Buying a German train ticket when there is no ticket machine at the departure station
Since 2022 it is no longer possible to buy tickets on German trains:
Wer ohne Papier- oder Onlineticket in einen Zug steigt, muss richtig tief in die Tasche greifen. Laut Gesetz wird der doppelte Fahrpreis fällig, mindestens allerdings 60 Euro.
Translation:
Someone entering a train without a paper or online ticket, must dig deeply in the pockets. According to the law, the double ticket price will be applied, and at least 60 Euro.
On 2022-01-01 I entered the train at the station Rückersbacher Schlucht:
This station has no ticket machine (and certainly no ticket office). It also has no wifi.
Finally I got on the train and used the train wifi to buy a ticket online, which worked because I had a smartphone on me. But even that would seem to violate the rule that one must buy a ticket before entering the train. How can I buy a ticket for this train if I do not have internet connectivity at the departure station? Signs on the train itself also reminded passengers that they have to buy the ticket before entering the train or risking a fine of at least €60.
In case it matters, the train was run by HLB under the price and conditions of RMV.
Best Answer
Over on Twitter Deutsche Bahn answered:
Sollte kein Smartphone vorhanden sein, musst du direkt das Zugpersonal aufsuchen, die Situation erklären und am nächsten Bahnhof ein Ticket erwerben.
“If you do not have a smartphone, you must approach the staff on board the train immediately, explain the situation and acquire a ticket at the next station.”
Seems strange to me, personally, but then, what do I know.
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More answers regarding buying a German train ticket when there is no ticket machine at the departure station
Answer 2
This is probably not the only valid answer to this question, as seen in the comments and other answers so far. Still, I think it is too straightforward not to be mentioned, so here we go:
How can I buy a ticket for this train if I do not have internet connectivity at the departure station?
You buy a ticket before you arrive at the station.
There are three facets to this:
- You do not have to wait with buying the ticket until you arrive at the station. You can do that at home, or wherever else you are beforehand, where you have some internet connectivity. In the case of time-limited tickets, that may indeed be a slight disadvantage, though, as you might lose the timespan required to then get to the station if the ticket is invariably valid immediately after purchase.
- If there are tickets that can be used at a later time (e.g. once you stamp them in the little machine on the train/platform), you buy them beforehand at a larger station. I'd say that was the normal way to go in pre-internet/pre-online ticket times - I used to always carry around one or two multi-ride tickets of my local place so I could spontaneously board any bus or train and had a ticket ready. And I'd replenish that stock whenever I was at a larger station that had vending machines or booths.
- Depending on where the station is located, the vast majority of passengers boarding at that station might be equipped with season tickets for one reason or another. Thus, having one might be the expected mode of using that station - and otherwise, see the above two points.
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Images: Samson Katt, Ono Kosuki, Samson Katt, Samson Katt