I sat down this week and analyzed the 9-Euro Bahn (rail ticket) deal....starting 1 June, and running for 90 days (basically each month....costing you 9 Euro for 2nd class travel...anywhere in Germany).
So here's the crappy part of the deal.....you are in Wiesbaden and want to travel to Berlin. Normally, without and discount, it's around 75 Euro. You could do this ticket....leaving at 6:30 AM and getting to Berlin at 16:30 PM. Remember, you can't use it for intercity/ICE (speedy trains).
But there's this other catch....for me, I'd have to change trains 7 times. I could do this with just four changes, but you'd have add two hours onto the trip.
The odds of a break-down or late arrival and missing the connection? Oh, with Bahn? It's a 99-percent chance that something will get screwed up.
As hyped-up as Germans are and thinking of this great 9-Euro deal for an entire month....you have to limit yourself to things within two to three hours....maybe changing trains three times at the most.
Using the ticket to get you up to the Dutch border? Yes, you could reach the last possible German station, and buy the Dutch ticket for a quarter of the price. That makes sense. Same with a ticket getting you to Lucerne or Vienna.
On face value....all this hype about the three months that this ticket will exist (9 Euro per month) is one thing. Reality is a totally different thing. Without ICE or intercity trains.....this becomes a rough deal for long-distance travel.
No comments:
Post a Comment