German Rail is now offering seat reservations on regional trains on select lines in 4 states. These lines include, in Bavaria, the RE that runs on the high speed line used for ICEs between Nürnberg and Munich, between Munich and Kochel, Oberammergau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and between Nürnberg and Frankfurt.
The webpage describing it is only in German, but shows the affected lines in other states.
....or you can translate via Google Translate with any browser:
There is one vital clause:
DB Regio führt den neuen Service zur Sitzplatzreservierung schrittweise ein und bietet ihn zunächst für Abo-Kunden an. Ab 2017 können Sie auf immer mehr Strecken auch für Einzelfahrten Sitzplätze reservieren
DB Regio is introducing step-by-step a new service for seat reservations and offers this initially for season ticket holders. From 2017 you will also be able to reserve seats for individual journeys for more and more lines.
The rest of the page, and 3-page PDF of FAQ's ( https://www.bahn.de/regional/view/mdb/pv/deutschland_erleben/allgemein/mdb_248128_sitzplatzres_eaq_mai_2017.pdf ) only talks about holders of season tickets, who have to register to reserve seats.
Unless you are a regular commuter, this looks like "future, date to be announced".
(N.B. "Season ticket" is the UK term. I think in North America they call them something different.)
I was just looking at the affected lines and missed the part about "Abo-Kunden". I saw that you had to put in a registration, but I thought my registration with the Bahn would do. By the time they offer reservations to everyone, there might be more lines included.
It looks like Abo includes monthly passes as well as annual passes, maybe also Bahn Cards.
Abo is short for abonnement, which is a subscription. An abo automatically renews for the next period unless you cancel it.
Lee, "Abo" is short for Abonnement, which literally translates as "subscription" (like for a magazine or club), but it is also used for a ticket that is valid for unlimited journeys for a number of days, weeks or months. These are called "Season tickets" in the UK (see here: https://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/seasonticket/search ).
I don't think a Bahn Card counts as an Abo, as you still need to buy a ticket as well.
I have a Swiss regional Abo which is valid for all transport in and around the city I live in. A similar scheme exists in London, it is called a "travelcard".
A transport "Abo", or a "season ticket" does not automatically renew, newspapers Abo's may well automatically renew.
So far it looks like it is for commuters, who can reserve "their" seat, the same seat on the same train every day.
It also says you have to put in the number of your Abo-ticket to register.
Maybe in a few months they will extend the scheme.
