Due to rising fares, more and more travellers in Germany are apparently moving to railway. "We are currently recording a very positive booking process for next few months of more than ten percent," said a railway spokesman on Tagesspiegel. "We are also expecting a new passenger record in long-haul traffic this year."

After takeover of insolvent airline Air Berlin, Lufthansa had raised ticket prices. On intra-German routes, which are now only operated by Lufthansa, tickets have become more expensive, according to report, by up to 50 percent.

Although railways recorded more bookings on all relevant long-distance connections, ticket sales were significantly increased on former routes of Air Berlin, spokesman said. The connections are affected from Berlin to Munich and Cologne and Düsseldorf, as well as from Munich to Cologne or Düsseldorf. "We refore assume that some of existing air Berlin passengers, especially business travellers, will be switching to Deutsche Bahn trains in future."

The group sets great hopes for new high-speed line from Berlin to Munich in business travel. With timetable change on 10 December, Sprinter line will be set up from Berlin to Munich.

Date Of Update: 20 November 2017, 12:03