Germany’s Deutschlandticket, a scheme which was permanently introduced after a successful trial back in 2022, has been the envy of plenty of other European countries. It’s even paved the way for similar rail passes to be launched in France and Portugal over the last year or so.
However, while Portugal has just announced it will slash the cost of its monthly rail pass to just €20, Germany is unfortunately stepping the other way. The Deutschland Ticket right now costs €49 per month, but it’s looking like that could increase by 18 percent in the new year.
That’s right, the OG rail pass will be increasing in price to €58 at the beginning of 2025. Why? Lack of funding.
Despite the pass’s popularity (13 million people in Germany have signed up), transport ministers from Germany’s 16 states have agreed the price needs to be increased. According to euronews, Bavaria’s transport minister Christian Bernreiter said upping the price was ‘unavoidable’.
The rail pass was introduced both to cut carbon emissions and ease the financial burden of travel for Germans during the cost of living crisis – and though it’s considered to have successfully done both of these things, sales still fell short of expectations.
‘With this price [of €58], we will manage to keep the ticket attractive and put the financing on a more solid footing,’ said transport minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state Oliver Krischer to dpa.
Price increases are frustrating, but we’re big advocates for rail travel at Time Out, so perhaps this will secure the future of the scheme. Stay tuned for more updates.
In more exciting news for Germany’s rail network, a brand-new high-speed daytime service between Paris and Berlin could be launching soon.
Did you see that Spain is selling super-cheap train tickets this week?
Plus: This legendary Berlin nightclub is closing after 22 years.
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