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European Rail Passengers Unionerpu@eupolicy.social
Sep 24, 2026, 12:35 PM
RE: https://eupolicy.social/@erpu/117314179112878158
Challenge A: Find the cheapest way to Alésia and back to Freiburg by train.
You are a 28 year old PhD student at the University of Freiburg (Breisgau), Germany. You have a Deutschlandticket in your possession, but no other reduction cards or passes of any sort.
At any time throughout the month of October you need to go to the historical battlefield Alésia in France to collect a rare Astérix comic from a seller there, who will also host you for 1 night (so ignore accommodation costs).
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Replies

European Rail Passengers Unionerpu@eupolicy.social
Sep 24, 2026, 12:37 PM
In the case of teams being tied on price, the team that needs the fewest booking transactions shall win. In the case teams are tied with booking transactions, then the team that found the fastest routes shall win.
Reply with your answers! We will post the solution – and the next challenge – tomorrow, which means…
…you have 24 hours. Your time starts now. (And all the information is on the task.)
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European Rail Passengers Unionerpu@eupolicy.social
Sep 25, 2026, 1:19 PM
🏆 🥇 Congratulations to @bovine3dom who found a round trip for €63!
Coming a close second was @cycling_on_rails with €65.
For comparison, just asking a ticketing platform to go from A to B will give you a price 1.5 to 2 times that … assuming you know that you know how far your Deutschlandticket can get you (and have a read through some of the replies to see how tricky that is!), otherwise it could be even more. So what’s the trick?
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European Rail Passengers Unionerpu@eupolicy.social
Sep 25, 2026, 1:23 PM
Once in France the things to look for are: specially cheap TGV tickets, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté reduction card offering 60% reduction on tickets on TERs on weekends, and remembering that ticket splits in France only allowed at stations and SNCF cannot sell tickets for connections with more than 2 changes.
In short: it's complicated. And when travelling cross-border you are even less likely to know how to navigate an unfamiliar ticketing landscape.
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European Rail Passengers Unionerpu@eupolicy.social
Sep 25, 2026, 1:30 PM
As a bonus, could you do all that in a single transaction … as would be required by the current EU Commission's proposed Passenger Package if you want to be guaranteed passenger rights?
Speaking of passenger rights: stay tuned for challenge B that will be posted shortly!
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Gaelan SteeleGaelan@cathode.church
Sep 24, 2026, 12:56 PM
@erpu all the information’s in the task? okay, I propose:
- D-ticket to Basel SBB (okay, even with my joke answer I’m only about 80% sure the D-ticket is valid there)
- walk to Alésia
for a total cost of €0 across 0 transactions and a journey time of about 64h35min
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European Rail Passengers Unionerpu@eupolicy.social
Sep 24, 2026, 1:08 PM
@Gaelan Will you be wild camping the whole way? Because only the accommodation in Alésia is accounted for!
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210561 ✨ [Q]q@glauca.space
Sep 25, 2026, 12:01 PM
@Gaelan @erpu The D-Ticket is only valid as far as Basel Badischer Bahnhof
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quinnquinn@chaos.social
Sep 25, 2026, 12:04 PM
@q @Gaelan @erpu no it is recognized by RVL as a valid ticket on the S6 including to Basel SBB https://www.sbb-deutschland.de/strecken-und-tarife/trinationale-s-bahn-basel/tickets-tarife/
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210561 ✨ [Q]q@glauca.space
Sep 25, 2026, 12:14 PM
@quinn @Gaelan @erpu ah, right, but its not valid on any other trains from Basel Bad Bf to Basel SBB? which would explain the conflicting information I've received on this
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quinnquinn@chaos.social
Sep 25, 2026, 12:16 PM
@q @Gaelan @erpu the RVL Tarifbestimmungen (part 1, Geltungsbereich) are super weird about this and I genuinely do not know what to believe is actually true, except that the thing about the S6 is so much communicated that probably nobody would bother
also pretty sure that nobody cares on the few RE 7 that run through to Basel SBB
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Tea:neossb:gaeubahnerin@zug.network
Sep 25, 2026, 12:29 PM
@quinn @q @Gaelan @erpu DTV says that you can use all SBB DE GmbH NV trains (S6) and all DB Regio AG NV trains (RE 7) between Basel Bad Bf and Basel SBB https://www.deutschlandtarifverbund.de/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260612_TB-DTX_V16_Verl.Dez2026.pdf
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JeDi :streikfrosch: :trans_br:JeDi@zug.network
Sep 25, 2026, 12:35 PM
@gaeubahnerin @quinn @q @Gaelan @erpu but there are none. Carrier of both is SBB (the swiss one, not SBB DE) between Basel Bad and Basel SBB, so the DTV rules are worthless.
