport.
On weekdays, a similar Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket is valid only from 9:00, and only one passenger can travel for 44 euros, and the surcharge for each subsequent one is 8 euros. In addition, on any day the same, but cheaper offers (Länder-Ticket) are valid for travel within the federal states.
For a number of districts, it makes sense to consider the proposals of local urban and suburban tariff systems. For example, a day of travel in the VRR tariff system between Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, Bochum, Wuppertal, Mönchengladbach, Kreve (plus the Dutch Venlo and Nijmingen) costs 26 euros for the first passenger and 4.5 euros for each subsequent passenger.
Most tickets have a € 5 surcharge when purchased at the box office (not online or at the ticket machine). You cannot board regional trains without a ticket, you can board mainline trains, but you will have to buy a ticket at the full fare. In the event of a serious delay or cancellation of a flight, passengers are entitled to compensation, including a refund of the cost of travel by alternative transport, including taxi or hotel fees, if the last evening flight was canceled.
From time to time there are other great deals on German railways. For example, relatively cheap monthly passes are sometimes sold in the summer. In other cases, for intensive travel or regular visits to Germany, it makes sense to consider buying a BahnCard 25 or BahnCard 50 discount card.
Another option is the pan-European InterRail pass (www.interrailnet.com). Its version only for Germany is not cheap, but it can pay off with a large number of trips. Unlike many other European countries, in Germany InterRail passengers do not need to pay extra for the use of high-speed trains or have to reserve seats in them. Theoretically booking specific location on mainline trains it is possible for all passengers, but it makes sense only on peak flights, where there is a risk of being left without a seat.
Railway stations
Large train stations in Germany are usually open around the clock, medium and small ones can close at night. The city's main station is almost always called the Hauptbahnhof (abbreviated as Hbf.). At large train stations, there are always many food outlets, mini markets, and more. Luggage storage can be expensive, while automatic ones are always cheaper than manual ones.
Today I will talk about the German railway Deutsche Bahn (Deutsche Bahn) is an important vehicle in Germany. After my story for tourists and guests, I also decided to make a small step by step instructions in Russian for tourists and guests of Germany on how to buy tickets for trains of this railway via the Internet.
The topic is quite relevant and interesting, if only because the official Deutsche Bahn website (as the name Deutsche Bahn reads) does not have a Russian interface. In addition to German, you can select English and several other European languages \u200b\u200bon it (traditionally, the language selection button on the site is in the upper right), but Russian is not among them.
But the Deutsche Ban website has a bunch of other undoubted advantages, for example, such as:
- on this site you can see and see almost all the connections in Europe. The Germans managed to integrate the search not only on their own schedule, but also on the schedule of almost all railways. Even to search for messages in Russia, you can often use Deutsche Bahn!
- almost all Deutsche Bahn tickets can be bought online! For many European railways, only the cheapest, non-exchangeable fares are available online. And at Deutsche Bahn - you need to try to find tickets that you cannot pay and print right away.
Step 1. Choosing a route
So, we go to the official website www.bahn.de. On the main page, we are immediately asked to select the basic initial conditions of the route. For example, I chose the trip of 1 adult from Hamburg airport to a city in northwestern Germany.
In the route selection area, enter the following data:
From where and where to: two main fields for selecting the starting point and destination of the route.
Einfache fahrt or Hin- und Rückfahrt - mark the circle for one way trip or round trip.
Next is a field for the date of the trip and next to it is a calendar.
Below is the approximate time of day when you want to travel and mark the circle Abfahrt (departure) or Ankunft (arrival). This means that at the specified time of day you want to leave or have already arrived at the place.
If at the beginning you chose Hin- und Rückfahrt, then you will see a second field for choosing the date of the return trip and a calendar in which you can navigate, as well as a field for the time of day.
Below you can see several checkboxes, which you can mark at will:
Schnelle Verbindung bevorzugen - prefer a faster message, or
Nur Nahverkehr - only regional transport.
The first option is checked by default. If you choose “fast connections”, the Deutsche Bahn booking system will show you the fastest connections between your arrival and departure cities with national and international high-speed trains.
But if you are not far away (for example, 2-3 hours of travel) and you want to save a lot, then feel free to choose “only regional transport”. The system will select for you the connections of electric trains and regional trains only. At the same time, you will not suffer much in comfort, you will often make stops along the way, spend a little longer travel time, but in the end the trip will be much cheaper for you.
Also you can select the option Nur Sitzplatzreservierung - with reserved seating only. The option is relevant during peak hours, especially on Friday afternoon and Sunday evening, when there is a large flow of passengers rushing to rest or traveling back. At the same time, the ticket price increases slightly, by about 2.5-3 euros.
