Overview
- Ticket splitting means buying multiple tickets for one continuous trip, sometimes staying on the same train, to exploit price disparities from complex fare rules and targeted Sparpreis offers.
- In watson’s September test, many routes were no cheaper or even cost more than through-tickets, though Berlin–Munich dropped from €149.99 to €139.29 in one split scenario.
- Other checked journeys were pricier when split, including Berlin–Hamburg (€59.99 versus €60.89 when split) and Köln–Stuttgart (€115.99 versus €125.98).
- Developer Lukas Weihrauch popularised the tactic and built a Better Bahn prototype that analyzes a pasted DB link to suggest cheaper subsegments, but it is not publicly available.
- Deutsche Bahn says partners must complement its sales network, a standard it says split-ticketing apps do not meet, and it is not providing the interfaces such tools would need; manual splitting remains possible but time-consuming and unreliable.