Eurail vs Interrail 2026: How the Interrail Global Pass Works Now

There is no longer a difference to choose between. Interrail's help centre says everyone now travels with the same Interrail Pass, wherever they live, and the rail network and travel benefits stay the same. Eurail Passes could be bought only until 9 September 2026 (the help-centre article is dated 10 September 2026). If you are planning a trip now, buy an Interrail Global Pass on interrail.com and pick your country of residence at checkout. Interrail shows pass prices on interrail.com in the currency you choose. This guide gives no pass prices.

What changed, and what it means if you already have a Eurail Pass

Before the change, the two names meant different buyers, split by where you lived. Interrail's help centre now says the two are one global brand and "only the name has changed for residents outside of Europe". The Conditions of Use v19 (effective 10 September 2026) name the company as Interrail B.V. ("until 1 May 2026, Eurail B.V.").

Buying a pass, planning a trip, booking seat reservations and managing the journey work the same way as before, but after 9 September 2026 you do all of it on the Interrail website.

If you already own a Eurail Pass, the help centre says:

• You do not need to exchange it.
• Mobile and paper passes already issued as Eurail keep showing the name Eurail and stay valid.
• A pass you have not activated can start within 11 months of purchase (3 months for Plus Passes).
• Existing seat reservations stay valid.

Country of residence still matters

You choose a country of residence at checkout. It shows on your pass, and you may need official proof. Under the Conditions of Use, your country of residence is where you have your place of residence on the first day of your pass's validity. If that differs from your passport country, you need official government residence documents to use the other country; without them, it must be your passport country. Interrail may block a pass, and future purchases, if it decides your real residence differs from the one you gave.

Residence changes how a Global Pass works in your home country:

• You live in one of the 33 countries in the Pass Network: the Global Pass covers one outbound and one inbound journey in your own country. Both must use travel days from your pass, and all legs within your country of residence on each outbound or inbound journey must fall on the same travel day. The overnight travel rule (clause 11 of the Conditions of Use) also applies.
• You live in a country outside the Pass Network: Interrail's page on travel in your country of residence says these in-country rules do not apply to you.
• One Country Passes: if you live in the network, you generally cannot use a One Country Pass in your own country. Clause 4.4.2 of the Conditions of Use lists exceptions: the Greek Islands Pass, the Benelux Pass for residents of Belgium, the Netherlands or Luxembourg (not for travel within their own country) and the Nordic Pass for residents of Denmark, Finland, Norway or Sweden (same limit). The Great Britain and Switzerland passes are only for residents of the countries listed in clause 4.4.3 of the Conditions of Use (EU countries plus a longer list of named countries and territories).

Global Pass options

The Global Pass is valid in 33 countries. Interrail's pages describe these choices:

How long a pass is valid. The validity page gives these rules:

• Flexi passes valid within 1 or 2 months: the pass is valid for 1 or 2 months from your start date. A 7-days-in-1-month pass starting 10 January runs up to and including 9 February.
• Continuous passes of 1, 2 or 3 months: valid for that many months from the start date.
• Continuous passes of 15 or 22 days: valid for that number of days from the start date.

You can pick any start date within 11 months of purchase. With a mobile pass you can buy now and pick the start date later.

What counts as a travel day. A travel day runs from 00:00 to 23:59 local time. On a night train you use one travel day, the day of departure, unless you change trains after midnight; then you use two. The travel-day page says you cannot take a night train on the last day of your pass, because the pass expires at 23:59.

Which trains need a seat reservation

Seat reservations are not included in the pass. Most high-speed trains need one, and so do sleeping places on night trains. The Conditions of Use (clause 8.1.3) list SNCF TGV, Eurostar, Lyria, Trenitalia Frecce, RENFE AVE and PKP EIP among the trains you must book in advance, plus sleeping places on all night trains.

The pass is valid on Eurostar, but a seat reservation is required and costs extra. Interrail's busy-routes page says Eurostar seats between London and Brussels, Paris or Amsterdam often sell out a few months ahead in high season.

Interrail says its fees are "indicative only and subject to change", and that the timetable on interrail.com is the most up-to-date source for what a train requires and costs. These are the figures from the domestic fee page:

The same fee overview gives averages, indicative only and subject to change: €10 for domestic high-speed trains, €15 for international trains and €20 for night trains. The domestic page covers domestic trains only, so it gives no Eurostar fee. A seat reservation for TGV or ICE trains between France and Germany is not the normal German fee: the supplements page says a passholder fare that includes the reservation costs €19 in 1st or 2nd class (also indicative only and subject to change).

Night trains. Reservations are compulsory for sleeping places; some seating carriages are exceptions (see the Nightjet note below). The night-train fee page lists ÖBB Nightjet fees with the note "status as per June 2026", says its fees are indicative only and subject to change, and says Nightjet pricing is dynamic and depends on route, season and demand:

On Nightjet services with a Deutsche Bahn seating carriage between Zurich and Hamburg, Berlin or Amsterdam, seat reservations are not mandatory. RegioJet seat-only night trains are listed at €1.30 to €2.80, Leo Express seats at €0; these fees are also indicative only and subject to change.

