Eurail Pass Usage Declines

Considering how unnecessarily expensive these passes are, if they're dying, it's a well-deserved death.

I read this article too. I thought the point about reducing overnight trains was very relevant. I would hate to see the end of railpasses but they need to do more to entice customers to travel by train instead of flying.

If only the Global Pass included Poland, it would fit into my plans even better where I would use it, but since it doesn't I can still do my zig zag traveling using another Pass instead.

While there are some accurate statements in the article, it misses the one MAIN point on why passes are fading: they are no longer a financial bargain. Most train lines offer discounts for advance purchase, and high speed lines require an extra reservation fee (and some limit reservations to passholders). It's no wonder younger people aren't interested. But as the article points out, the Baby Boomers still remember the good old days of rail passes and buy them out of habit or ignorance. We still see people come here asking about passes.

I last used passes in 2009 and at the time they still made some sense for me for several reasons, none of which were economic. But I would never consider using them again.

I'm betting they will be gone within 5 years, or at least "gone" in the sense that travelers checks are gone.

Also interesting to note that overnight trains are slowly fading away too. With the advent of low-cost airlines, I'm not surprised. Again, I would not likely ever take another overnight train, although if I were younger...

I'm a boomer with nostalgia for only one pass: the Italian Biglietto Chilometrico, which allowed 3000 km toatl travel for up to five people in sixty days. But with super-economy fares online (Milano to Venezia for €9), I am willing to commit to a specific departure date/time.

The Guardian published two or three articles about "the demise of night trains in Continental Europe" recently as well...

I think there is a general cultural shift further working against rail passes: people who travel in Europe (which usually means middle class or over if they come from overseas) are already used to pre-book and commit to specific date/time in many services that previously were decided on the fly and/or had fixed prices. In the past, booking specific tickets on multi-country journeys would require an enormous effort, like finding a specialized brick-and-mortar travel agent who worked with emission of train tickets, wait for it to call or fax European ticket offices and then issue you vouchers or tickets in hand. As many countries had only fixed prices or very predictable pricing schemes, it was just not worth the hassle and passes saved a lot of money.

So the convenience edge was greatly reduced and the price advantage wiped out for most cases.

I took trains from Budapest to Bratislava and from Vienna to Prague. The trains were somewhat crowded on the weekends, and the cabins' air conditioning was barely working--in mid-April. That was enough of train trips for me.

I may have some trains in my future, but I'll also consider flying if budget air carriers are going to my next destination.

Seldom do I experience travelers with the Eurail Pass due to the price. In many countries, it's just easier and cheaper to buy the ticket online prior to the trip. And in Italy, the Eurail users are going to have to spring for reservations if they want to go on the "fast trains."