The European rail passes that put Britain to shame

Ever looked for a holiday-friendly rail pass for use here in the UK? There’s a BritRail pass for non-residents of the UK. There are Eurrail GB or Global (actually pan-Europe) passes for non-residents of Europe. There are also nine “main” national rail cards to secure discounts for students, seniors and families. That “main” is from the wording used by National Rail. Who knows what the non-main ones are? But these reduce our extravagant ticket prices; they don’t allow hassle-free travel or special value for money.

UK regions have their own myriad passes. In mine, Northern has a Flexi Season ticket that gives eight days of travel in 28 days – any time between two stations – “offering flexibility and savings for anybody not tied to the workplace”. It’s a pass for hybrid workers, basically. There are also Rangers and Rovers that cover bits of the northern rail network, costing £25.20 for Cumbria for one day, for instance, or £29.80 for Lancashire or the South Pennines. Ask Lancastrians to define either of these areas and enjoy the ensuing lecture. I am sure your region has equivalents.

Various solutions have been proposed – including a recent Greenpeace report, which suggested that the UK could benefit from a £49-a-month “climate card” subscription scheme similar to some on offer on the Continent – but, as yet, none looks likely to actually materialise.

It’s a dog’s dinner, isn’t it? What if I just want a pass for the UK for three days in a week to do some leisurely touring, without stacking up reservations in advance and without having to scrutinise categories, lines, timetables and peak period regulations like an unpaid civil servant?

When it comes to UK rail tickets, which run the sick-making gamut of split-save, off-peak, peak, super-off-peak and the bizarre situations on the East Coast line, where different tickets are valid depending on what station you get off/on at, or the recent absurdity of Northern suing people for using their 16-25 railcards on Anytime single train tickets before 10am – the pass situation is not at all passable.

It needn’t be like this. In Europe, as well as the long-established Interrail deals, individual countries have begun rolling out great-value passes to encourage green, slow, domestic travel for residents. The best right now are Germany’s €49 Deutschland-Ticket and Portugal’s recently released €20 Green Rail Pass – which, sadly, is for the Portuguese.

But, across Europe there are easy to understand, and easy to buy, multi-trip, multi-day country and region passes. Here are the best of them, in all their simple, great-value glory.

Portugal

Green Rail Pass

In August, Portugal’s prime minister announced the launch of a new €20 monthly rail ticket, dubbed the Green Rail Pass. The deal allows passengers to get on nearly all urban, regional, and inter-regional trains run by Portuguese Railways (CP), as well as inter-city networks, for the cut-price fare.

The amazing deal is for residents only, and means they can travel several times a day for 30 days for just £16.69. Sixty and ninety day passes are also available at the same price pro rata. The premium Alfa Pendular service is excluded.

More info here.

For non-residents, the Portugal Rail Pass allows three days second-class travel in a month for €73.

Germany

Deutschlandticket

Residents and tourists alike can travel around Germany’s extensive network with just one ticket.

In the summer of 2022, in the wake of the energy crisis, Germany trialled a €9-per-month transport scheme, for use on local and regional second-class services but not ICE, IC or EC fast inter-cities. The deal lasted three months and was hugely popular, promoting rail-users to ask for a long-term pass.

The Deutschlandticket is the successor. Also known as the D-Ticket, it allows travel on public transport – including trains, city buses, subways and trams – for just €49 euros per month. More than three million Germans purchased one in the first month after its release in April 2023.

From January 1, 2025, the Deutschlandticket’s price will rise to €58 per month – but it’s still a jolly good deal.

Further info.

Italy

Trenitalia Pass

Italy has some superfast intercity lines as well as regional railways worth slowing down for. The Trenitalia Pass is aimed at non-residents and starts at €139 for adults, for which the holder can take three trips over seven days – about right for some sightseeing and exploring.

The lower price is called Easy, and is valid for travelling on Frecce (Standard level/2nd Class), Frecce+, Freccialink, Intercity (2nd Class), Intercity Night (2nd class seats and couchette services) trains, and for Eurocity Italy-Switzerland on domestic routes within Italy (2nd Class). A slight upgrade (starting at €189 for adults) is the Comfort option, valid for travelling on the same services in Premium, Business and 1st class.

Users can select the number of journeys ranging from three, four, seven or 10 over seven to 30 days, and there are small discounts for senior and youth categories.

A maximum of two children (aged between four and 12 on the date of purchase) can be added to each Adult Trenitalia Pass free of charge.

More info here.

France

Occitanie Rail Tour Pass

Occitanie, in southern France, is a beautiful region criss-crossed by 19 railway lines that link up the alluring stretch of the Mediterranean coast between Perpignan and Nîmes, with Toulouse, Lourdes and Rodez. The Occitanie Rail Tour Pass costs from €10 per day per person, for unlimited travel from two to six consecutive days. Six days is just €60. For an extra €2 you can add bus services.

The deal is available exclusively on the region’s liO network. You can only board liO regional trains, but long-distance trains (”Intercités” trains and TGV trains) are not included.

Bicycles and kick-scooters travel free of charge, within limits (up to six bicycles per coach) and depending on peak periods.

Further info.

Europe

InterRail one country passes

As well as the go-everywhere-every-day Global Pass, Interrail sells one-country passes. These vary in price from €119 for three days in a month in the Benelux region, to €170 for Germany for the same deal. The variations presumably reflect local prices and the size of the country’s network.

Romania’s three-day pass is €91, while Bulgaria’s, Poland’s and Turkey’s cost just €58.

The UK’s costs €188, which is pricey, given that the pass for Austria – which ranked top in our comprehensive survey of European rail travel – charges just €144.

In any case, these passes are for non-natives. For €188 or £157 you’d be lucky to get from London to Glasgow at short notice.

More info.