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quinnquinn@chaos.social
Sep 25, 2026, 12:40 PM
@JeDi @gaeubahnerin @q @Gaelan @erpu meanwhile the RVL rules read like the D-Ticket is valid on the ICE too (gelten nicht für Fernverkehr, Ausnahme: auf der Verbindungsbahn in allen Personenzügen)
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210561 ✨ [Q]q@glauca.space
Sep 25, 2026, 12:43 PM
@quinn @JeDi @gaeubahnerin @Gaelan @erpu hä?! brb on my way to utterly confuse a conductor
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JeDi :streikfrosch: :trans_br:JeDi@zug.network
Sep 25, 2026, 12:44 PM
@q @quinn @gaeubahnerin @Gaelan @erpu any RVL-ticket valid in RVL-Zone 8 (=Basel Bad - Basel SBB) is valid on all SBB Trains between Basel Bad and Basel SBB if you continue your journey beyond Riehen or Basel Bad.
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quinnquinn@chaos.social
Sep 25, 2026, 12:44 PM
@q @JeDi @gaeubahnerin @Gaelan @erpu yeah i don't know either what to believe anymore. surely having a bazillion of Vekehrsverbünde and Tarife was the right thing to have and not just an administrative mess.
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210561 ✨ [Q]q@glauca.space
Sep 25, 2026, 12:46 PM
@quinn @JeDi @gaeubahnerin @Gaelan @erpu just one more verbund, honest, just one more, this will solve everything, trust me guys, just one more
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Gaelan SteeleGaelan@cathode.church
Sep 25, 2026, 12:45 PM
@quinn @JeDi @gaeubahnerin @q explain Verbindungsbahn to this poor Anglophone?
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210561 ✨ [Q]q@glauca.space
Sep 25, 2026, 12:46 PM
@Gaelan @quinn @JeDi @gaeubahnerin lit. connecting railway, the line between Basel Bad Bf and Basel SBB
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Gaelan SteeleGaelan@cathode.church
Sep 25, 2026, 12:46 PM
@q @quinn @JeDi @gaeubahnerin ah just literally the name for this specific line?
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210561 ✨ [Q]q@glauca.space
Sep 25, 2026, 12:47 PM
@Gaelan @quinn @JeDi @gaeubahnerin aye
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210561 ✨ [Q]q@glauca.space
Sep 25, 2026, 12:36 PM
@gaeubahnerin @quinn @Gaelan @erpu häää???
ok now I'm curious what would happen with a Germany only Interrail between Basel SBB and Basel Bad Bf
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Tea:neossb:gaeubahnerin@zug.network
Sep 25, 2026, 12:39 PM
@q @quinn @Gaelan @erpu https://www.interrail.com/en/interrail-passes/german-rail-passes#:~:text=Can%20I%20go%20to%20other%20countries%20with%20a%20German%20Rail%20Pass%3F Interrail says no
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Hugo. (transport chaos demon)theorangeone@mastodon.social
Sep 24, 2026, 1:20 PM
@erpu define booking transaction?
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Oliver Blanthornbovine3dom@masto.ai
Sep 24, 2026, 1:33 PM
@erpu that was an absolute nightmare but i have a return trip for €63 total. i think if you tried really hard you could manage it for ~~€55~~ €56 but i lost patience with a certain CER member's ticketing platform. and i didn't check many alternative routes
(WHY DOES IT CHANGE THE DATE BACK TO TODAY EVERY TIME I ADD ANOTHER TICKET)
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Stefan Lindbohmstefanlindbohm@mastodon.social
Sep 24, 2026, 2:34 PM
@bovine3dom Are you chopping up into petits prix tickets like @cycling_on_rails or did you find a way to use a discount card? 🤓
@erpu
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Oliver Blanthornbovine3dom@masto.ai
Sep 24, 2026, 4:36 PM
@stefanlindbohm @erpu
yeah, exactly the same route and strategy as @cycling_on_rails but 1) i know the D-Ticket is valid on the tram to Basel SBB and 2) i actually put the sodding tickets in my basket which was a bloody ordeal. all the €6 tickets were sold out fron Alésia to Dijon so i had to get a €13 one
i looked at the mobigo discount card but it couldn't save enough (or anything on the €6 tickets)
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Stefan Lindbohmstefanlindbohm@mastodon.social
Sep 24, 2026, 1:37 PM
@erpu What is the current lowest?
I’m thinking use D-ticket to Strasbourg and then I’m seeing some promos with SNCF as low as €38 to get the rest of the way (one way). TER tickets seem more expensive than this in all directions(?) so then would be a matter of finding the best dates that only require one night in Alesia.
