German trains have very much to complain about, but honestly, their customer facing IT is pretty good. I've not had to deal with PDF tickets nor printed tickets in years.

The website and app work well, in my experience. It's all pretty sleek and modern, too. It's the one area they do a good job in, to be honest.

The DB App is great. It lets you buy tickets, informs you of delays and possible alternatives especially if you miss your connection, you can file a request for a refund, you can reserve a seat, you can use the comfort check-in and check yourself in, so you wouldn't have to show your ticket. You can even request a refund up to two hours after you purchased your ticket, without any fees.

No PDFs or print-outs or forms are needed.

Yes, you still get a PDF ticket sent to your email, but you aren't required to use it.

What is the issue with receiving tickets as PDF? It is the most flexible yet digital option. PDFs work regardless of the medium. You can show it in the phone or you can always add them to DB Navigator App anyways or if you would like to be old school, just print them.

> Tickets are sent via PDF for trains running 3 hours late

I agree that the delays are unacceptable, but the official app is great w/ digital tickets + seat registration, you don't need the PDF at all (it's even optional during checkout, so if you don't like them you can just uncheck the box lol)

Try traveling by train through Eastern Europe. Makes you cry for Germany's Deutsche Bahn.