The picture above is the first generation of the Bahn's newer automats. The next generation, which I describe below has a diffent opening screen plus accepts cash as well as credit cards. You'll see these Automats in all stations serviced by express trains and in many other stations serviced only by local trains. This automat is run by touching the screen at certain places. One of it's features is that you can buy tickets from any station to another station, not just from the station you are in. From this automat, no matter what Land you are in, you should be able to buy Länder-Tickets for any other Land.

The new touch screem automats can be changed to display in other languges. However, the Automatentour, on the DB website, is only in German so I've copied the screens from that tour and provided a translation. The English language screens should be similar. That should give you a start in understanding the new automats.

	This is the opening screen you will see on one of the newer Bahn automats. Clockwise from upper left: Start-Zeil is where you enter information to buy individual tickets. Gesamtes Angebot (all offers) Here is where you can purchase regional (Länder), freetime, savings, and business travel tickets. You can also retrieve tickets already purchased. You can buy group tickets and weekly and monthly passes. Verkehrsverbund Here is where you can buy tickets for the local transit district, here the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (Frankfurt metro) Fahrplanauskunft Here you can print out the detailed schedule for a connection. You can also purchase reservations without a ticket. Let's see what you get when you press "Gesamtes Angebot"
	This is the screen for "all offers". First, on all screens Suchen means "search", Abbrechen means "cancel" (lit. "break of"), Hilfe is "Help", and Zurück mean "back". Freizeit und Aktionen Here is where you can purchase Hessen- and other Länder Tickets, such as the Bayern-Ticket. You can also purchase other regional offers. Spezial- und Sparangebote Use this to find Sparpreise and Europa-Spezial tickets. Service und Zusatzkarten Pay the supplement for night train reservations. Gruppenkarten Here for the Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket. Here also discounted ticket for groups of six or more on regional trains. Next, lets get a Länder ticket. Go to the screen for Freizeit und Aktionen.
	"Hessen-Ticket, weitere Hessen-Angebote". Here you can purchase a Länder-Ticket for the local Land, Hessen. If the automat were in Bayern, this pad would say "Bayern-Ticket, weitere Bayern-Angebote". You could also purchase other offers for Hessen, if they have any. Angebote anderer Bundesländer. You're in Hessen, but you want to buy a Bayern-Ticket. Press here. Fahrradtageskarte Nahverkehr. Here you can buy a day ticket to take a bicycle along on regional trains. Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket. Press here to buy a "Happy-Weekend-Ticket". Kombi-Ticket und Eintrittskarten. I'm not quite sure what this is. "Eintrittskarten" is "admission tickets". Is the Bahn selling admission tickets to local attractions? Somewhere on this screen should be a way to buy Quer-durchs-Land-Tickets. There might be an additional touchpad, or it comes with the Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket screen.

Click here to see a typical regional automat.