If you want to have part of the fare reimbursed after a train delay with Deutsche Bahn, you no longer have to go to the mailbox or the travel center.

As of June 1, the group will be offering the analog reimbursement application as well as the option of claiming the money online using the rail app.

"In future, reimbursement via smartphone will be child's play and done with just a few clicks in five minutes," said rail manager Richard Lutz on Monday.

“Our customers no longer have to search for train numbers or submit tickets.

With this we make the compensation much easier. "

Until now, travelers had to print out the so-called passenger rights form after a delay, fill it in and send it to the group by post.

You could also submit the application to one of the travel centers in the train stations.

For years, customers have criticized the elaborate procedure, after all, the group is committed to digitization.

Numerous start-ups even sensed a niche in the market and offered a corresponding online service themselves: Customers submit their delay and train data digitally to the companies, and the companies take care of the analogue mail service for a commission.

Now the group is following suit.

The entire digital distribution system is being rebuilt

Online reimbursement is only part of the general restructuring of the digital distribution systems at Deutsche Bahn. The group is gradually converting and expanding its app, the DB Navigator. It has long been possible to book digital train tickets through it. 80 percent of all bookings are now processed online, it said. For some time now, travelers have also had the option of checking in on trains using their mobile phones. The automatic transfer of reservations in the event of an unscheduled train change is now also possible.

The new reimbursement option does not mean the end of the passenger rights form, emphasized the railway.

Those who want can continue to claim their money back using the analogue route.

The amount of the reimbursement does not change either: if you are delayed by one hour, Deutsche Bahn will transfer a quarter of the original fare back, and half if you are two hours or more.

The passenger association Pro Bahn supports the new option.

"It is part of a modern railway that you can fill out this reimbursement form electronically," said honorary chairman Karl-Peter Naumann of the German press agency.

“It is important that the railway also continues to offer the analog passenger rights form.

There are still many people who prefer this route. "