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Gremany Rail Tickets - Help

Posted by (Keller, Texas, usa) on

I plan to buy DB Bahn Rail tickets on-line at the 90-92 day window to get a large discount on several tickets. I know they have restrictions but those are fine. Unfortunately, I will be out of town and having to use my laptop to purchase these while attending a conference in another city. I plan to use Master card and will notify the card company ahead of time to let them know of the impending foreign transaction. Question is how will they send my tickets? Will there be an email or an immediate .pdf that I download and print. Will I be able to save it so I can print it when I get home? They say to print them on European A4 paper or risk having them declined and I don't want to carry a ream of A4 with me and try to fix a printer in some hotel business center.

Just concerned as I have never done this before.

Thanks!!!

Posted by
1075 posts

Not a problem, I just did this recently. They will email you a PDF and keep a PDF copy online in your account under Meine Buchungen on your account page. you can print it when you get home. Regular letter size paper is fIne for printing.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks for the info, that makes me feel much better. Appreciate your reply.

Marlin

Posted by
19240 posts

If you want, you can make A4 paper by cutting down 11x14 paper and putting it in your paper tray. Before I went to Germany in 2008, that's what I did. I also printed it out on 8½x11 paper. It all looked about, but not exactly, the same. I took the file with me and when I got to Germany, asked my host to print it out on his computer with real A4 paper. Still not exactly the same, but close. So I went on the express train with all of my various printouts.

The conductor held the "ticket" at arm's length (about 12", but not exactly, from the scan gun), and not exactly at 90° to the gun, so the "bar code" would not have necessarily been the exact size and proportions, and it scanned. I think this is a throw back to when the ticket was "proportioned to a smaller (B3?) paper used in German Rail ticket printers, and if you said "proportional" on the pdf printer the border would not show. Today, I don't think it matters.

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