After successful testing in June, the e-version of the Eurail pass is now available online for travelers to Italy.
The new Italy Mobile Pass is currently available at the Eurail webshop, with a mobile version of the multi-country Global Passes, and additional One Country Passes, to follow later this year. The new digital rail pass solution coincides with a broader shift away from handheld, paper materials in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This marks the first time in Eurail’s 61-year history that travelers can conveniently access an all-in-one mobile pass through the Rail Planner App. Trenitalia, Italy’s primary train operator, is the inaugural carrier in the Eurail scheme whose rail services will be available via the new digital solution.
As part of the e-pass pilot launch with Trenitalia, Eurail Pass holders will be able to manage their travels from their personal devices as they ride the rails across Italy. Replacing Eurail’s paper travel diary, the mobile solution allows travelers to easily record each ride on the go with their Rail Planner App.
Instead of having to manually transcribe each ride into the passbook, the information is digitized on the app and ticket inspectors can scan a barcode to confirm the Pass is valid. To reduce the risk of fraud or falsification, the Pass also contains visual validation security elements for ticket inspectors. As part of the launch, Eurail initiated training and field testing for Trenitalia ticket inspectors to ensure a smooth transition to the new pass format.
Trenitalia was among the first European carriers to introduce e-ticketing for their national services years ago. They were also the first carrier to make seat reservations digitally available for customers in the Rail Planner app and look forward to extending this project with other carriers later this year.”
The launch of the Mobile Pass for Italy is the first step in a comprehensive digitization project across Eurail’s 35 participating carriers throughout Europe, with the ultimate goal being an entirely digital Global Pass. Several years in the making, the tech initiative will ultimately create a centralized distribution system for Eurail passes, negating the need for paper tickets. The entire Eurail community will benefit from the new digital platform and mobile Pass, offering travelers an easy and flexible solution, shorter time to market for Eurail and a secure and precise revenue solution for participating carriers. For more information, visit www.eurail.com or www.interrail.eu.
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