Eurail Group Applauds the Railteam Revolution

Eurail Group Applauds the Railteam Revolution

July 24, 2007

Best way to see Europe Gets Even Easier for Eurail
Passengers as High-Speed Rail Companies Ease Cross Border
Travel


    UTRECHT, Netherlands, July 24 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Eurail Group, the provider of Eurail Passes for flexible
rail travel around Europe since 1959, hails Railteam as a
revolution in European train travel. Formed in July 2007 to
ensure optimal coordination between high-speed routes
throughout Europe, Railteam is a partnership between
Europe's leading high-speed rail operators, currently DB
(Germany), SNCF (France), Eurostar (UK, France and
Belgium), NS Hispeed (Netherlands), OBB (Austria), SBB
(Switzerland) and SNCB (Belgium), as well as two of their
high-speed subsidiaries Thalys and Lyria.

    The full range of Eurail Passes, including the new
single country National Passes[1], are accepted on board
all the participating high-speed networks[2] except
Eurostar, a Eurail Bonus Partner that offers significant
discounts to Eurail Pass holders. Much like airline
partnerships, a principal benefit of the new Railteam
alliance will be improved services for international
cross-border routes providing a stress-free experience from
booking to arrival.

    Railteam spokesman, Gunnar Meyer, explains that,
"Railteam's aim is to offer travellers seamless
high-speed train travel across international borders in
Western Europe." Consequently, "Eurail
passengers, as international travellers, will benefit
immediately from the first services of Railteam."

    Asides from multi-lingual information in stations and
onboard trains, connections will also be smoother, with
improved co-ordination of departure and arrival times.
Furthermore, if passengers miss their connection because of
a late running service, Railteam will ensure they are on the
next available train.

    Rene de Groot, Eurail Group Managing Director, said
"Railteam is a most welcome step toward the seamless
internationalization of rail travel in Europe and toward
becoming even more competitive with low-cost air carriers
-- and that's not only good for Eurail customers, it's good
for the environment."

    Indeed, trains emit far less CO2 into the atmosphere
than flying to the same destinations, and high-speed trains
are most efficient, with only a tenth to a quarter of
aircraft emissions.

    Apart from the high-speed rail network, which is
growing rapidly and expects 25 million international
travellers by the year 2010, Europe's traditional trains
include some excellent local and scenic trains allowing
travellers to soak up the stunning scenery and passing
landscapes at a more relaxed pace.

    The EURAIL Group comprises 27 railways and shipping
lines, as well as several bonus partners. See
http://www.EurailGroup.com .

    (1) Available for Benelux, Croatia, Denmark, Ireland,
Italy, Portugal

    (2) In some cases compulsory reservations may apply

    Railteam information: http://www.railteam.eu


    For more information, please contact:

     Rachel Young 
     Eurail Group
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]