Eurail Group to Manage Inter Rail : All European Rail Pass Travel Brought Together Into One Dedicated Organisation

Utrecht – The EURAIL GROUP G.I.E. will take on the management of the Inter Rail pass products from 01 April 2007. This was decided during the Eurail Full Assembly and Board meetings held in Stockholm from June 20-21st by the main European railway carriers.

The proposed full integration of the current Inter Rail activities within the Eurail organisation was one of the main items on the agenda. It will create a single, unique, international Rail pass organisation dedicated to the Management, Marketing and Development for rail pass products both inside and outside of Europe.

The integration opens up a whole new spectrum of opportunities according to Mr. Rene de Groot, Managing Director of the Eurail Group G.I.E: " The Inter Rail and Eurail products perfectly complement each other", he said. "Both offer excellent value for money combined with maximum flexibility to discover the wonders of Europe. While Inter Rail is primarily aimed at European citizens, Eurail is aimed at non-Europeans".

"Both are existing and successful products in their own right who will continue to be branded separately. This integration will allow Eurail Group G.I.E. to take the best elements of each product and introduce new passes and services in the future that will appeal not only to a larger audience but will also make travelling by train in Europe even more exciting", de Groot said.

Eurail was founded in 1959 to encourage non-European to travel by train in Europe and has since become associated with ‘value for money’ and high quality 1st and 2nd Class rail passes for both young and adult travellers.

Inter Rail, in comparison, was created in 1972, at the anniversary of the International Railway Union, for young people up to 21 years only for travelling in 2nd class for one month of unlimited travel in 21 countries in Europe.

Over the years the Inter Rail offer has been extended with more country options (currently 34 countries including Turkey and Morocco) and is there no longer an age limit but the basic concept has not changed: maximum travel days & countries for the lowest possible price! Not surprisingly Inter Rail became very popular.

At one stage ‘Interrailing’ was a ‘must’ with every European youngster who no longer wanted to travel with mum and dad and wanted to explore the continent on their own with ultimate freedom and flexibility. To date more than 6.8 million people have travelled with Inter Rail and dedicated Inter Rail clubs, websites and web logs run by enthusiastic travellers keen to share their unique travel experiences still flourish and contribute to keeping the strong brand name of Inter Rail alive.

Eurail Group
The EURAIL Group comprises 27 railways and shipping lines, as well as several bonus partners. For more information about Eurail and rail travel in Europe, go to www.eurail.com