Though presales have been available since the beginning of April, the arrival of the 49-euro Deutschlandticket has still crashed the Deutsche Bahn website the weekend before the scheme was due to begin.

Deutschlandticket subscription sales down DB website

If there’s one thing that the internet in Germany cannot handle, it’s more than 10 people using the same webpage at once. On the weekend before it was set to become valid on regional trains and public transport, subscription requests for the 49-euro ticket caused the DB website to crash.

To the credit of Deutsche Bahn, the ticket has been on sale since April 3 via the company’s app Dein Deutschlandticket. These attempts to stagger sales and avoid an unhelpful crash before, and shortly after, the ticket became valid on May 1, have faltered. As the crowds descended on the app and website to purchase their tickets over the public holiday weekend, they were greeted by a message requesting they come back later and try again. As of May 2, the problem continues.

So far, by estimates from the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), sales have been made to around 3 million people. 

Berlin Alexanderplatz 49-euro ticket queue stretches over 100 metres

The 49-euro ticket is available with a monthly subscription only. Since presales were only available online between April 3 and 20, some ticket vending locations were mobbed over the past few days with last-minuters wanting to get their card or physical paper ticket.

At Berlin’s Alexanderplatz station a 100-metre-long queue formed in front of the office of the local transport association, BVG.

Thumb image credit:BalkansCat / Shutterstock.com