Overcrowded trains, hour-long delays, train cancellations: the travelers who used the 9-euro ticket at Pentecost needed strong nerves. According to Deutsche Bahn, it has already sold 6.5 million special tickets for nine euros each. FOCUS Online asked travelers about their experiences. The balance after the first test is mixed.
On June 4, Annett G. was traveling from Dresden to Chemnitz with the 9-euro ticket when she experienced an unpleasant surprise while going to the toilet. Because on the journey with the regional express, according to the woman, all the toilets were closed due to overcrowding: it was an impertinence because the passengers could no longer go to the toilet, the user of the 9-euro ticket writes in her travel report to FOCUS Online .
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The trip with the cheap ticket for Serina F., which started on June 3rd in Würzburg and went to Berlin via Bamberg and Leipzig, turned into a “horror trip”. The trains were so overcrowded that no more passengers could board at intermediate stops. Serina F. stood “close to close” with the other travelers and had to stand the 3.5 hours to Leipzig. A woman lost consciousness in the crowd. Despite the emergency button on the door, no help came. A soldier then gave the woman first aid. The railway staff was “massively overwhelmed” due to the overcrowding.
Another man even put his child on the luggage rack above the seats. The traveler goes on to describe: “Women with prams were left behind at the train station, families should travel separately from each other at the train station. And a family at the train station said that they had already missed three trains because there was no space for a wheelchair.” Serina F. reached her destination in Berlin in the evening, around two hours late. Her summary of the trip: “Absolute horror for everyone: staff, passengers, families, pregnant women, the elderly…”
Silke from NRW, on the other hand, reports consistently positive experiences with the 9-euro ticket. She has already used the special ticket for her second short trip and says “the investment was worth it”. Because the woman from Bochum secured a seat at the beginning of her journey to the North Sea, she was able to enjoy her journey despite the full train and reached her destination without delay. Her conclusion: “It won’t be the last trip.” Silke also gives tips for relaxed driving: Look for good connections and choose travel destinations where few fellow travelers are expected.
The journey was a test of patience for Klaus N, who traveled from Bensberg (NRW) to Konz (RP) and back on June 2nd. He was about an hour late on the way there. But an even more adventurous journey awaits Klaus N. on the way back.
His train got stuck on the way, he describes in an email to FOCUS Online. Klaus N. missed his connections and only reached his home shortly before midnight. After this 6.5-hour odyssey, his conclusion is sobering: “Even with the 9-euro ticket, I can still expect a minimum level of reliability.”
Joachim F. from Berlin describes in his travel report that the most expensive part of his journey with the 9-euro ticket on June 3 was the taxi fare. According to his own statements, he paid around 30 euros for the journey from the rural region to the train station because “in the rural region the journey is longer than the actual journey.”
The overcrowded trains also became a massive problem when checking tickets for the railway staff, as reported by passenger Samet A. “The inspector wanted to check, but it was impossible. The train was too full.”
With his nine-euro ticket, Samet A. drove from Mannheim to Stuttgart and back on Saturday. Already on the way there he missed his train, which was “full to the brim”. On the way back, crowds of people jostled at the Stuttgart train station: “When boarding, everyone pushed and pushed everyone away to get a seat.”
Samet’s conclusion: “The railway does not have the capacity for such a volume of passengers. And so I ask myself how the Greens want to implement the idea that everyone should use public transport. Currently impossible. Maybe in the next 10 years.” Julia F., who was also stuck in the train chaos on Whitsunday, thinks so too: “Basically, the entire railway network must be expanded and made more affordable if the climate change is to succeed.” She is therefore calling for more trains on high-frequency routes .
But there are other opinions among the travelers from the Pentecost weekend. A traveler writes to the FOCUS Online editorial team: “You saw a lot, met a lot of people and I had fun. Train travel is finally affordable again. For a normal trip from Berlin to Aachen I would have paid over 100 euros. I will take the train again whenever I have a chance and I am already looking forward to it.”
Anyone who traveled with the 9-euro ticket in local public transport at Pentecost needed strong nerves, at least on some routes. Nevertheless, the railway draws a positive conclusion. “Overall, DB can look back on regulated Pentecost traffic,” said Deutsche Bahn on Tuesday. “However, as expected, there were regional utilization peaks.” According to the Federal Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), the significantly increased number of passengers over Pentecost makes it clear “that we urgently need the necessary investments in the expansion, modernization and capacity expansion of our offers”.
