Also read the fine print: the 9-euro ticket is more complicated than you think. As Deutsche Bahn admits, not all regional trains can be used with the flat-rate ticket.
With the 9-euro ticket in June, July and August across the country. Travel by train as much as you want and wherever you want. The only rule: Only night trains may be used. It could be that simple. Could.
Because it gets a little more complicated. As Deutsche Bahn made clear on Thursday, local trains are not always there where local trains are located.
The train types Regionalbahn, Regionalexpress, Interregioexpress and S-Bahn are considered to be such in the area of the state-owned company. ICEs, Intercitys and Eurocitys may not be used as long-distance trains with the 9-euro ticket.
9 euro ticket not valid on all regional trains
And this is where it gets complicated and strange – and actually only something for true timetable lovers: trains that are both local and long-distance trains operate on several German routes.
For example, long-distance trains run on the connection from Bremen to Norddeich Mole, from Stuttgart via Singen to Constance or from Doberlug-Kirchhain, which can also be used with local transport tickets. The reason: An intercity line on these connections would often be uneconomical, so that the federal states subsidize the journeys, but also require that passengers with local transport tickets be taken along.
At the stations and in the timetables, these trains are usually announced with numbers from long-distance and local traffic, for example “IC 281/RE5” for a connection from Stuttgart to Singen (Hohentwiel). In these cases, Deutsche Bahn’s Internet timetable information also says: “Local transport tickets are accepted.”
However, this no longer applies to all connections from June 1st. The note “9-Euro-Ticket not valid” appears here in small letters. When asked, Deutsche Bahn clarified on Twitter: “The 9-euro ticket is not valid on trains operated by DB Fernverkehr AG (e.g. IC, EC, ICE), even if other local transport tickets are used on long-distance trains are valid.”
If you want to travel with the 9-euro ticket, you have to be careful in the future: Not every local train is also a local train. It is then necessary to read very carefully which subsidiary of the group operates the train: DB Fernverkehr (usually white carriages with red stripes) or a DB regional company (often red carriages with gray stripes). Because: It is not possible to filter according to this in the travel information. Discussions with the conductors seem programmed.
However, there is still a glimmer of hope: According to Bahn, negotiations are still underway with the transport authorities (i.e. usually the federal states) about a possible recognition of the 9-euro ticket. An offer was made to them.
