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DEUTSCHE BAHN

EXPLAINED: Deutsche Bahn’s new ticket rules for 2022

From the beginning of this year customers travelling on Germany’s Deutsche Bahn network have no longer been able to buy their tickets from staff on board the train. Here’s what you need to know about the change. 

A ticket vending machine at Lutherstadt Wittenberg main station (Saxony-Anhalt), with two regional trains in the background.
A ticket vending machine at Lutherstadt Wittenberg main station (Saxony-Anhalt), with two regional trains in the background. Photo: picture alliance / Jan Woitas/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa | Jan Woitas

Germany’s long-distance rail network – Deutsche Bahn – has changed its ticketing rules for 2022, meaning that it will no longer be possible to buy a paper ticket from the train staff after boarding. 

Previously, travellers in a hurry could pay for their journey retrospectively after boarding – with a surcharge of 17 euros for the ticket service on the train. 

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in Germany in 2022

However, late-running passengers will still be able to purchase a ticket via the app or the rail website up to ten minutes after departure of the train.

What are the fines?

Boarding a Deutsche Bahn train without a paper or an online ticket could get very expensive. 

According to the new rules, passengers without a ticket will be charged double the fare, with a minimum fine of 60 euros. In extreme cases, Deutsche Bahn could charge double the flex fare for the entire train connection, which could mean a charge of up to 300 euros.

The only exceptions to the rule are for severely disabled people, who may continue to purchase their tickets from staff onboard the train and receive an invoice at a later date.

Travellers are therefore advised to buy a ticket before boarding, either online, at the ticket office or at a ticket machine.

What if there is no ticket office, the ticket machine is defective or there is no internet connection?

If there is no ticket counter and no other functioning ticket machine, then a ticket should be purchased online. Anyone who quickly buys a ticket online after departure must do so within a time limit of 10 minutes. If they don’t do so within the time limit, they will have to pay a fine. 

However, if the mobile connection in the train is too poor, or if the WIFI connection is disrupted, the train staff will check the situation and, in appropriate circumstances, will allow the ticket to be purchased on board. 

READ ALSO: Berlin transport network launches flexi-ticket for post-pandemic travel

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TRAVEL NEWS

No Easter strikes: Germany’s Lufthansa and ground staff reach pay deal

German airline giant Lufthansa and a union representing ground staff said Wednesday they had reached an agreement on pay after a lengthy dispute, averting the threat of Easter holiday strikes.

No Easter strikes: Germany's Lufthansa and ground staff reach pay deal

The deal between the carrier and the powerful Verdi union came after ground staff staged walkouts in recent months, leading to widespread disruption for air travellers.

After a series of direct pay talks failed, Lufthansa and Verdi entered arbitration this week, leading to Wednesday’s breakthrough.

Details of the deal were not immediately released.

But Lufthansa personnel chief Michael Niggemann said it was a “good compromise with substantial salary increases over the term of the agreement”.

Verdi had been seeking pay rises of 12.5 percent for the roughly 25,000 Lufthansa ground staff that it represents.

The ground staff staged their latest strike in early March, with a two-day walkout that led to the cancellation of up to 90 percent of Lufthansa’s flights. They also walked out in February.

Lufthansa cabin crew, who went on strike at major airports earlier this month, have still not reached a pay deal with the carrier.

But news outlet Spiegel reported that the airline group and the UFO union, which represents cabin crew, are due to enter arbitration after the Easter break.

The airline group earlier this month warned of the damaging impact of the wave of recent strikes, saying they would contribute to heavier losses in the first quarter compared to last year.

Lufthansa also faced a wave of strikes in 2022 by staff pushing for higher wages, leading to them winning hefty wage increases.

The group — whose carriers include Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines — had to be bailed out by the German government during the coronavirus pandemic.

But it has since bounced back strongly as travel has recovered, prompting unions to argue the airline is not passing on enough of its bumper earnings to its staff in the form of pay rises.

Wednesday’s announcement represents some more much-needed good news for employers in Europe’s top economy, who have faced a tough season of wage negotiations and strikes across many sectors.

This week, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and union GDL struck an agreement that will see train drivers work a shorter week, ending a months-long row that caused a series of crippling strikes.

The strikes have added to an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent in 2023.

READ ALSO: ‘A difficult road’: Strike-hit German rail operator agrees to shorter work week

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