Rügensche BäderBahn

Who they are

The Rügensche BäderBahn is the company that operates the Rasender Roland, the narrow-gauge steam train in the south-east of the island of Rügen, in the German Baltic. Since March 2008 it has been run by the Pressnitztalbahn, a railway company from Jöhstadt, in Saxony, specialising in this kind of line; its office is at Bahnhofstraße 14 in Putbus.

The line is much older. The company Rügensche Kleinbahn was founded in February 1895 and the first stretch, from Putbus to Binz, opened on 21 July 1895, with a track gauge of 750 mm. In 1918 the network reached almost 100 km. It passed to the GDR railways in 1949, which brought in locomotives and carriages from other narrow-gauge lines in Saxony (which is why most of today's carriages come from there), lost its freight traffic in 1967 and came close to closing, until in 1976 it was declared a monument of transport history. The nickname "Rasender Roland", or "Roland the Speeding", is attributed to Saxon miners who holidayed on Rügen in the fifties, and it is ironic: the train goes at 30 km/h at most. In 1999 the 2.6 km stretch to the Lauterbach pier opened.

What service it gives

The Rasender Roland is not just a tourist train: it runs every day of the year as public transport between Putbus and Göhren, about 24 km with stops at Binz, Jagdschloß (for the Granitz hunting lodge), Sellin, Baabe and several halts. About 180 days a year the trains also leave from Lauterbach Mole, where they connect with the standard-gauge trains arriving from Bergen. Between 23 November and 11 December 2026 there are engineering works and the line is covered by bus.

Tickets and fares

The price depends on the distance: the single ticket ranges from €3.20 to €16, and children aged 6 to 13 pay half. There is a family ticket for two adults and three children, a day ticket (€35), weekly and monthly tickets, and fares for groups of 15 or more. Bicycles pay €1.50 (€3 for electric ones or tandems), and dogs travel on a reduced ticket. With the Deutschlandticket a supplement is paid.

Tickets are bought in the Pressnitztalbahn online shop, at the ticket offices at Putbus, Binz LB and Göhren, open all year (and from May to October also at Sellin Ost and Baabe), or on board, with no surcharge, if you board at a station without a ticket office: tell the staff when you get on.

Tips

If you plan to get off at several of the resorts on the way, Binz, Sellin, Baabe and Göhren, compare the day ticket with the sum of singles: from two or three long stretches it usually works out cheaper. Group bookings and special trips are requested on 038301 88400 or at [email protected].