Eurail

The Eurail Group G.I.E. is a Netherlands-based company, registered in Luxembourg, that sells passes and tickets for European railroads to residents of Europe and other countries. It is owned by a group of European rail carriers and shipping companies.

Its principal products are Eurail passes (formerly known as Europass and informally known as Eurorail Passes) and InterRail passes, with which a passenger has largely unlimited ability to travel on nearly all European railroads and some shipping lines at a fixed price per day of travel or travel within a certain number of days. Eurail sells a variety of passes, including those specific to two to five bordering countries, discounted passes for groups of up to five people travelling together, or for those under 26, passes which provide unlimited travel in a fixed period, and passes which provide a fixed number of days of travel in a longer period. The Eurail Pass is priced for first-class travel, while some individual countries have second class passes at lower cost.

A pass will generally grant a passenger free transportation on an ordinary train (for example, EuroCity trains). Trains that require reservations, like the TGV, Thalys, Eurostar, and night trains (with sleeping compartments) require a supplement. Both fares covered by the pass and reservation policies and fees vary greatly from country to country.

In general, covered fares are higher and required reservations uncommon in the north, while fares are lower and extra fees more common in the south. So effectively means the pass costs more than walk up fairs in southern countries, like Italy and Spain. In Italy, the per day cost of the pass plus the 10-15 euro reservation will usually exceed the cost of any one train voyage. In Spain, required reservation are common and have quixotic fees, possibly even exceeding the walk up fare. A Eurail pass may be cost effective in France since TGV reservations are only about 5 euros; however, the availability of reservations is extremely limited and they may not be purchased online.

The traditional Eurail pass covers 21 countries, as of 2009: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. Other passes, such as the Eurail Selectpass, allow one to select a series of bordering countries. For fare calculation purposes, some regions count as one country: Benelux, Slovenia-Croatia, and Serbia-Montenegro-Bulgaria. The United Kingdom is notably absent, but provides a separate set of passes.

Eurail passes can only be purchased by non-European residents. Residents of the Commonwealth of Independent States are also ineligible to buy them. It is possible for non-Europeans to obtain passes in Europe, although they are cheaper and easier to procure outside.

See also

• Eurail on Wikitravel
• Transportation in Europe
• InterRail - for European residents
• Indrail Pass - a similar railway ticket for travel on Indian Railways

References

• The official worldwide Eurail sales channel, site in English, Spanish and Portuguese (USD, AUD, EUR)
• Distributor of Eurail for North America and Mexico
• Site containing useful information about Europe Rail Travel on various trains