German railways are promoting Google as a way of helping passengers to enjoy less complicated journeys.
Google Transit already provides a web-based journey planning service in many parts of the world but has now linked up with Deutsche Bahn so that passengers can go from the planning stage to DB to buy a ticket.
To celebrate the cooperation, DB has painted a high speed train with a Google map.
Google Maps and Deutsche Bahn say they are increasing the options for passing information on to rail travellers on regional and long-distance trains.
In theory, Google Transit provides a selection of options, and users can also decide the time and date of travel.
Google Transit then provides a direct link to the booking process at bahn.com without the need to enter all the travel data again. At this point the passenger also finds out more about the current status of the selected connection.
“The co-operation with Google is another important addition to our services,” said Ulrich Homburg, chairman of Passenger Transport at Deutsche Bahn
Raphael Leiteritz, Product Manager at Google, said: “Our route planning is excellently complemented by the DB connections and our users receive all train connections of Deutsche Bahn directly integrated in Google Maps.”
Google Transit is said to be available in more than 500 regions and cities worldwide.
Google Transit is at: GJP
Information from DB