ODEG Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn

ODEG, short for Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn, calls itself the largest private railway operator in eastern Germany. Rather than one named route, it runs a network: 95 trains cover 19 lines and around 1,671 kilometres of track, mostly regional (RB) and Regional-Express (RE) services across Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Sachsen-Anhalt, with a further line reaching into Saxony.

Named lines include the RE1 between Magdeburg and Cottbus, the RE3 linking Pasewalk and Stralsund, the RE8 between Wismar and Elsterwerda, the RE9 running from Rostock to Binz and Sassnitz on the Baltic coast, and the RE50 connecting Neustrelitz and Rostock, alongside a wider set of RB regional lines. ODEG operates these under contract to regional transport authorities rather than on its own account, among them the VBB (Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg), the VMV (Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), NASA (Nahverkehrsservice Sachsen-Anhalt) and ZVON (Verkehrsverbund Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien).

Fares follow Germany's layered regional system rather than a separate ODEG ticket. Inside a single transport association, the local Verbund fare applies, for example a VBB or ZVON ticket. Crossing from one association's area into another without a single through-fare calls for the nationwide Deutschlandtarif, and a handful of cross-border corridors, such as the Euro-Neiße-Ticket, use their own special tariff instead. The Deutschlandticket, the flat-rate monthly pass valid on ODEG trains as well as trams, buses and underground lines nationwide, costs €63.00 a month from 1 January 2026 and is sold only as a digital ticket; paper versions are no longer accepted.

Day-trip tickets exist too. A Länder-Ticket covers a full day of travel in regional trains within one federal state for up to five people travelling together, valid on ODEG services alongside other operators' regional trains, though only in second class. The Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket extends the same idea nationwide, covering all of Germany's regional trains for up to five people on one calendar day, starting from 9:00 on weekdays or from midnight on weekends and public holidays. None of the D-Tarif or Länder products cover long-distance ICE, IC or EC trains.

Buying a ticket before boarding is standard practice, but a fare to the Deutschlandtarif can still be bought from onboard staff without a surcharge if the departure station had no ticket machine or the passenger reports to staff right after boarding.