Germany's 9-euro ticket campaign causes boom in rail travel

Germany's state-subsidized 9-euro (US$9.13) train ticket campaign has led to a sharp increase of nearly 50 percent in rail travel in June, the first month after the cheap tickets were introduced, the country's statistical authority said Thursday.

Around 21 million tickets were sold in June, according to the Association of German Transport Companies.

Compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, rail journeys between 30 km and 300 km increased 42 percent, according to data by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

The discount ticket for public transport is part of the government's larger bundle of measures to cushion the impact of high energy prices. Besides long-distance high-speed trains, the ticket is also valid for local transport nationwide until August.