Next is the section Reisende (travelers) to select the composition and number of passengers:
Erwachsene - adults
Kinder 6-14 J. - children 6-14 years old
Kinder 0-5 J. - children under 5 years old
Two more check-boxes for choosing a travel class:
If we want to save money, we choose 2. Klasse reisen,
if we want a trip in 1st class - 1. Klasse reisen.
After entering and specifying the data, you can click on the button below Suchen (Search) and go to the next page.
Step 2. Select the appropriate message
On the next page, Deutsche Bahn gives us the best travel options.
At the top of the page, the system once again invites us to check the original trip data and, if necessary, update them (1).
Below are several options for messages.
Since in the initial data I indicated the start time of the trip no earlier than 11.00, the system offered me three options to choose from, departing from the railway platform of Hamburg Airport at 11.34, 12.34 and 13.34.
I choose the first suggested option (2) at 11.34. Why wait ?!
The red arrow on the left allows you to "expand" this message and see the details of how the trains are going and where I have transfers.
In my version, these are three segments of the trip (2.1, 2.2, 2.3): Hamburg Airport - Hamburg Main Station, Hamburg - Bremen and Bremen - Leer. On all segments, we see the departure and arrival times, the track / platform number ( Gleis) departure / arrival at each point on the route, as well as the type and number of the train ( Produkte) on each segment.
System as additional information informs me that in Hamburg, 8 minutes will be enough for me to move from the platforms of commuter trains to the platform in the main station building. And in Burden I will have a whole 29 minutes between trains.
For information: what trains are there in Germany?
ICE (read as I-Tse-E) - InterCity Experess (intercity express) - from the name it is already clear that these trains run between big cities and run fast and with few stops, because it's express.
IC (read as ka I-Tse) - InterCity (intercity) - this train runs between smaller cities and non-express, that is, there are much more stops.
RE / RB (read as Er-E, Er-Be) - RegionalBahn Express / Regional Bahn are regional trains that either run fast or stop frequently. Can be compared with our commuter trains, only more comfortable.
CityNight - night Train
, which usually has both recumbent compartments and seating carriages.
You can focus on something like this rule: if the train travels from the starting point to the final 3-4 hours, then it is usually IC. If less - then RE / RB, if longer - then usually ICE.
There are several other types of trains, but there is not much difference. For example, you may come across abbreviations IR, RBN, ME, etc.
In Germany, some of the sections are operated by "private" rail companies, which are separate from Deutsche Bahn. Usually they have a common tariff policy, just another company provides jobs for drivers. These are internal German troubles, for us, as for tourists, there is practically no difference. The only thing that can be borne in mind is that such sections usually lead to a dead end, that is, there is no through railway service and trains (popularly called "cuckoos") run rarely - once an hour at best.
For information: prices
Like any carrier, German Railways wants to carry as many passengers as it can attract. Therefore, Deutsche Bahn often offers tickets for very low prices... At the same time, various special offers are possible, both general, valid throughout Germany, and individual in different states.
Therefore, you should always keep this in mind and be interested in searching and buying tickets.
Such sentences, for example, can be:
Weekend ticket
Schönes Wochenende Ticket (Schönes Wochenende Ticket) Is far from the only, but definitely the most famous invention of Deutsche Bahn to attract customers. Unfortunately the price of this wonderful ticket has been growing over the years, currently the ticket price is 40 euros.
The Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket travels all over Germany on Saturday and Sunday (from 00:00 to 03:00 the next day) countless times, getting off one train and boarding another.
A group of up to 5 passengers can travel on one joint ticket, as well as a group of 2 adults and any number of their own children (grandchildren) up to 15 years old.
This ticket is valid only on local trains with the letters RE, RB, IRE, S-Bahn in class II carriages.
Special offers, different countries
An example is Lower Saxon Ticket (Niedersachsen-Ticket) - a regional ticket that allows you to profitably travel through the territory of Lower Saxony, Bremen and Hamburg alone or with a company.
The ticket is valid from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 3 am the following day, and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 0 to 3 am the following day.
The ticket is also valid in commuter trains Deutsche Bahn (categories RE, RB and S-Bahn) and in the 2nd class trains of the companies EVB, eurobahn, metronom, NordWestBahn, arriva, cantus, as well as in the city public transport associations VBN (Bremen), GVH (Hannover), HVV (Hamburg, tariff zone HVV-Grossbereich Hamburg), VRB (Braunschweig) and VSN (South of Lower Saxony, Göttingen).
Such a ticket can be used by single travelers, groups of up to 5 people inclusive, as well as one or both parents or grandparents with an unlimited number of children or grandchildren up to 14 years old.
In my case, there is such a sentence (3) - Niedersachsen-Ticket for 23 euros per train at a standard rate of 38.20 euros.
After selecting the message (depending on the time and number of transfers), click on the Zur Buchung (Buy) button (3) and proceed to the tariff selection.
