From 01 May 2024: "MÜRITZ rundum" guest card as a ticket for the Southern Railway (RB15)

Press release of the Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour

Meyer: Attractive offer for overnight guests in Waren and Malchow

With the new extension of the tourist mobility offer "MÜRITZ rundum", overnight guests of the island town of Malchow and the town of Waren (Müritz) will be able to travel with their guest card on the RB15 line between Waren (Müritz) and the island town of Malchow in the 2024 season from 1 May to 31 October 2024. The guest card is valid as a ticket and the fare is already included in the guest card through payment of the spa tax. "The RB15 transport service between Malchow and Waren will be integrated into the guest card in a pilot phase for this season. This will make it easier and more attractive for overnight guests in the two towns to travel by train on this route and leave their cars at home. The line runs every two hours during the day - and since the timetable change in December 2023, there has even been an additional late-night service as part of the MV mobility campaign. The new mobility offer will boost the region's appeal to tourists," said Reinhard Meyer, Minister for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour.

Daniel Bischof, Managing Director of VMV-Verkehrsgesellschaft, emphasised: "The extension of the guest card to rail simplifies the mobility of our holidaymakers in the region. Holidaymakers can move around their holiday region in a relaxed and environmentally conscious manner. The offer provides the opportunity to relieve the heavily congested B192 and the roads through Malchow and Waren. The attractiveness and acceptance of the guest card locally and also for local public transport will thus be increased enormously."

"The southern railway offers great potential for the expansion of our regional tourist mobility offer with the guest card. The Malchow and Waren (Müritz) axis closes the gap between the established services of MÜRITZ rundum and the Plauer Rundbuss. With the Malchow shuttle, the small town transport service and the Fleesensee shuttle, an attractive hub could be created in the island town, which would also provide residents with an improved public transport service. Step by step, we would like to build SEENPLATTE all around with our partners from MÜRITZ," says Wolf-Dieter Ringguth, Chairman of the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte e.V. tourism association.

"We are delighted that the new guest card on our RB15 line has been recognised as a sustainable way to discover the region and wish you a pleasant journey on the Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn at all times. Passengers will be accompanied on board by our friendly service staff in local transport. Just get on board and show your guest card!" says ODEG Managing Director Lars Gehrke.

The mayor of Waren (Müritz), Norbert Möller, says: "The long-standing goal of expanding the tourist mobility offer will be realised on 01.05.2024 in the centre of the Mecklenburg Lake District. On the initiative of the town of Waren (Müritz), this will create an additional attractive offer for guests. I very much welcome this and would like to thank all those involved as well as the city representatives of Waren (Müritz)."

The mayor of Malchow, René Putzar, emphasises: "It has always been important to me to expand local transport for our guests and residents. The integration of the Southern Railway has two major positive aspects. We are revitalising the railway and we are adding to the region's offerings in terms of not only being able to travel by bus. Two main tourist resorts such as Waren and Malchow simply have to offer guests a late-night transport service. That way, our guests can finally make better use of the evening offers in our towns."

Both cities together pay compensation of just under 64,000 euros for recognising the guest card.

Following the pilot phase, VMV-Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, together with ODEG and local stakeholders, will evaluate the use of the service and, if necessary, plan a continuation or expansion of the service.

The guest card is non-transferable and is only valid in conjunction with an official photo ID. Additional bicycles, other persons and dogs are not included in the price. Annual spa tickets are not recognised.