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Does the Eurrail pass include the National Express railway in the UK?


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Does the Eurrail pass include the National Express railway in the UK? I’m looking to travel from Basingstoke to London and this is one of the railway options, but I can't find it on the list provided.

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Best answer by Anonymous 1 November 2022, 14:24

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Not sure what you are referencing but there are certainly regular services from Basingstoke.

 

All main line railways in Britain are run by various companies as a combined network under the general banner of National Rail. These are all valid with your pass.

 

The National Rail website is a central resource for times and the best for up to date information on disruptions and planned works. https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

Where you may be getting confused (and will definitely cause confusion) is that National Express are a Bus and Coach operator in their own right but have nothing to do with rail in Britain (they used to run some routes in Britain and still run some operations in other European countries) so if you ask for them by name you are likely to be directed to a coach station.

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Nat.Express currently runs quite a few trains in the Rhein-Ruhr area (around Köln-Düsseldorf) in DE-but it will be very hard to see that it does run that train, as the main ,livery is for RRX and there are also several others who run these on other lines.

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You don’t need national express on that route. You’ll be travelling by South Western Railway (London Waterloo - Basingstoke). They accept Eurail passes.

I think only Heathrow Express doesn’t accept Interrail/Eurail in the UK. For the rest the UK is a superb interrailing country, with excellent value for money, all-over acceptance of the pass and free reservations (when needed).

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@BrendanDB : are you sure about Heathrow Express? I mean the Rail planner confirms you but when I check the country information in the App it says it is valid on Heathrow Express… not that I would need it but just curious. 

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@MartinM Not 100% sure. It was just from the top of my head. There was a train to an airport that wasn't included in the pass at a given moment. But I kinda doubt which one it was. 🤔

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The Heathrow Express is not included in Interrail/Eurail. Please see answer from Eurail staff in the link below. 

 

https://community.eurail.com/eurail-interrail-passes-41/does-eurail-global-pass-really-include-the-heathrow-express-2385?postid=37195#post37195

 

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@BrendanDB : are you sure about Heathrow Express? I mean the Rail planner confirms you but when I check the country information in the App it says it is valid on Heathrow Express… not that I would need it but just curious. 

The app says "Not in pass network” and the rail network guide for GB says the same (app version 26.2.0). It lists Heathrow Express at the bottom of the list with operators, under "EXCLUDED”.

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@BrendanDB : are you sure about Heathrow Express? I mean the Rail planner confirms you but when I check the country information in the App it says it is valid on Heathrow Express… not that I would need it but just curious. 

The app says "Not in pass network” and the rail network guide for GB says the same (app version 26.2.0). It lists Heathrow Express at the bottom of the list with operators, under "EXCLUDED”.

Thx, then my app is not up-to-date. Have the 26.1.0 version. There it says in the rail network guide included, but in that case it got fixed and no contradictions anymore 👍

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Just in case anybody arriving at Heathrow is worried the pass is usable on the new Elizabeth Line trains to London, but not the Underground or, as above, the Heathrow Express.

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Installed the 26.2.0 version but still not shown that on Heathrow Express it is NOT valid… using German version.

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Installed the 26.2.0 version but still not shown that on Heathrow Express it is NOT valid… using German version.

That is correct. The pass is not valid on the Heathrow Express.

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Installed the 26.2.0 version but still not shown that on Heathrow Express it is NOT valid… using German version.

That is correct. The pass is not valid on the Heathrow Express.

No it is not. As written it is still NOT shown that the pass is NOT valid. In German version 

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@MartinM Sorry, I missed a "not" there.

@bjc Hello! According to our timetable and reservations system, this is the train that covers this route:

EXP Express

https://www.eurail.com/en/book-reservations

For future reference, please check ‘’Included in Pass’’ at the options in the menu bellow the departure and arrival stations. :)

 

 

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Installed the 26.2.0 version but still not shown that on Heathrow Express it is NOT valid… using German version.

I checked the German version (still on 26.2.0) but I do see the notice "Nicht im Pass-Netzwerk”.

@MartinM Are you looking at the same trains?

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Timetable is correct but the network guide which I was referring to is wrong (see above).

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Timetable is correct but the network guide which I was referring to is wrong (see above).

Right, thanks.

@Nanja Aren't network guides all updated at the same time? In any case, it doesn't sound like a good idea to have different (and contradicting) information in different languages.

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Hi rvdborgt, they should be but I have indeed some reports of differences so I will flag it with the relevant team to look into it and have it aligned. Thanks

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