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Oliver Blanthornbovine3dom@masto.ai
Sep 24, 2026, 4:41 PM
@stefanlindbohm haha i see you fell for the classic blunder of expecting the SNCF to show you the cheapest or even moderately sensible price between two points
@erpu
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Oliver Blanthornbovine3dom@masto.ai
Sep 24, 2026, 4:42 PM
@stefanlindbohm can you really get to Strasbourg on a D-Ticket?
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Stefan Lindbohmstefanlindbohm@mastodon.social
Sep 24, 2026, 4:54 PM
@bovine3dom All SWEG trains apparently(?), and they go to Strasbourg. This is my reading of the document of coverage linked on DB’s website.
I didn’t exactly fall for SNCF not showing the best prices – I know it doesn’t. But my guess was that the strategy you chose wouldn’t end up being cheaper than the promo fares on the TGV I found, which was wrong but not by much :). I think the last TER leg was actually the correct lowest price because it wasn’t messed up by adjacent TER legs.
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Oliver Blanthornbovine3dom@masto.ai
Sep 24, 2026, 4:57 PM
@stefanlindbohm fair. my rule of thumb is that if you're spending more than €20 a day on TER travel in France, you haven't found the right loophole in that region's broken ticketing system yet
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Oliver Blanthornbovine3dom@masto.ai
Sep 24, 2026, 5:00 PM
@stefanlindbohm second rule of thumb: if France can find a way to avoid cooperating with a neighbouring country...
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Stefan Lindbohmstefanlindbohm@mastodon.social
Sep 24, 2026, 5:02 PM
@bovine3dom Well there goes that. Unless they specifically mean S-bahn only? I was thinking of the Regio trains.
EDIT: Nevermind, it’s a ”Regio S-Bahn” (wtf is that?)
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波鉄 (Hatetsu)HaTetsu@mastodon.com.pl
Sep 24, 2026, 5:48 PM
@stefanlindbohm @bovine3dom A Swiss-style "we're running our Regios like an S-Bahn with less dense frequencies, so why not call it one?" thing
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Stefan Lindbohmstefanlindbohm@mastodon.social
Sep 24, 2026, 4:57 PM
@bovine3dom I also did have a quick look at the involved regions to see if there was reduction or period cards that could help btw. That was my first hunch. But all of the cards seem more expensive than even the fare I found, given one would only use it for one return trip 🤷🏻‍♂️
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Simon @otccsimonschre@zug.network
Sep 25, 2026, 12:16 AM
@stefanlindbohm @bovine3dom the document you're probably looking at is saying all SWEG trains within Germany. Deutschlandticket famously not valid to Strasbourg except for <27 year olds in July and August, not on the tram either 🙃
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Oliver Blanthornbovine3dom@masto.ai
Sep 25, 2026, 1:54 PM
@erpu 😎😎😎
what prices did your teams on the train to Berlin manage?
from Basel SBB my route was a single transaction and, because all the operators are majority owned by the SNCF, a "through ticket" under the current rules
I suspect on the ground you would be forced to buy a new ticket or pay a fine if you missed a connection
my trick was knowing that SNCF Connect as a general rule cannot combine designated-train tickets. you have to split them yourself (and at most one ticket per train!)
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Stefan Lindbohmstefanlindbohm@mastodon.social
Sep 25, 2026, 4:25 PM
@erpu I think I read somewhere that a retailer is NOT allowed to combine multiple tickets from the same carrier on their own? I.e. carriers combine their own tickets and retailers ONLY combine between carriers. This is on my list of things to research in detail, for obvious reasons :)
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Martin Hoffmannpartim@social.tchncs.de
Sep 24, 2026, 1:43 PM
@erpu I use a left over Interrail day from my previous trip and thus pay nothing at all.
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Cycling on Railscycling_on_rails@mastodon.social
Sep 24, 2026, 1:50 PM
@erpu Does "at any time" mean at any time of your choosing, or at any time chosen by the ERPU?
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European Rail Passengers Unionerpu@eupolicy.social
Sep 24, 2026, 1:57 PM
@cycling_on_rails Any time of your choosing.
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Cycling on Railscycling_on_rails@mastodon.social
Sep 24, 2026, 2:08 PM
@erpu At unspecified times:
- Freiburg - Basel Bad Bhf (0€ D-Ticket)
- Basel Bad - Basel SBB (4.20 CHF)
- Basel SBB - Mulhouse (4€ petits prix TER Grand Est)
- Mulhouse - Belfort (6€ petits prix Grand Est)
- Belfort - Besançon (6€ bon plan TER Mobigo)
- Besançon - Dijon (6€ bon plan Mobigo)
- Dijon - Alésia (6€ bon plan Mobigo)
Total: 4.20 CHF + 28€ each way / 8.40 CHF + 56€ round-trip.
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European Rail Passengers Unionerpu@eupolicy.social
Sep 25, 2026, 12:43 PM
@cycling_on_rails Oh, but it does all have to be on the same day or else you are paying for a hotel!
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