British Rail Coys to Pull out of Europe-wide Train Ticket Scheme

Europe’s continent-wide hop-on, hop-off ticket schemes, Interrail and Eurail, will cease to cover train travel in Britain from 2020, it was announced on Wednesday.

The passes have long been particularly popular with young people as a way of backpacking across Europe.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), an umbrella organisation that brings together Britain’s passenger and freight services, will end its partnership with Eurail and Interrail from January 1, a statement from the Eurail Group said.

As a result, travellers who purchase the scheme’s Global Pass, which currently covers 31 European countries, “will no longer be able to travel in Great Britain,” the statement added.

The RDG confirmed the news on its Twitter page, “despite us wanting to remain part of the group.”

It stressed that the move was “not linked to our membership of the EU.”

Britain is currently set to leave the European Union on Oct. 31 with or without a deal.

The Interrail passes, on offer to European citizens, and the Eurail passes, for the rest of the world, allow “flexible, borderless travel” across the continent, according to the Utrecht-based Eurail Group, which is owned by over 35 European railway and shipping companies.

The Eurostar trains, which link London with Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, will not be affected by the change.

Tickets purchased before the end of the year will still be valid for British rail travel until they expire.