Step 3. Selecting a tariff for Deutsche Bahn
Everything is clear here. Choosing Niedersachsen-Ticket for 23 euros and click Weiter - further.
Step 4. Purchase with registration or not
Here the system offers us three options for action:
1. Log in as a registered user and purchase from your account.
2. Registration as a new user and further purchase from the account.
3. Purchase without registration.
I am registered in the system, this gives small advantages to users (for example, buying tickets from my card to third parties, etc.), but you may not need this, so we select the item Ohne anmeldung buchen (without registering).
Step 5. Ticket format
Since we buy a ticket without registering in the system, there is only one option available to us - Online-Ticket, which we can download and print on paper.
At the same time, it is indicated that only you (the one who buys) should use this ticket. A third party cannot use such a ticket.
When buying without registration, the options for an electronic ticket (for example, in an application on a smartphone) and sending a ticket to your mailing address are also unavailable (but we don't need this anyway).
Step 6. Additional services
Here Deutsche Bahn is trying to earn extra money and offers us a discount when booking a hotel. In other cases, it may be something else.
You can order, but I refuse and press Weiter - further.
Step 7. Specify identifying data
On this page we choose which document we will use to show the rights to our ticket on the train:
BahnCard, bahn.bonus Card - prepaid or bonus Deutsche Bahn card. It is unlikely that you have it, but what if ?!
Kreditkarte - regular credit or debit bank card not lower than the VISA Classic or MasterCard Mass level.
ec-Karte (Maestro) Is one of the brands of MasterCard debit card, for example, customers often have it. The card is similar to VISA Electron and does not require electronic authorization. That is why there is a risk that you will not be able to use it to pay via the Internet.
Personalausweis - identity document (FRG).
Therefore, it is best to choose Kreditkarte. We indicate its data in the appropriate fields:
Vorname - Name, Nachname - Surname (as on the map)
Kreditkartennummer - card number
Monat - Month, Jahr - Year
Diese Kreditkarte auch zur Zahlung verwenden - we note that we will pay for the ticket with the same card.
We indicate personal data.
Required for filling:
Anrede - appeal (Herr, Frau)
Vorname - Name, Nachname - Surname
E-Mail - so understandable
Strasse, Hausnummer - Street, house no.
Plz - Postcode
Ort - Locality
Land - A country
Next, mark the check-box that you agree (accept) the Terms of Service and undertake the obligation to personally use the purchased ticket and present, if necessary, check on the train a printed ticket and your credit card as a document that identifies you.
Also mark the checkbox so that the Online-Ticket will be sent to you by E-mail in the form of a pdf file that you will need to print.
Note: If you register with the service, you can, if necessary and desired, purchase a ticket for another person. To do this, you will need to agree with the traveler which document he will use as identification so that you can mark it on the order form.
Push Weiter and proceed to payment.
Step 8. Payment
The most crucial step is buying a ticket as such.
On the next page you will see a standard payment form with a description of everything that you are going to book (schedule, number of tickets, all additional options, price, address for invoice) and if everything is correct, below there will be another button "Zur Zahlung" - "Pay ". After you click it, the system will book your ticket and send it to your email. Be sure to download the pdf file directly online and write down your booking number!
The result will be something like this:
Note 2: This is my outdated Niedersachsen-Ticket. As you can see, it has neither the place of departure nor the place of arrival, it was valid for one day for travel by train through Lower Saxony, Hamburg, Bremen. My personal data on it is also no longer relevant.
I hope you can do it too. Even if not the first time, you will still book and save the ticket on your computer. All you have to do is print it out and don't forget to take your bank card with you for presentation on the train.
Note 3: Information is current as of October 2015.
When traveling in Germany, it is often necessary to buy train tickets. Some people buy them right before leaving the train station. But much cheaper to buy train tickets in Germany in advance, and this can be done with the help of the great and mighty Internet.
If you are wondering how to buy train tickets in Germany, you have come to the right place. I present you with detailed step-by-step instructions for buying train tickets through the official Deutsche Bahn website bahn.de and on the Russian-language search engine for travel options between cities (look for a 10 euro promo code below).
Train tickets in Germany - purchase on the official website of German railways
In order to buy a train ticket, you must first find a suitable option. To do this, go to the English version of the site in the ticket search section. Into the fields from and to we begin to enter the cities of interest to us and select the desired option from the drop-down list.
Just below choose date and time, starting from which want to go (switch in position DEP) OR enter the date and time by which we should be at our destination (switch in position ARR).
I warn you right away: if you do not like to fill in a lot of data and delve into all sorts of checkboxes, it is better to scroll down and go to the section "How to buy train tickets in Germany on the GoEuro website" (without unnecessary red tape).
