Are international students able to travel for free on the trains?

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frackledJJ

It really all depends on the school and on the country you are studying at. For example, me and my sister both studied in Hessen. Her school had decided (that is, the student body had decided) to not pay the amount of money the Deutsche Bahn and the local "Verkehrsverbund" wanted them to pay, on the two reasons: 1.: As there were only two schools in Germany where their subjects could be studied, people came from all over the country (a Semesterticket only works in an area of the country the school is in, most of the time not a big area) and was hardly any use to the students. 2.: It made the tuition fees too high for something "useless" to most students.
The student body of my school decides every year to pay for the Semesterticket (making tuition fees ridiculously high) since ther is a University of applied sciences and a university in the town where I study, the area you can travel in with the Semesterticket is fairly large, and we are close to some very interesting cities, such as Marburg, Frankfurt, Kassel, Giessen, Wiesbaden... Also, there are a lot of people from around the area who either go to university with public transport (including trains) every day or at least travel "home" every weekend.
You can not ride all trains free of charge, though. You can only go by Regionalbahn, Regionalexpress. You can not take Intercity, Intercityexpress or any of the fast trains withut being charged, but within the area that the Semesterticket is valid, you can use those trains if you purchase a (reduced price) extra ticket in the beginning of the Semester. Last time I checked, that cost about 8 Euros, but I do know that they sat that up shortly after I chekced (friends complained that they had done that). Since you would be a valid student at the German University, you would also be able to travel on trains with the Semesterticket, depending on if the student body of your school agrees to the terms and prices the public transport companies set. Note: The area you are allowed to travel in is set by the transport companies. It can not be influenced by a student body. ANd it certanly does not cover the whole of the state (unless it is the Saarland, Berlin, Hamburg or Bremen. Sinc they are the smallest German states, I don't know how they handle that particular problem. I still don't think the ticket is valid for the whole state, though) You will not be able to purchase a Semesterticket if the student body of your school decided not to sign a contract with the transport companies, so that depends on the school you're in. Mostly, if there is more than one university in the city, they will either all sign the contract, or none of them will, but as always, there are some exceptions.
In areas where it would be most comfortable for students to have a Semesterticket, like Munich, the price is set so extraordinary high that no school signs the contract. There is no Semesterticket in Munich, for instance.
Now, if you would like to go to Munich from Berlin, it depends on your school whether you have a Semesterticket. The usual proceeding would be to go by Semesterticket to the last station the Semesterticket is valid for. From than on, you have to pay the normal price of a train ticket. Note that train tickets can be reduced for students, but only if the student is 25 or younger. There is also the "BahnCard" which you can purchase, which will give you a discount on your train tickets, but the BahnCard only pays of, really, if you are a frequent traveler, as the price for it itself is not that cheap.
There are also "Specials" from the Bahn, but that really would exhaust the space allotted for an answer.
So: International students can use the Semsterticket, if there is one. And yes, you can use it to travel by train. It just depends on your school and on the area the ticket is valid in. You would really have to check with the school to see wether they have it (if they have it, every student has to pay for it, no matter if he needs it or not! Unless he can't because he is disabled or taking a Semester abroad or something. Than he will have to appeal to the school and explain why he cant use it to get the money back.) and for what area it is valid.

Hope that helped

Lane

No, but if you purchase an international student ID card some trains are discounted.

in Germany you can purchase the Bahn 50 card and you can get 50% all of your train tickets for a year i think. Its about 100 euros.

You can also do the Bahn 25 as well. (25% off)

Alexa

The Semesterticket does not exist at every Germany university. You usually pay a certain amount (you have to pay it with your tuition fees) and can use it for one semester, wich is a half year. So it is not free. And it is only valid for local public transportations, therefor you can't use it for train rides to other cities.
Information about train fares between cities can be found on the website of the Deutsche Bahn.

The cost of a trip from Berlin to Munich depends on when you buy the ticket. If you buy it today and travel tomorrow, it's about 100 â‚¬ one way.

Fenris Troll Ripper JPA RT ATL Â®

Alexa and Barry are correct.

I too had to purchase my train, only I used a Rail pass knowing I was gonna use the train a lot. With a pass one day allows you use of any train any where all day long within Germany if a German Rail pass or EU if a EU pass.

Here is the link for the rail passes

http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/german_rail_twin_pass.htm

That is the twin pass. They have a single one as well. If you plan to use it a lot it may be worth it and you can check schedules out at http://www.bahn.de There is an English Version if you cannot read German well.

Rex

Seems you have all the advice you need and it is good no need to repeat as under did.

First few answers were good with links.

NOLA guy

I had to pay for train tickets in Germany when I was a student, including on trips arranged by the school (so it was clear I was a non-German student).

One source for tickets is:

http://travelocity.raileurope.com/us/index.htm

GPapenburg

Students have to pay for trains in Germany. However, there are some reductions for pupils and students in local areas. For example Pupils/Students below the age of 27 years can use all busses, streetcars, subways, and trains in the Rhine-Ruhr area between Dortmund and DÃ¼sseldorf for a monthly flatrate of less than 20 $.

fliege52000

You get discount as student but not a free ticket.
Check www.bahn.de type Berlin - Munich and you see the price and the time there.

down_under_lover_forever2006

Students have to pay like any other passenger.
But they can travel cheaper.
I recommend to look at Deutsche Bundesbahn on www.deutschebahn.de and click on Britsh flag so you can read in English

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