I was just there over this weekend, they sold us those 9 eur train tickets saying you can use it for any train anywhere. Then we board the first train that Apple Maps suggested and the first thing we hear from the announcer "9 eur tickets are not valid on this train".

The 9 euro ticket is only for local and regional trains. However, you can just get about anywhere taking only local and regional trains, but it'll be a very long day.

Some more discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31445822

Was the train from BER?

I'm pretty sure any train from BER airport would be covered under the 9-euro ticket. The trains not covered under the ticket are primarily ICE (inter-city high speed) and anything operated by another company (e.g. FlixTrain).

Yes from BER, it was an IC, but we didn't actually need to go to another city, it just happened to stop near where we were going in Berlin and be the fastest way to get there (first option that navigation apps suggested). Ended up fine, just got on some slower train that was fine for those tickets.

ICs to Dresden/Rostock also go from there.

Was it a white one (with a red strip)? Afaik these are the only ones you can't take.

would be interesting to hear from a foreign how '9 euro ticket' sounds to you. Any opinions on that?

It was a nice option to have, because normally it seems we would've paid like 50 euros or something to get around for three days. But it was weird that the tickets reset on the 1st of the month, so we had to buy two of them because of unlucky timing.

> You can use a standard subway ticket

almost. the airport is one stop into zone C, and a “standard” ticket would only be valid in zones A and B.

you need either an ABC ticket or a standard ticket + extension ticket.

How often do the ticket inspectors come in right after the airport stop? If it's relatively rare, you theoretically could ride that one stop without a ticket (but of course that would be totally illegal, do not do it).

They tend to check the airport trains frequently. Usually there are a few people with the wrong ticket.

I was there recently for a conference, didn't know about the 9eur ticket and got the 10eur 24 hour ticket for zone ABC on the machine. Anyway, forgot to stamp the ticket, of course. The controller didn't give us a fine but warned us to stamp it before we get to the central station.

I got fined once when leaving SXF, because my ticket purchase in the app went through 20 seconds after departure (I rushed into the leaving train while buying the ticket). So, yes, they do check as early as that.

...or (during July and August) a 9 € ticket.

I would add two more suggestions here: 1) If you have 50€ to spare always take the taxy to the city center. If you take the train you will hate this airport as much as the one at Frankfurt. You can thank me later. 2) Use security lanes 1 or 5. They are the furthest and less busy. Everyone usually just queues up by the nearest one. Don't trust the indicators.

I was so surprised going through security in Schiphol Airport recently. I swear there were 3000 people in line, but they have like 30 security checkpoints, and everyone goes in the same line (maybe one per terminal?), so we were through in 15 minutes.

It was amazing. I also never realized how much I appreciate everything in that airport being connected by corridors until I had to navigate CDG and it’s stupid trains and buses.

My brother just went through Schiphol two weeks ago. Scheduled his connecting flight with a five hour layover just to be sure. Took him 5 hours and 20 minutes to make it through security.

Right now there is a crisis due to covid being "over" but allot of staff left/got fired and cant be re-hired as fast.

Schiphol is insane. I had the same thing happen to me a few months ago. Figured I’d go 5 hrs early just in case. Even without check bags I still missed my flight. I went 7 hrs early the next day and just made it due to departure delays. From what I heard they’re not letting people in until 5 hrs before their departure as the airport became too crowded.

I arrived in Heathrow yesterday 2.5 hours before my flight to a huge queue stretching outside the terminals into the parking lots. Mortifying to see. To my surprise I was past security in about an hour.

I was in that self same queue and also made it through surprisingly quick, only for my flight to Frankfurt being cancelled. Back at LHR now for round two.

Lucky you didn't go from Luton - there you'd have a bad airport time AND your flight cancelled (followed by more bad airport time).

Yeah, I understand that we got there at the exact right time. Arrived in the middle of Dutch holidays, left right after.

To be fair, those ridiculous delays had little to do with the layout of the airport, and everything with how it’s managed.

I'm sorry it is a national shame.

The security staff was seriously underpaid and they got fed up with it. During COVID a lot of them switched to better paying careers. It will take months for new staff to be hired and trained unfortunately.

Did he make the flight?

No, he missed it. He was trying to get to Porto, he ended up catching another flight the next day to Lisbon, and took a train from there to Porto.

Imagine having "spare" 50€.

Unless you're absolutely rich, you probably shouldn't default to using a cab in a city known for it's amazing public transport.

If you're doing business travel you can probably justify 50€ fairly easily.

$50 after walking off a $1200 flight, $60 upgrade to board early, and $12 in cocktails is not a substantial amount. Plus lunch/dinner on the way to/at the airport for $40. And you're gonna pay $8-12 to get downtown via public transit, then make a transfer to a bus and walk two blocks to your hotel. Fifty bucks for a taxi is a lot, but a rounding error on a transatlantic flight/trip, and will drop you off in front of the hotel, might even carry your bags into the lobby for you, or at least load them onto a luggage cart.

Your reasoning makes absolutely no sense. Either you have the budget for luxury, or you don't.

If you have the budget to eat at the airport, drink cocktails and pay for early boarding, then you're most likely loaded.

If you're not rich, but still pay for convenience services like that, I'd say you have irrational spending behavior.

You think you are rich if you have a spare 50$ ?

wow

Then I must be mega-rich.

by 'spare' I think he/she meant something like "ah, whatever, I don't care"

'not spare' would be: "50€ ? I could buy xy for that!"

1) Why though? FEX is really nice, fast and have only couple of stops, it reaches to central station around 30min.

Yup, 50 € sounds like a lot of money for a few minutes saved (not to mention that it depends on the traffic situation if you will actually save some time). Of course, depending on where your hotel is and how many bags you have, a taxi may still be the better option...

After arriving in a new city is it very mentally relaxing not having to understand ticketing pricing, zones, best way to navigate, understanding the differences between different types of trains/trams/buses.

Especially since airport <-> city is almost always a separate system as well than intra-city transport.

No idea what the issue with taking a train is. As a local, I'm certainly not taking a cab every time I use the airport.

What’s the big deal with the train? I always prefer it as it’s faster than taxi.

3. is nice compared to most European cities, even the train to MUC is nearly 4x more expensive if I remember well.

And I've missed the last RE to HbF a few times (EasyJet being late often) but the last S-Bahn runs surprisingly late. Same in the morning, you can take the very first U-Bahn at the dawn of the day among drunk people going home, and do the last bit by bus. I never needed a taxi.

When I lived there, TXL was still operating, and showing up 3 minutes before the gate opened was an also interesting experience. But I understand people in the neighborhood being fed up it closed down 10 years late.

> First: post-security you will find some of the most disgusting food ever served in an airport, but hey it’s also expensive and the servers don’t hide how much they hate being there!

This also describes all 3 major NYC airports. I have to plan around it and bring food with me.

The food at terminal C at EWR post renovation is perfectly fine, if ridiculously expensive. Terminal A sucks though. Can't say anything about B, I've only used EWR for domestic travel.

I beg to differ. Compared to PDX, TPA, DEN, SAN, SEA and even SFO, I would say the updated Terminal C is still lacking, especially at those appalling prices. The whole OTG iPad thing is stupid too, and I assume leads back to corruption at Port Authority.

One of the decisions the Port of Portland made long ago that I really appreciate is that any chain restaurants at PDX (e.g. McMenamins) must charge the same menu prices as their non-airport locations.

Oh, I love the iPads, personally :) Not having to wait around for servers while still being able to sit is fantastic.

Terminal A is being replaced this year if the new one isn't already open. But yes, the old one sucked, worst terminal at EWR.