Consumer advocates are criticizing Deutsche Bahn's (DB) pricing practices, saying the cheapest advertised fares are often unavailable during regular travel hours. The findings, published Monday by the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (FAZ), come from an investigation by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv). Deutsche Bahn has rejected the criticism.
From June 1, 2024 to April 30, 2026, the vzbv recorded the cheapest direct connections on a daily basis between Germany's five most populous cities: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt am Main. According to the findings, the cheapest fare advertised by Deutsche Bahn on its website was unavailable for second-class journeys between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on 76 percent of the days examined.
On those days, the "Supersparpreis" (super-saver fare) recorded in the study was between 15 and 157 percent higher than the advertised price. Only on roughly one in four survey days (24 percent) did the cheapest fares actually recorded match the advertised super-saver price or fall below it.
Consumer protection chief Ramona Pop criticized the practice: "Anyone advertising particularly low prices should ensure that they are more frequently available at typical travel times as well." She called on Deutsche Bahn to make its pricing system simpler and more transparent.
The study also revealed significant price variation depending on travel time. Passengers who buy tickets for the most expensive days, Friday and Sunday, typically pay 71 percent more than on the cheapest weekdays, Tuesday and Wednesday, regardless of ticket type.
According to the investigation, travelers planning a trip between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. have a 66 percent chance of securing a ticket at the lowest available price, the FAZ further reported. For journeys between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., that chance drops to just 19 percent.
Vzbv chief Ramona Pop also criticized what she called Deutsche Bahn's "tariff jungle," saying the search for the cheapest ticket can be highly time-consuming. She pointed to price fluctuations in the demand-based "Flexticket" as a contributing factor. The Deutsche Bahn spokeswoman countered that affordable offers can be found quickly and easily through the company's best-price search tool.
According to the FAZ, consumer advocates also examined whether Deutsche Bahn kept its promise to maintain stable prices through the 2025/2026 timetable change. The vzbv confirmed that this was, in principle, the case.
A Deutsche Bahn spokeswoman told the FAZ that the company's goal is to optimize train capacity for comfortable travel. For this reason, she said, ticket quotas are managed to avoid overbooking. Similar to buses or airplanes, she explained, routes that are already heavily used — particularly between major cities and during peak times, have fewer promotional offers. Through low-cost tickets, Deutsche Bahn aims to direct travelers with more flexible schedules toward less crowded trains.
The Deutsche Bahn spokeswoman criticized the vzbv study for having "significant gaps," noting that it only examined the travel window between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Important commuter connections, such as Sprinter trains departing shortly after 6 a.m. from Frankfurt to Berlin or from Berlin to Munich, were not taken into account. She told the newspaper that "particularly many affordable tickets" are available during these early and late travel windows.
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