The Eurorail (informally known as Eurail) Group G.I.E. is a Netherlands-based company, registered in Luxembourg, that sells passes and tickets for European railroads. 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.
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A pass will generally grant a passenger free transportation on an ordinary train (for example, EuroCity trains and Regional). Trains that require reservations are referred to as premier trains, these trains include; TGV, Thalys, Eurostar, Eurostar Italia, AVE, Swiss Scenic Trains and night trains (with sleeping compartments) require a supplement. Both fares covered by the pass and reservation fees vary greatly from country to country. Sleeper reservations fees depend on accommodation selected and how far in advance you pre reserve.
A pass can cost more than walk up fares in southern countries like Italy and Spain. In Italy, the per day cost of the pass plus the 10–15 euro reservation can exceed the normal cost of a train journey. Rail Passes become a great benefit if you plan to take many trains, not just a couple of smaller train trips. In Spain, seat reservations are required for the high speed AVE trains, however you can just hop on any regional service without paying any seat reservation cost. A Eurail pass may be cost effective in France since TGV reservations are only about 5 euros, though it is important to note that passholder fares are subject to availability, therefore it is a good idea to pre-book your seat reservations as far in advance as possible to secure the cheapest passholder fee. France also has many regional services which do not require a seat reservation.
The traditional Eurail pass covers 21 countries, as of 2009: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden , Switzerland, and Turkey. Other passes, such as the Eurail Selectpass, allows 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 known as BritRail Passes.
Eurail passes can only be purchased by non-European residents. Other countries whose nationals are not eligible to buy a Eurail Pass include Turkey and the Russian Federation. It is possible for non-Europeans to obtain passes in Europe, although they are cheaper and easier to procure outside of Europe. For European residents InterRail is available, which has similar benefits, except that it is not valid in the buyer's country of residence.