European Railroad Discussion > Eurail passes simplified for 2019 AND the UK joins

  InterRail & Eurail passes simplified & extended for 2019...The InterRail & Eurail pass ranges are streamlined and aligned with each other for 2019.  The InterRail pass range for European residents and Eurail pass range for overseas visitors now virtually mirror each other in coverage, available pass periods, reservation requirements and even pricing.

• Overseas visitors will no longer be forced to pay for 1st class travel if they buy a global Eurail pass, all passes will now come in both 1st & 2nd class, even global ones.  A very welcome step forward.
• The Eurail pass range is significantly simplified:  The 2, 3 & 4 country Eurail Selectpasses are discontinued, leaving just one-country passes and global passes, as with the InterRail range.  The Eurail global pass is being reduced in price to compensate for the removal of the cheaper Selectpasses and to align pricing more closely with the previously-cheaper InterRail passes for European residents, so this a real benefit.
• Another welcome move, there's a new 'Senior' category of Eurail pass saving 10% off Adult Eurail passes for anyone over 60.  On the other hand, Saver passes are discontinued, these gave two people a 15% discount on adult passes but they always have to travel together.  This again reduces complexity.
• The old 'after 19:00' rule for using sleeper trains with Eurail and InterRail has been replaced with a much simpler rule, see the InterRail or Eurail pages.
• I've saved the best until last:  UK JOINS EURAIL!!  Eurostar joined the Eurail & InterRail scheme last year, accepting Eurail & InterRail passes with a €30 passholder fare with great availability.  The UK has always been part of the InterRail scheme for European residents, but earth-shattering news this year is that finally after 59 years, the UK joins the Eurail scheme too!  A Eurail Global pass now gives free travel for overseas visitors all over the UK as well as in the other 27 countries.  There has always been great demand for this - how many visitors dropped the UK from their itineraries as it wasn't covered by their pass

mundo Wrote:
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>   InterRail & Eurail passes simplified &
> extended for 2019...The InterRail & Eurail pass
> ranges are streamlined and aligned with each other
> for 2019.  The InterRail pass range for European
> residents and Eurail pass range for overseas
> visitors now virtually mirror each other in
> coverage, available pass periods, reservation
> requirements and even pricing.
>
>

• Overseas visitors will no longer be forced to
  > pay for 1st class travel if they buy a global
  > Eurail pass, all passes will now come in both 1st
  > & 2nd class, even global ones.  A very welcome
  > step forward.
  >
• The Eurail pass range is significantly
  > simplified:  The 2, 3 & 4 country Eurail
  > Selectpasses are discontinued, leaving just
  > one-country passes and global passes, as with the
  > InterRail range.  The Eurail global pass is being
  > reduced in price to compensate for the removal of
  > the cheaper Selectpasses and to align pricing more
  > closely with the previously-cheaper InterRail
  > passes for European residents, so this a real
  > benefit.
  >
• Another welcome move, there's a new 'Senior'
  > category of Eurail pass saving 10% off Adult
  > Eurail passes for anyone over 60.  On the other
  > hand, Saver passes are discontinued, these gave
  > two people a 15% discount on adult passes but they
  > always have to travel together.  This again
  > reduces complexity.
  >
• The old 'after 19:00' rule for using sleeper
  > trains with Eurail and InterRail has been replaced
  > with a much simpler rule, see the InterRail or
  > Eurail pages.
  >
• I've saved the best until last:  UK JOINS
  > EURAIL!!  Eurostar joined the Eurail & InterRail
  > scheme last year, accepting Eurail & InterRail
  > passes with a €30 passholder fare with great
  > availability.  The UK has always been part of the
  > InterRail scheme for European residents, but
  > earth-shattering news this year is that finally
  > after 59 years, the UK joins the Eurail scheme
  > too!  A Eurail Global pass now gives free travel
  > for overseas visitors all over the UK as well as
  > in the other 27 countries.  There has always been
  > great demand for this - how many visitors dropped
  > the UK from their itineraries as it wasn't covered
  > by their pass
  >
  
  This has been "copied" from the "man in seat 61 website"
• Please give credit where credit is due!!! :(

Well excuse me !   You may forget something some day your self.

It is amusing that with the UK on the verge of leaving the European Union they will finally join the Eurailpass. I don't know if it was the UK or Europe that prevented this from happening sooner, but it is a good thing for rail travellers and for the railways.

 I  see that the Eurailpass is finally going to offer what has been available in Britain for a long time: the option of Second (standard) Class and a seniors discount.  With the Britrail pass the seniors discount applied only to First Class, but I note in the current Britrail price chart it now applies to both First and Standard.

This is good news, thanks. Adding the UK is fantastic. And prices are reasonable, especially if your plan on riding a lot. Which is easy to do.

I advise spending the extra money for a 1st class pass. Especially for women travelling alone. 2nd class is far more likely to be packed. With a 1st class pass, you can ride in 2nd, but there will probably be times & places where getting away from the unwashed will be worth every cent. And over the last decade there's a lot more unwashed on western European trains, especially southern France, Spain, and Italy. Central and Eastern Europe remain more European.