Posted on 01/01/2020 7:06:10 PM PST by Olog-hai
Train travelers in Germany have an extra reason to celebrate entering 2020 — the national railway company Deutsche Bahn is cutting prices for long-distance rides. The government wants more people to take the train.
Deutsche Bahn has unrolled new prices for 2020 and made its tickets 10% cheaper for long-distance traffic, the German railway company said. The move, which went into effect on Wednesday, stems from the climate protection measures passed by the German government — the Cabinet cut the value-added tax (VAT) on rail travel in December from 19% to 7% in an effort to make train travel more attractive.
“We are passing on this tax cut to our customers,” Deutsche Bahn said on its website.
The new prices apply to trips of over 50 kilometers (31 miles), but only if the passenger travels from one railway region into another.
The company is also cutting prices on special offers and additional services, such as fees for transporting bicycles. […]
Deutsche Bahn is a private joint-stock company with the Federal Republic of Germany being its single shareholder. The government hopes to reform the troubled transporter as the country works to reduce carbon emissions. …
(Excerpt) Read more at dw.com ...
Define “Long Distance” [auf Deutschland].
Germany is about the size of North and South Dakota combined.
Or Washington and Oregon.
If you are traveling over 10 miles a train is not practical even in Europe.
I’m planning an eight country rail trip in central and southern Europe this spring. European rail looks to be efficient and economical. It’s no skin off my nose if the state subsidies everything.
We are passing on this tax cut to our customers,” Deutsche Bahn said on its website.
I would hope so.
If you have unlimited time and don’t care about time you can make it work on a vacation. You are not who they are trying to talk out of their cars.
City center to city center, from what I’ve researched, the speed, frequency and value beats driving. Once you’re in the city mass transit is definitely the way to go. Who knows what the true cost of European rail travel is but if you’re not a tax payer, who cares?
When there prior to re unification it was known as the Deutsches BundesBahn
That’s correct. And funny enough, prior to reunification, East Germany used the Weimar- and Nazi-era name Deutsche Reichsbahn.
You sound like a Dem.
I don’t find German trains any economical from a traveller’s perspective too. Especially if you aren’t travelling alone.
If you decrease the price for a ticket how does that effect profit and wages? Or does it?
That's a big factor in many travel scenarios.
For example, driving from Phoenix to San Diego takes six hours and costs $30-$40 in fuel. Flying takes a little over an hour and can be a cheap as $50. So even after renting a car for a couple days when you get there, flying is a pretty sweet deal. But the moment you have to start multiplying that $50 by a family full, the equation changes.
Also, when traveling with other people, the trip itself becomes an enjoyable part of the trip.
The convenience of train in Europe is how the transportation is organized all in all. You basically go downstairs from your apartment and into a subway station and a subway brings you into another station which is also a regular terminal all in minutes. Then you switch to an interstate train and upon arrival to another city board another subway train and disembark within a minute walk from your destination.
But then it comes to costs a regular ticket between Munich and Freiburg would be in excess of $100. Travelling by car it would be 3 gallons of fuel. Easy math.
This could mean that a lot of brats from Sweden with first class tickets will have to sit on the floor. /sarc
,,, make sure your seats are guaranteed. I went with my wife and two daughters to Germany, France and Italy in July. The Frankfurt to Hamburg/Harburg run was over four and a quarter hours - standing. A lot of the way it was around 240kmh so you’re covering ground quick enough but after a run from Auckland to Bangkok, a couple of days there then on to Frankfurt (with a broken night’s sleep there) and a “last stand” on that DB train, its a big ask on an ageing body. The run from Hamburg to Paris was brilliant... Strasbourg to Paris at 320kmh. I think trains in Europe are great - just make sure you get a seat guaranteed for the fare you pay. I’ll only make my mistake once :)
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