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Americans of decades past flocked to the rails of Europe with “
” for whirlwind tours of a small continent made even smaller by a little red-and-white card called the Eurail Pass.
In 1959, 13 countries across postwar Europe came together to create Eurail, giving foreigners access to a flexible, unlimited train ticket that refused to confine travelers to a fixed route or destination. That sense of uninhibited freedom gradually expanded its reach over the years, covering 33 countries by 2020.
Sixty-seven years later, the name — which for many people evokes the nostalgic memory of shoestring backpacking trips spent sleeping in train cars — is no more. As of Sept. 10, Eurail will go by
, the name of an analogous ticket introduced in 1973 for European residents.
A spokeswoman for the brand affirmed that the name change is not a product change. The Interrail Pass will offer the same travel benefits to customers globally without any change to its price. All existing Eurail Passes remain valid for use.
, a veteran travel writer who influenced untold travelers through his popular guidebooks, Eurail’s name meant freedom, he said in a phone interview. It meant “ad lib.” It meant standing on a platform and deciding between trains leaving for Paris or Amsterdam in 15 minutes — and choosing Amsterdam because that’s where a cool group of backpacking strangers was headed.
: travel-hungry, backpack-wielding young adults. The group of railway companies released its student pass in 1971, which was substantially less expensive for those between 14 and 26 years old. That year, North American sales for Eurail passes
to more than 130,000. To this day, 49 percent of pass holders are between the ages of 12 and 27, according to the company.
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Sursă: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/travel/eurail-pass-rebrand-interrail.html
