Buying a German train ticket when there is no ticket machine at the departure station

Upvote: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.

Upvote:5

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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