Germany is continuing to encourage rail travel around the country with a new €10 summer ticket deal.

The government has released one million tickets as part of the scheme. 

The latest offer is in addition to the monthly €49 nationwide public transport ticket, which went on sale on Monday 3 April.

Transport Minister Volker Wissing said in November that the move was aimed at cutting emissions and helping people to cope with the cost of living crisis.

What routes are the €10 Germany rail tickets valid for?

Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s national rail service, has announced the launch of €9.90 tickets on some short-distance routes. 

The limited deal, valid between June 11 and July 31 2023, offers passengers cheap tickets for shorter journeys on ICE trains. 

The routes available include the stretches between Cologne and Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Bremen, Dresden and Leipzig and Augsburg and Munich.

The discount fares are on sale for second-class tickets. If you have a BahnCard 25 or 50, you can get further reductions meaning a short journey could cost as little as €7.40.

Where is the €49 Deutschland Ticket valid?

Customers can also purchase the €49 ‘Deutschland-Ticket’ or ‘D-Ticket’ on Deutsche Bahn’s website and app, and from transport companies across Germany. 

It is available as a digital subscription that can be cancelled monthly and is valid on local and regional transport throughout the country.

The ticket is valid on buses and trains – all short and medium-distance public transport – at a lower cost than normal. It is not valid on trains operated by DB Fernverkehr AG (including RE) or other long-distance providers such as FlixTrain (IC, EC, ICE).

The government is currently in talks with DB Fernverkehr about exceptions on certain sections of line.

Transport Ministers from 16 different German states agreed on the new monthly fee. It was originally slated to be available from January but came into force in May.

Instead of a one-off purchase like the €9 scheme last summer, the new paperless ticket is offered as a subscription.

It’s an attractive option as it is valid on all German public transport networks – many of which have a confusing fare system.

Children under six years old do not need a ticket.

What happened to the €9 monthly ticket?

In June, July and August 2022, a €9 ticket was trialled that enabled people to travel across train, bus and tram networks throughout the country.

It was introduced to try and combat rising inflation as a consequence of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The ticket was also supposed to encourage people to take environmentally friendly transport and reduce fuel use.

German transport companies association VDV said that it saved around 1.8 million tonnes of carbon emissions during these three months.

Many people asked for a successor to the scheme but there were disagreements about the price and who would pay the bill for the subsidised ticket. Finally, an agreement was made to introduce the new scheme, charging what was deemed a more sustainable price – €49 a month.

Some states decided to create their own version of the scheme too. Berlin introduced a €29 ticket that was valid on public transport in the region until the end of April 2023.