Rick Steves' Eurail Passes: Rail News

Rail News

Europe is continually speeding up service with its newest generation of trains.

Updated May 8, 2008

Get More with Your Railpass

Riding the rails through Europe can be less stressful than driving a rental car. It's also environmentally friendlier — and just plain friendly, offering a relaxed way to connect with traveling Europeans. Our online Guide to Eurail Passes will help you sort through the dozens of confusing railpass choices out there, to help you tailor the pass that best fits your travel plans.

Railpasses cost pretty much the same everywhere — what counts are the free extras you get. When you order railpasses from Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, we'll toss in Rick's free 90-minute European Travel Skills DVD, a free Europe Planning Map, a free Eurail schedule and map, personal email answers to your three top travel questions, and a whopping 20% discount on guidebooks, DVDs, travel bags and accessories in our online Travel Store.

Latest News Briefs

What's happening in Europe? Check Rick Steves' European Headlines for Travelers every weekday for links to news of special interest to travelers.

BritRail Extra Day Free — Order Passes May 16 - June 29

Coming soon! BritRail Consecutive and Flexipasses, BritRail England Consecutive and Flexipasses, and Freedom of Scotland passes will include an extra travel day when purchased May 16 through June 29. Don't order until you see the extra day reflected during the order process on our Great Britain page. If you're traveling to Britain in 2008, you can get this deal and start using the pass within 6 months of issue.

Summer Rail Service Changes

Many changes coming June 15 are not reflected in the Eurail 2008 timetables (printed several months ago). As usual, use http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en for the most up-to date schedules. Schedules past June 14 are being added to that site as each country finalizes them. These apply for both directions of travel:

Nice-Italy night trains will no longer run after June 14 (to/from Venice/Florence/Rome).
Paris-Milan-Venice night train departure time will often be different from the Eurail timetable.
Italian daytime departures will be reduced on selected national and international routes.
Ljubljana-Venice drops to two daytime connections (no direct) and an overnight around 2:00 a.m.
Barcelona-Milan and Barcelona-Zurich hotel trains will run three days per week all year, not daily as in previous summers.
Madrid-Lisbon hotel train will now stop at Coimbra B station (rerouted due to track conditions).
London-Glasgow rail repairs will cause re-routing or bus replacement services on the west coast main line every weekend through December, particularly around Milton Keynes and Rugby.

Eurail Special Charity Offer

Rick Steves' ETBD has 44 complimentary Eurail Global Flexipasses, each valid for 15 days of 1st class travel in 2 months. Rick will give these to the first 44 travelers who send us an $850 donation check made out to Bread for the World. You save 25% over the normal price of this pass and 14% over the Saverpass price. Three-week delivery time and other significant restrictions apply. Go to our Charity Pass page for details and a special mail-in order form.

Madrid-Barcelona AVE Line Open

The long awaited fast-track between Madrid and Barcelona opened February 20. Trains run every 1 - 2 hours. Travel time is down to 2.75 or 3 hours. No more overnight train. Like the London-Paris Eurostar, this direct train should be faster and easier than flying (time from downtown to downtown), but not necessarily cheaper. Full-fare tickets prices are €102 ($150) one-way in 2nd class for most departures and €120 ($175) for the fastest, peak-time departures. First class is €153 - €180 and Club class €184 - €217. Advance purchase discounts (40-60 days ahead) may be available through Spain's Renfe.

Paris-Italy Spring Schedule Changes

Paris-Milan daytime service will be reduced from three to two daily direct trains during scheduled construction in May. Though overnight and connecting trains also run, reservations will be that much tighter. These Artesia Day train departures will be cancelled:

TGV 9249 (3:24 p.m.) from Paris to Milan will not run May 19 – 22.
TGV 9240 (6:40 a.m.) from Milan to Paris will not run May 20 – 23.

Eurail 2008 News

Pass Offering Changes (apply to passes purchased Jan. 2 or later):

New Two-Country Passes: Finland-Sweden, Denmark-Sweden, and Norway-Sweden Passes - Unless your plans are definitely limited to two countries, we'd choose the fuller coverage of the Scandinavia pass for only $5 - 10 more per day.
New One-Country Pass: Slovenia Pass - Prices are in line with local ticket costs; both are cheap in this small country.
Eurail management brings more passes under its wing: Austria Pass, Czech Republic Pass, and Scandinavia Pass. Only the BritRail Pass, France Pass, German Pass, Swiss Pass, European East Pass, and Balkan Pass remain independent of Eurail.
Scandinavia: The new Scandinavia Pass offers 4, 5, 6, 8, or 10 days of travel within 2 months, a change from traditional Scanrail Pass choices, and there's no more 21-consecutive-day pass. Scandinavia, Norway, and Sweden passes have added saver rates but dropped senior discounts.
Swiss Pass: 8-days-in-1-month Swiss Flexi Pass is discontinued.
London Plus Pass: Southeast region coverage now includes Bath, Bristol, and Stratford-upon-Avon. Airport transfers are covered by 2 separate coupons valid on Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick Express, whether you need them or not, instead of counting as a pass use day, and vouchers can be used even after the pass expires. Pass prices have changed accordingly.
New BritRail Central Scotland Pass: Covers Edinburgh, Glasgow, some nearby side-trips, and the Glasgow Underground; no highlands or islands. No change to the Scottish Freedom pass.
BritRail + Ireland Pass: Irish Sea ferry crossings no longer included (previously covered by 2 separate coupons printed with the pass). 5-day prices in now line with other BritRail flexipasses, but 10-day versions remain more expensive.
BritRail Pass Discount: Youths under age 26 who have any Eurail Pass (Global, Select, Regional, etc.) can save about 37% versus regular youth prices on BritRail Consecutive or Flexi, or England Consecutive or Flexipasses.

