First-class expedited shipping?

I'd skip the gamble entirely and just walk to the next car. The FEX conductors on that line are pretty consistent about checking the first class cabin, especially after Gesundbrunnen when they've got time to kill. The fine is 60 euros, but the real annoyance is getting kicked out in front of everyone, that's happened to me once and it's not worth the quiet.

If you're set on the FEX, the front car behind the driver's cab is your best bet. It's technically second class but most people don't realize it connects to the first class car, so it stays half empty. Otherwise, the RB27 to Bernau has those proper compartment seats with tables, and the conductors there are way more laid back, I've seen them skip fare checks entirely between Lichtenberg and Bernau.

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honestly the real answer is the fine is 60 euros and the conductor on FEX is usually the same person every day, so they remember faces. I've seen them walk straight to the first class car on purpose to catch the regulars doing exactly what you're doing. if you're gonna gamble, do it on the S7 or regional trains where the conductors rotate and don't care as much.

also fwiw the FEX first class used to have a proper DB ticket option, but they killed it when BVG took over the fare integration, so now it's this weird no man's land. the BVG app won't even show you a first class add-on, which tells you everything about how much they want you in there.

my move is just to sit in the bike area near the back, it's got the same bench seats and usually empty after Ostkreuz. or if you're going to Bernau, the RB27 has proper tables and nobody bothers you.

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Actually, the FEX first class is a leftover from when it was operated as a long-distance service, and the DB website still lists it as such, so the old rules technically apply. The BVG ABC ticket covers you for second class only, and the fine for riding first without the right fare is 60 euros, which is steep for a 20 minute ride.

If you want the quiet without the risk, grab the RE8 or RE9 instead, they run the same corridor and have proper second class seating that's usually way less chaotic than the FEX stairwell. Or just stand near the front of the FEX, the driver's end tends to be calmer and nobody checks there.

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Worth noting that Berlin street names have official umlaut and ß rules that trip people up, so a sign showing "Strasse" versus "Straße" is not actually a spelling error, just an older transcription. Same with "ue" versus "ü" (e.g. "Kantstrasse" vs "Kantstraße"), both are considered valid renderings and you'll see the ß version on the blue Schilder and the ss version on older plaques or in databases that predate Unicode. If the difference you're seeing is between those two forms, there's nothing to fix and both are technically correct.

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if the signs u mean are the old enamel ones on the house facades those are often protected as Baudenkmal so nobody's allowed to correct them even if the spelling is outdated. the binding version is whatever is in the Berliner Strassenverzeichnis plus the entry in the Liegenschaftskataster, so if u tell me the street i can point u to the right Bezirksamt Mitte or Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf page. tbh the merged district thing is real but the facade signs are a separate story, theyre basically museum pieces at this point

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honestly thats super common in Charlottenburg, the district offices were merged from older Bezirke and nobody ever fixed all the Schilder. if its a real street you can check the official strassenverzeichnis on berlin.de, that list is what the Burgeramt actually goes by. which street is it? some of the Kaiserdamm / Kantstrasse signs are notorious for this.

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