Train tickets in Germany - Search
Let's say I want to arrive from Munich main station to Berlin by November 15 to 16:00 (switch in position Arr)to be in time for a meeting with friends. I leave the rest of the parameters as they are and click Search.
There is an even more advanced search using stopovers. If you are going to visit any city for up to 48 hours, you can buy just one ticket with a stopover and pay 2-3 times less!
Next come travel options... The option for 9:18 suits me, especially since it is valid attractive tariff - only 29.9 euros for a 6-hour journey. Push on the option you like, the To offer selection button.
Train tickets in Germany - Tariffs
In the next window choose a tariff.
Sparpreis and Sparpreis 1st class - economical tariff, valid for a specific date, time and selected train and only for it. Exchange and refund is possible 1 before the start of the trip with a penalty of 19 euros.
Flexpreis - flexible fare, with this ticket you can travel on any train on the specified date. Exchange and refund is possible 1 before the start of the trip for free, later - with a penalty of 19 euros.
It is possible that you bought a discount ticket from you, and the train indicated in it left, because the previous one was late and you did not have time for a transfer. In this case, you can safely board the next train in the same direction - most often the conductor will be aware of the situation and will not ask about anything at all.
If the train you need is late, you can also take another train, provided that the delay exceeds 20 minutes.
If over time you have decided (and for the difference of 105 euros, I think it would be better to decide :)), we choose the tariff 29.9, by clicking on Continue under this price.
The expediency of buying these cards must be calculated, especially since there are problems with their purchase and annual subscription. The BahnCard topic is not trivial and deserves a separate post.
therefore choose Don’t buy a BahnCard and click Continue.
Oops! Now we are asked log in to your account (Log in and book) or register (Register as new customer and book)... But there is also an option to continue without registering (Book without registering).
I advise you all the same register on the sitesince you will always have access to your ticket (suddenly, he gets lost in the e-mail box, where to look later?) and it will be easier manage your booking.
If you already have an account on the Bahn.de website, just enter your username and password and click the Log in and book button. If you are not afraid and / or do not want to register, click Proceed in the Book without registering window.
Train tickets in Germany - Register at Bahn.de
In the window Register as new customer and book click Proceed.
In a new window, fill in all the fields marked with *.
- User name - come up with a username, it's a login (at least 8 characters).
- Password, repeat password - password and password repeat (at least 6 characters, of which at least 1 is a number or a special character, for example an underscore _).
- First name and Last name - name and surname, as in a foreign passport!
- Email - E-mail address.
If you want to receive news and information about promotions - put checkbox on Subscribe to the bahn.com newsletter.
After filling click Register and continue.
If you did everything correctly, the system will return you to buying tickets.
Train tickets in Germany - Purchase
We continue to purchase. In the new window, select the way we wish to receive the purchased tickets.
There are three ways:
- Online-ticket — e-ticket in pdf format. Here you also need to indicate for whom you are buying a ticket - for myself (For myself) or for another person (For someone else, I am not traveling).
- Mobile phone ticket - get a ticket in the mobile application DB Navigator app.
- Order and receive - receive a ticket by mail for an additional fee of 4.9 euros.
Personally for me the most acceptable way is an electronic ticketwhich I will print and take with me. And don't worry if the phone suddenly runs out of power or stops turning on altogether (anything can happen). And I don't see any point in paying for ticket delivery by mail.
Also at this stage they offer reserve a seat for 4.5 euros... For myself, I see no reason to do this, but if you want - put check the box opposite Reservation of ... and then select the number of places.
- Any - any option.
- Open salon - general salon.
- Open salon with table - common salon, seats with tables.
- Compartment - coupe.
- Window - by the window.
- Aisle is at the aisle.
- Phone zone - a zone for conversations.
- Quite zone - quiet zone.
In general, choose the method you like, if you need to reserve seats and click Proceed.
The next section asks you to complete our personal information and choose a payment method... We fill in the fields marked with *.
- Street, number - street, house number.
- Postcode / ZIP - index.
- Town / city - city.
- Country - a country.
We put check the Send online ticket to my e-mail address (as an unencrypted attachment) so that the e-ticket is emailed.
Below we select payment method... I think the standard ways are payment by credit card (you need to enter card details) and PayPal - no need to explain. Click Continue and move on to the payment process.
Train tickets in Germany - purchase on the Omio website (GoEuro)
Another way to buy tickets is use the search engine for bus and train tickets in Europe Omio (GoEuro).
Now they have a special offer: you can get from them bonus 10 euros for the first booking. To do this, you need to register on the site, in personal account in the section "Referral bonus" enter the promo code tatiag5q5f3w
And don't forget to checkout insurance every time you go on a trip! I always draw up a policy directly via the Internet, and I recommend choosing profitable options
