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Does Eurail go everywhere Britpass goes?

  • 21 March 2024
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My wife and I are planning to visit the UK from the US this June. We are starting in London then heading to Norwich - York - Stirling - Inverness - Bristol - and finally leaving from Paris. We’ll be spending several days at each town and will use them as hubs to explore nearby towns by rail. Will Eurail suffice or would a Britpass (with separate ticket to Paris) be a better option? The Eurail planner doesn’t seem to let me pick a few of those. Thank you in advance for any advice.

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Best answer by rvdborgt 21 March 2024, 07:58

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The only difference in validity seems to be Heathrow Express: Eurail not valid, Britrail is valid.

To see what works out cheaper for you, price up your trip and compare. Don't forget the reservation needed for Eurostar if you use Eurail (€30 in 2nd, €38 in 1st class).

What do you mean by "The Eurail planner doesn’t seem to let me pick a few of those.”?

This app should not be used to plan because it's often incomplete, out of date and generally unreliable. So what trains it shows is not relevant. To plan journeys in the UK, websites such as www.nationalrail.co.uk are much more reliable.

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The only difference in validity seems to be Heathrow Express: Eurail not valid, Brirail is valid.

But you can circumvent this by taking the Elizabeth Line to Heathrow, which does accept the pass.

I think what worried me was getting on a train and finding out that the Eurail pass isn’t accepted. But it sounds like that will only be the case in that one Heathrow instance. I didn’t realize that the planner on the Eurail site was unreliable. I just saw that it didn’t show connections to Norwich and that gave me second thoughts. 

So how does it work on trains in the UK? If you buy a (say a month long) pass do you just get on and show your pass, and as long as its Britrail or Eurail you are good to go?

Thanks again for the insight.

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