Where to book. Interrail lists three ways: its reservation system, railway websites, or the station. A few trains also charge a supplement, such as the Railjet between Austria and Italy; Interrail's supplements page lists them.

How the mobile pass works in the Rail Planner app

The mobile pass runs on iOS 16.0 or later. For Android, the Pass format and setup pages say Android 6.0 or later, while the Conditions of Use (clause 7.1.2) say Android 8.0 or later with Google Play services installed and enabled. The Conditions of Use say the app is not designed for tablets or laptops.

1. Download the latest Rail Planner app.
2. Open My Pass and tap Add your Pass. Enter your last name and the pass number from your order confirmation email exactly as written; the fields are case-sensitive. You may be asked for a 6-digit verification code sent to the purchase email.
3. Connect the pass to a trip. Each pass needs its own trip.
4. Activate the pass: enter the passport or ID number you travel with and choose a start date. You can activate up to 11 months after purchase, online only, and you cannot board your first train before the pass is active.
5. Plan a journey in the app, save it to My Trip, then add it to your pass before you board. Add every leg. On a Flexi pass the app asks if you want to use a travel day; you can cancel a travel day until midnight the day before.
6. Show your ticket in 2 taps. The inspector scans the barcode and may ask for your passport or ID.

Internet rules. Interrail's pages give two different limits:

The Conditions of Use is the longer legal text. The clause also says you must be online to activate the pass and travel days and to add journeys; once a journey is added you can show the ticket offline.

Refunds and exchanges

The Refund and Exchange Policy (V12, "Latest update: 10 September 2026") covers passes and seat reservations bought on interrail.com. If you bought a Eurail Pass, the older versions of the policy still apply to your purchase.

Mobile passes. A mobile pass you have not activated is refundable and exchangeable until the last possible activation date, 11 months after purchase. If you activated it but the start date is still in the future, deactivate it first.

• Refund Protection is a paid add-on for mobile passes. You can add it only at checkout, not later. After 7 days its own fee is not refundable.
• Unused travel days are not refundable or exchangeable by themselves.
• Non-activated Plus Passes are refundable and exchangeable until the last activation date (3 months from purchase), but only if you booked none of the included seat reservations.
• Promotional passes may be non-refundable and non-exchangeable; the global pass page says the payment confirmation shows which.
• Refunds go back to the original payment method and can take up to 10 business days.

Paper passes. For an unused paper pass with a predefined start date, request a refund or exchange before the validity period starts; if a railway official certified it as ‘NOT USED’ before that date, you can request one no later than one month after the validity period ends. The same 7-day rule and the same 10% refund and €25 exchange fees after that apply. You must post back the original rail pass and pass cover, and shipping costs are not refundable. A lost or stolen paper pass cannot be reissued or refunded.

Seat reservations. A reservation is refundable or exchangeable only if Interrail's "Exchange and Refund Conditions for Reservations" page allows it; reservations booked with Plus Pass Credits, including the credits, are non-refundable and may be exchangeable only if the service-specific conditions allow it. The booking fee is never refundable. If your train is cancelled or you miss it, contact customer service; do not use the self-service refund, because that counts as accepting the standard conditions and rules out any further refund. Eurostar reservations are exchanged on the Eurostar website under Manage Booking.

Pass or point-to-point tickets

Interrail's magazine page makes this comparison. It is marketing text; the Conditions of Use and refund policy govern the pass.

The page also shows two sample itineraries, an Austria trip and a 9-city trip, in which its own pass total comes out lower than the total for regular tickets. The page shows no date, says its ticket prices are subject to change and gives no general break-even point, so this guide does not copy its numbers. Price your own route both ways with the same dates: the carriers' sites for tickets, and interrail.com for the pass plus every reservation fee and supplement on your route.

Avoiding reservation fees. Interrail's pages describe two ways:

• Use reservation-free trains. The timetable has a "No seat reservations" filter, and the busy-routes page says reservation-free alternatives exist for almost every high-speed or direct train; they take longer.
• Buy a Plus Pass. This is labelled Beta. The Global Plus Pass (5 or 7 days in 1 month) covers seat reservation fees on most trains and comes with 3 reservation credits for high-demand trains such as Eurostar and TGV International; those may cost 1 or 2 credits depending on demand. You must activate it within 3 months of purchase. Night-train sleeping places are not included. Read the FAQ and terms before buying.

Children, youth and seniors

Age counts on the day your trip starts.

Child rules: up to 2 children can travel with 1 adult, 1 youth aged 18 or older, or 1 senior. With 2 adults, that is 4 children. Each extra child needs a Youth Pass. Add Child Passes to the same order as the adult, youth or senior pass before payment; you cannot add them afterwards. Travelers with reduced mobility who need a caregiver may be eligible for a free caregiver pass.

Which should you choose

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