For months, strict corona measures have been in place in gastronomy and in many other areas of life. In theory, all seats on Deutsche Bahn trains can still be booked despite the high number of infections. There is currently no limit to the number of passengers. That should change now.
In order to make travel safer, the number of occupied seats on the trains is to be significantly reduced. In principle, only all window seats should be reserved for the winter months, reports the German Press Agency. At the same time, however, the capacity of the trains is to be increased. There is currently no obligation to make a reservation on the train.
A confirmation of the plans is still pending. You can follow the meeting of the federal and state governments and the resolutions here in the live ticker.
The EVG trade union warns of the obligation to make reservations
The chairman of the Railway and Transport Union (EVG), Klaus-Dieter Hommel, has meanwhile warned against a reservation requirement on trains due to the Corona crisis. "That would mean that long-distance traffic is no longer manageable, that the burden on employees is much greater than it is today," he told the German Press Agency on Wednesday. Hommel referred to a proposal by the federal government for the negotiations with the federal states on corona measures that are due this Wednesday.
The paper is available to the German Press Agency. In it the federal government proposes an expansion of the seating capacity in long-distance trains. At the same time, he wants to limit the availability of seats. Specific details on this were no longer included in a later draft. Nothing has been decided yet. When asked, Deutsche Bahn did not comment on the ideas and referred to the ongoing negotiations between the federal and state governments.
EVG chairman Hommel fears that such measures will be tightened and in the end result in a reservation requirement. Deutsche Bahn has always refused to do this. Hommel pointed out that in such a case, trains without a reservation may not be boarded. In his view, however, few travelers would stick to it. For the train attendants, however, this is an unreasonable burden.