Save on Local Trains in Germany

Cheap Länder-Tickets Offer Savings on Regional Railways Travel

© Henk Bekker

Mar 15, 2008

Länder-Tickets are the great bargains of German railway travel when sightseeing in a limited area and not traveling long distances between different regions. Länder-Tickets may only be used on local and regional trains operated by Deutsche Bahn.

• Länder is German for states and refers to the 16 federal states that constitute the Federal Republic of Germany. Currently, 13 different Länder-Tickets are available allowing for unlimited travel in single or up to three states.

Basic Conditions for Using Länder-Tickets in Germany

• Only German local and regional trains (Nahverkehr) may be used – often local buses are also included but always double check prior to boarding.
• Local trains have the letters IRE, RE, RB, or S in the train name and number.
• The tickets are only available in second class.
• Up to five persons can travel on the ticket (single tickets are available in a few states).
• The composition of the group may not change – enter the name of the person who is going to travel the furthest on the front of the ticket. Adding the names of the rest on the back of the train ticket is a good idea too to prevent disputes over group composition.
• If two parents or two grandparents are the only adults on the ticket, they may be accompanied by an unlimited number of their own children or grandchildren up to 14 years old. (Children under 6 always travel for free on Deutsche Bahn).
• The exact composition of the geographical area differs from ticket to ticket – the ticket is usually valid to the last station in the state but sometimes the first station in the bordering state.
• On weekdays, the tickets are valid from 9 am to 3 am the following day, on weekends and vacation days from midnight to 3 am the following day. For journeys starting earlier, buy a ticket to the first station reached after 9 am and use the Länder-Ticket from there onwards.

The Thirteen German Railways Länder-Tickets

Deutsche Bahn currently offers thirteen different Länder-Tickets:

1. Baden-Württemberg-Tickets are valid in the state Baden-Württemberg as well in the Swiss city Basel. The group ticket is €27 and the single ticket €18.
2. Bayern-Tickets are valid in Bavaria on all trains and virtually all city buses too. The group ticket is €27 and the single ticket €19. The Bayern-Ticket Nacht cost €19 and is valid for up to five traveling together from 6 pm to 6 am (7am on weekends) the following morning.
3. Brandenburg-Berlin-Tickets are valid in the German capital (on all trains and buses), the surrounding state of Brandenburg, as well as on some routes outside the state (including to Lutherstadt-Wittenberg). The ticket is even valid on a few IC and D long-distance trains. The group ticket is €26 while a Nacht ticket is €19 – same conditions as in Bavaria.
4. Hessentickets are valid in the state Hesse including all trains, trams, and buses in Frankfurt am Main. The group ticket is €30.
5. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern-Tickets are valid in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein, and Hamburg. The group ticket is €25.
6. Niedersachsen-Tickets are valid in Lower Saxony, Bremen, and Hamburg. The group ticket is €27 while the single ticket is €19.
7. SchönerTagTickets NRW is valid in North-Rhine Westphalia. It cost €33 for the group ticket and €23.50 for a single ticket.
8. Rheinland-Pfalz-Tickets are valid in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. The group ticket is €26 and the single ticket €18.
9. Saarland-Tickets have the same conditions as the Rheinland-Pfalz-Ticket.
10. Sachsen-Tickets are valid in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The group ticket is €27 and the single ticket €19.
11. Sachsen-Anhalt-Tickets have the same conditions as the Sachsen-Ticket.
12. Schleswig-Holstein-Tickets have the same conditions as the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Ticket.
13. Thüringen-Tickets have the same conditions as the Sachsen-Ticket.

Tickets bought from ticket counters as oppose to ticket machines or the internet are generally €2 more expensive.

• When traveling on weekends, the Schöne Wochenende Ticket (Happy Weekend Ticket) may be a better deal as it is valid nationwide. Many other savings options are also available on German trains especially for return journeys.

Deutsche Bahn Region Train in Dresden

Deutsche Bahn HQ in Berlin

Berlin Hauptbahnhof Main Train Station

Double-Decker Train

Hamburg Hauptbahnhof Main Train Station

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