Bonus & Rule Changes (apply in 2008 regardless of pass issue date):

Eurail Global Pass covers 20 countries with Slovenia and Croatia added.
Residency restrictions revised for all Eurail products and France Passes: Residents of Europe, the Russian Federation or Turkey cannot purchase or use these passes. Residents of North Africa no longer excluded.
Paris RER (regional subway) lines C, D, or E are no longer covered by Eurail passes, meaning no more coverage to/from Versailles or Orly airport. Passes only cover RER line B from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Paris Gare de Nord (in that direction of travel only!) You need to ask at the RER ticket window for a contremarque de passage (a ticket that fits through the turnstile). Since this starts use of a counted railpass travel day, it's not worth the €8 savings unless you’re continuing further by train that day. Passes for only France still do cover lines C, D, and E, and both directions between Charles de Gaulle Airport and Paris Gare de Nord.
Helsinki-Stockholm ferry discount for all passes (Eurail Global, Select, Scandinavia, Regional, etc) will follow the old Scanrail pattern: 50 percent off deck passage on both Silja and Viking lines, does not use a counted flexi travel day. Cabins cost extra, but Silja (only) offers 50 percent off the cheapest four-passenger cabin. Pass need only cover one country/end of the ferry route.
Helsinki-Tallinn and Stockholm-Tallinn ferries operated by Tallink Silja now offer a similar 50 percent passholder discount.
Romantic Road Bus discount is reduced to 20%. Europa Bus' Castle route/Burgenstrasse Bus will not run in 2008.

Winter 2007 - 08 Rail Service Changes

New Spanish high-speed lines are now running, serving Madrid-Malaga and Madrid-Valladolid. As more fast lines open in 2008, some overnight trains will stop running. For instance, the Madrid-Barcelona night train has been discontinued.
Three new Amsterdam night trains are now running: Amsterdam-Berlin-Prague, Amsterdam-Warsaw-Moscow, and Amsterdam-Wien. All operate in both directions and also stop in Köln. No more need to change trains in Frankfurt. Moscow trains will split at Berlin to go to/from Munich and Basel, too. Amsterdam-Berlin arrival is early (4:30 a.m.) but uses only one flexipass travel day (while traveling to and Brussels changing to a different night train uses two days of a flexipass).
Zurich-Interlaken train service is no longer direct, but still just as fast (2 trains/hour, 2 hrs, with 1 - 2 transfers in Thun, Luzern, Bern, or Spiez).
Munich-Prague overnight discontinued both ways. Frankfurt-Prague overnight will still run both ways.
Munich-Milan overnight (previously went via Switzerland) discontinued both ways. Munich-Venice and Munich-Florence-Rome overnights will still run.
Germany’s City Night Line branding now extends to overnight trains previously called DB Nachtzug and UrlaubsExpress. While shared couchettes are open to single travelers, double and triple sleepers will be booked only as complete compartments. Single compartments available with either a 2nd or a 1st class ticket or pass.
Nice-Cerbere/Port Bou overnight discontinued both ways (the one that went almost to Barcelona).
Most domestic overnight trains in France will have no double or T2 sleepers (does not affect international routes).
Krakow-Budapest night train now travels via Breclav, Czech Republic, rather than through eastern Slovakia. (A second night train runs the eastern route during peak summer season.) That changes the options for traveling from Krakow to Eger, Hungary, too. See details in our Eastern Europe Book Updates.

Smoking Prohibited on Most Western European Trains

Europe's railway smoking ban now extends to all trains in Austria, Benelux, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland. Nostalgia-seekers can still find smoking cars on some trains in Spain (trips longer than 5 hours), Denmark, Finland, and more of Eastern Europe.

Great British Heritage Pass to Buy in Britain

Vouchers reserved online for UK pick-up or purchased in the USA must be exchanged at one of nine city Visitor Centres in Britain, not validated at any covered site. Since the passes are also sold at over 50 British Visitor Centres for similar prices, there is little benefit to buying these in advance. ETBD no longer sells vouchers. See more on our British rail page.

Wi-Fi Access for Rail Travelers

Wireless Internet access has a toehold in Europe's fast trains and train stations. Services are already available onboard Belgium's Thalys and Sweden's X-2000 departures and are promised for the future on France's TGV trains. Wi-Fi can be found in Eurostar departure stations on both sides of the Chunnel, plus 48 stations (and counting) in France. There is generally a small fee for use, with some exceptions. In stations, buy vouchers at France's "Relay" service points, or Eurostar ticket offices and Travel Centers.

Luggage Tags Mandatory on French trains

For security, all luggage must carry a luggage tag with the traveler's first and last name and current address. This applies to small hand luggage as well bags placed on storage racks above the seats or near the doorways of train cars. Free tags are available at all train stations in France. Luggage tags are also required on Thalys and Eurostar international trains.