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Comment by pyrale | Hacker News Reader

You could get from Paris to Berlin by train with one change, and it was about the same train time, plus maybe 1/2h of wait at frankfurt. This title is extremely misleading.

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The number 1 rule of European (esp. German) train travel is - minimize changes as much as possible. Timetables are so unreliable that booking a long trip with a change is just too much risk.

Going Paris to Berlin implies a change in Frankfurt. If you miss your connection, but you have a through-ticket, you can pick the next train to Berlin. There’s a train from Frankfurt to Berlin like twice an hour or so. Sure it sucks missing a connection, but in this direction is not so bad.

In the other direction on the other hand…

Does this also apply to “supersparpreis” tickets? i occasionally use DB but I find the pricing options and rules confusing.

Yes, if your delay is caused by DB, and the next train that continues your journey is an hour later, you can take that even with the super saver ticket.

The DB Navigator app can now "even" show that your you are no longer bound to specific trains when that happens, with a little banner in the top.

Except you lose your reserved seat and end up sitting on the floor for hours, crammed in with everyone else who missed that connection.

Then you get the pleasure of arguing with DB about compensation. Of course, only possible by post.

Provided that you didn't miss the connection due to a delay.

German railways are not an etalon of punctuality anymore, the infrastructure has rotten due to years of neglect.

> German railways are not an etalon of punctuality anymore, the infrastructure has rotten due to years of neglect.

But as compensation the holy debt brake (Schuldenbremse) persists! That should make future generations very happy, while driving their horse teams over clay paths. /s

Germany had major budget surpluses until 2019 [0]. But that money wasn't spent on investments. It is not just question of raw money itself; Germany needs to change its very attitude to spending, preferring investments into the future, otherwise all that borrowed money once the Schuldenbremse is lifted will be wasted too.

[0] https://tradingeconomics.com/germany/government-budget

Someone add "direct" before train?

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