Ours was 5 trains over the course of 10 hours (Munich to Berlin). Every train was on time. Surprisingly every train was a different model. Most resembled US light rail trains. The Munich train was insanely packed even though we arrived 15 minutes early. The rest we managed to find seats. The vibration and noise were almost non-existent.
Would recommend.
The best part about it as a frugal traveller is not having to think about ticket prices (a local metro ride could cost something like 2 EUR) and buying them. It's quite liberating, and I'd pay (the rumoured) 69 EUR if they brought it back again next year.
It was one of the best ideas the German government has had in years. This month I've used the ticket a ton, both in rural areas and cities.
It felt like an incredible improvement in the quality of life. It also reduced car traffic by IIRC 2%. While that sounds like a small number, given that the goal is for Europe to go carbon neutral by 2050, this is an instant win. We only need to pass a law to make the subsidies permanent.
I'd even say that, at an annual €10 billion, it's a pretty good deal for the state.
[1] Actually right now often the difficulty is even actually operating the currently scheduled timetable due to a lack of staff.
With the normal ticket prices people pay for that they use, which sounds more fair to me.
Less sarcastically - this initiative was launched to reduce the fuel usage of German citizens because fuel prices are exploding and reserves are running low. Trains are operated electrically and can use alternate energy sources.
So yes - people were using the train more: Either as an alternative to their personal vehicle (for commuting, visiting friends, going shopping), or as an alternative to taking a plane (going on a holiday, even within Germany).
This simply came about because the government had to be seen doing something about the rising energy prices – the Liberals proposed temporarily lowering the gas taxes to score popularity points, but because they're in a coalition government with the Green party, the latter wanted something with a more ecological veneer, so after some horse-trading public transport users got thrown a bone, too.
Yep!
> isn't this counter productive?
Nope!
Increasing the use of the already existing infrastructure (rails & train stations) is not that much more additionally expensive.
While encouraging the use of trains you're also discouraging the use of cars - effectively paying people to not use their car seems pretty sensible in a time in which we really want people to stop using cars.
For additional leisure trips that people wouldn't have made otherwise, it still stimulates economic activity and at the very least general happiness and contentment, which is important anyway, but especially so in times that are likely to become harder in the next few months.
