The new 'All-German' ticket is here: Can travelers from Czechia get on board?

You can travel cheaply by rail in Germany again in the coming months, though it is not as good a deal as last year’s. Germany’s rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) is offering the Deutschland-Ticket (D-Ticket), a monthly subscription service for regional travel that costs EUR 49 per month.

For people who want to stay closer to home, Czech rail operator České dráhy (ČD) also currently offers one-day travel tickets for unlimited travel.

While people in Czechia can buy DB tickets, their main target is people who live in Germany and commute regularly between regions. If you plan to explore Germany this summer in some depth, it might be a good deal.

The Deutschland-Ticket (D-Ticket) is valid from the start of every month and can be used for local rail lines but not long-distance ones like ICE, RE, IC or EC, or for carriers other than Deutsche Bahn. It is possible to go long distances in a single day, but with lots of stops and with changes between lines.

In some cities, the D-Ticket is also valid for public transportation. It is not valid on tourist attractions such as historical trains.

The new program has already started. Tickets can be purchased online as well as via the DB Navigator app and at several sales points across Germany.

While last year people could buy a cheap ticket for just one month, this new program is a subscription service that will automatically renew each month unless the user cancels it. People can cancel at any time, and can also get refunds for the next month if they ask before the start of that month.

The Deutschland-Ticket is the successor to last year’s EUR 9 ticket, which was introduced to help alleviate the sharp rise in costs for electricity, food, heating, and mobility, DB said in an online FAQ.

“It was a great success and also helped the environment by encouraging greater use of public transport. As a result, the Deutschland-Ticket will be offered as a permanent season ticket as part of the third federal relief package in cooperation between the federal and state governments,” DB said.

“As a flat rate for regional transport, the Deutschland-Ticket simplifies local transport fares by enabling travel across different states and tariff zones. It, therefore, makes it even easier to switch a car for a more environmentally friendly means of transport,” DB added.

The FAQ also explains the conditions for traveling with a bike or with pets, which can be complicated as trains in different regions have different rules.

In Czechia, you can get one-day tickets for travel within a region or across the whole country. Different regions have different prices, but for the whole country, a ticket is CZK 699. Regions range between CZK 169 and CZK 279. Tickets are available in ČD's e-shop.

The tickets are valid for one day (until midnight) for an unlimited number of kilometers and changes on all second-class trains. These tickets can be purchased up to two months in advance. They are valid on SuperCity trains as well, but you need a seat reservation. These tickets can be used any day of the week.

There are also group tickets for weekends, allowing two people and up to three children to travel with unlimited changes. For the entire country, these are CZK 899. For regions, they range between CZK 269 and CZK 389. A third type of one-day ticket, valid in the Czech and Polish border regions, can be purchased the day it is used.