Rail Europe vs. Eurail.com

Posted by Teleport on 10/28/22 12:52 PM

I can only buy "Mobile" versions of rail passes from Rail Europe. That is, the paper passes are no longer sold by Rail Europe https://www.raileurope.com/en-us and only the "Mobile" version is available, which require that the pass is downloaded to a phone. I don't have a phone that would work in Europe.

On Eurail.com it says you can buy a paper pass, but they have to mail it to you. Does Eurail.com actually sell paper passes or is this old, obsolete information ? Are Rail Europe and Eurail.com the same or separate companies?

Thank you.

Posted by Badger

Uppsala, Sweden

10/28/22 01:01 PM

7052 posts

Eurail.com is the official source, the website of the company that issues the passes. Raileurope is a reselller, similar to Expedia or Booking.com.

Posted by Frank

Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA

10/28/22 02:48 PM

23642 posts

And neither one is a railroad company. Basically think of them as travel agencies. You do need to do the math concern rail passes. With the advance sale of deep discounted tickets, rail pass have moved to being more of a convenience rather than dollar saving. Many trains require a reservation fee that is an additional cost (sometimes substantial) added to the cost of the rail pass.

Posted by DQ

DFW TX, USA

10/28/22 04:25 PM

457 posts

What country/countries are you looking at? ... some countries have their own rail pass which is cheaper than the Eurail pass ... for my Germany trip in 3 weeks, I am getting a rail pass from Deutsche Bahn (their Flexi pass is only sent to you by mail, the Consecutive pass you can print yourself ... you can also get it for your phone) ... for the same number of days in the same time period, their twin pass (for 2 people travelling together) is about $75 cheaper than 2 Eurail passes ... other countries may have similar offers ... seat reservations are extra, regardless if a Eurail pass or specific country pass (except if travelling first class then the reservation is usually included).

Posted by Badger

Uppsala, Sweden

10/28/22 04:32 PM

7052 posts

And neither one is a railroad company.

True, but… The Eurail Group that issues the passes does not run any trains, but is owned by a bunch of European railway and ferry companies.

Posted by Fred

San Francisco

10/28/22 06:29 PM

15020 posts

Between the two, I use only Eurail.com. I always have the Pass mailed to me after placing and paying for the order on-line, since the paper Pass is the only form I use. No concerns about carrying the paper Pass every on the trip. Only once did I have to pay a shipping fee, all other orders were free of that fee.