Eurail Group GIE: Marketing Rail Travel in Europe

Railways were introduced in Europe in the early part of the 19th century. They became a major mode of transport and played a very important role in the growth of the economies of the European countries.

But during the two World Wars and in their aftermath, railways lost out to road transport. In the late 1950s, European railway companies, which were also beginning to see competition from airlines, began to look for ways to cut costs and encourage rail travel.

The Eurail Community came into existence in 1959. It was a loose association of national railway companies from 13 countries in Europe.

The fact that the Community included the rail systems of all the major European countries was a major reason for its success. However, the UK was not a part of the Eurail community and instead, had its own rail pass called the Britpass. The Eurailpass was not available to residents⁴ of Europe. For residents of Europe and North Africa, the Inter Rail Pass was introduced in 1972. This was similar to the Eurailpass, but allowed travel only in the second class (Refer Exhibit I for other rail passes in Europe).

From the time it was introduced, the Eurailpass was sold in the US through authorized sales agents, and Americans could purchase the pass by paying in US dollars.