bd

Do train tickets in Germany and Austria need to be "validated", and is this simply a matter of swiping the ticket into a machine as you get on the train?

What about the Bayern ticket? I assume this is pre-dated when you buy it, so does it need to be validated?

Thanks!!

logos999

>Bayern ticket?
You (one person) HAVE to sign it before departure, so you can't pass or sell it to others.

PalQ

To first Q yes - simple matter of date-stamping the ticket by sticking it in a machine - thus cancelling the ticket as some trains don't have conductors so to prevent folks from applying for refunds after taking the trip you have to cancel them yourselves before boarding or you are considered to be riding without a valid ticket. Most trains do have conductors so be sure to do so.

altamiro

>To first Q yes - simple matter of date-stamping the ticket by sticking it in a machine - thus cancelling the ticket as some trains don't have conductors so to prevent folks from applying for refunds after taking the trip you have to cancel them yourselves before boarding or you are considered to be riding without a valid ticket. Most trains do have conductors so be sure to do so.

PalQ - sorry, you are mistaken. You time-stamp the tickets in the urban transport (trams, buses, subway) on board of those or at the entrances. The train tickets out of the city aren't stamped. The refund policy is different; you have to find somebody at the station or so to confirm in writing that you DIDN'T take the train trip. I'm struggling with this problem right now.

logos999

You don't need to stamp your ticket, if your crossing the border of an "urban" transport association like the MVV in Munich. If your traval is limited to the area covered by them, you'll need to validate your ticket. This can be quite confusing (I'm thinking of places like Buchloe here, which is quite a small town and not "urban" at all). On the local trains you would have to buy and validate your ticket only if your not leaving their area. If you do leave it you won't have to validate the ticket, (and can't do so, because of its different size.)

logos999

If you're passing through an area like the MVV area, you don't need to validate your ticket, say you have a ticket Stuttgart-Salzburg, you leave the train at Pasing S-Bahn station and take the S-Bahn to Munich East. In this case, you would not have to buy and validate a MVV ticket, however you could not use urban transport other than the train (S-Bahn), since yout ticket will only be valid on DB trains and the S-Bahn network, which is part of DB.

bd

Thanks for trying, but I'm still confused.

Logos999: Are you saying only one person signs a Bayern ticket, even if two are using it?

Otherwise, it sounds like sometimes you validate on-board, and sometimes before boarding. Will it be obvious to the non-German-speaking Euro-novice tourist?

Maybe specifics will help me:

1) I'm arriving at MUC and hopefully getting a Bayern ticket to cover the S-Bahn trip to Munich OST and on to Salzburg. But if I end up getting a regular ticket for either leg, do I need to validate it?

2) We're taking a train from St. Anton, Austria to Switzerland (I'm getting a Swiss Pass, so I think I get that part), but when I buy my ticket in Austria, do I need to validate that before I get on the train?

logos999

>one person signs a Bayern ticket, even if two are using it?
Correct, it's only to prevent you form selling or giving it to somebody else when you arrive. Before they did this, nobody was willing to buy tickets in the evening anymore ;-)
Validating onboard is done, when there's no possibility to validate on the platform, so yes, it's pretty obvious. On MVV transport validating is done when entering the platform, or bus, never on trains.

logos999

1) all you need to do is to sign the Bayern ticket. A regular ticket to Munich Ost has to be validated (INSIDE MVV area)
Ordinary Ticket form Munich Ost to Salzburg -> no need to validate (CROSSES MVV borders)
2) I can't tell you exactly. No need to validate would be what I'd expect.

bd

Thanks, logos. You've been quite helpful.

logos999

bd, what I wrote wasn't completely accurate. The bayern ticket you buy at Munich underground stations (NOT S-Bahn stations or the airport) have to be validated and signed. You can buy them at the ordinary MVV ticket machine (this IS ONLY in underground stations), "Bayern Ticket" and some space to sign printed on them. Those are in fact Bayern tickets that need to be validated at any valid. automat at the station.

bd

I'm sorry, I don't think I understand your last comment. Are you saying if I buy my Bayern ticket at the airport or train stations (Munich Hbf or Munich OST) I don't have to validate it, but if I buy it in the underground I do?

logos999

Yes, correct.

bd

Danke.

Larryincolorado

Not all ticket for the same transport within a Verkehrsverbund (Metro district) have to be cancelled. For instance I have many ticket purchased from machines at the Hauptbahnhof in Karlsruhe for the Stadt-bahn to Bad Herrenalb. Those from the KVV machines have "Hier entwerten" printed on one end. Those tickets are valid for any day but have to be cancelled before you use them. There is a cancelling machine on the train.

However, when I bought a ticket from the DB machine right next to the KVV machine, they can't be cancelled because they were too large to go into the cancelling machine, but had the date printed on them and are only valid for that date.

I imagine the same thing is true with the tickets in Munich. If you buy them from a DB machine or counter, they will be dated and not cancellable. However, if you buy the ticket from an MVV machine in the S-bahn station at the airport they will need to be cancelled.

Main thing, look for "Hier entwerten" on the ticket.

logos999

No, what I worte is correct. ;-) Check the MVV pages.