European Parliament debating free Interrail ticket

[deltic]

European Parliament is to debate tomorrow (4th October) the idea whether EU citizens should be given a free interrail ticket on their 18th birthday. Citizens of those countries that do not have a railway would be given ferry/bus tickets - not sure if that is to access the European rail network or instead of.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

That is so very random.

I wonder if they will help out with costs of accomodation, food or simply the time off work for those from poorer regions too?!

 

[WatcherZero]

Idea is to encourage people to recreate the Grand Tour, go out and see the continent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tour

 

[RichmondCommu]

And people still wonder why the EU attracts so much negative publicity :roll:

The cost will be horrendous and teenagers will simply see it as a free ticket to Greece to get smashed.

 

[Groningen]

Strange; it is not to show how great traintravel can be, but to get postive view of the EU. Eh sorry; who wants to go to Greece. Do not think that young people want to spent 2 days in the train (and 2 days back). With the trains of today a lot of money will be collected with reservations and supplements.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Strange; it is not to show how great traintravel can be, but to get postive view of the EU.

Yes I understand their intentions but I don't think for one minute that all teenagers will interpret their intentions in that way. For many teenagers their positive view of the EU will be that Greece is hot, sunny and cheap.
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Do not think that young people want to spent 2 days in the train (and 2 days back). With the trains of today a lot of money will be collected with reservations and supplements.

However with the long summer holidays (and indeed even longer if you've just finished your A levels or you're at Uni) time is not of the essence.

 

[rf_ioliver]

And people still wonder why the EU attracts so much negative publicity :roll:

The cost will be horrendous and teenagers will simply see it as a free ticket to Greece to get smashed.

A spend their money in the Greek economy. Similarly in Belgium, Munich in September, Prague etc.

The cost of the scheme isn't too expensive as these things go - not everyone will take it up, *but* the social effects will be on the whole extremely positive.

t.

Ian

 

[deltic]

I think the stereotype view of British young people is outdated and far less replicated in the rest of Europe. The cost of around £1bn is in effect just another way of paying the existing subsidy to the rail industry. If it was to ever come into play a key issue is could Europe's long distance rail services cope with the extra demand.

 

[Groningen]

I think that most persons from the UK go to Spain rather than Greece.

 

[MCR247]

Yes I understand their intentions but I don't think for one minute that all teenagers will interpret their intentions in that way. For many teenagers their positive view of the EU will be that Greece is hot, sunny and cheap.
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However with the long summer holidays (and indeed even longer if you've just finished your A levels or you're at Uni) time is not of the essence.

I think the fact that you've suggested Greece shows how old and simply wrong this view is

 

[jon0844]

Idea is to encourage people to recreate the Grand Tour, go out and see the continent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tour

Wouldn't it cheaper to just get Amazon Prime and do the Grand Tour on TV instead?

 

[AlterEgo]

And people still wonder why the EU attracts so much negative publicity :roll:

The cost will be horrendous and teenagers will simply see it as a free ticket to Greece to get smashed.

Yes, but to get to Greece they'll have to go via France, Germany, Croatia, etc etc etc.

People wanting to get smashed in Greece take Easyjet for a few quid.

It's a nice idea. Doubt it'll pass though.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

When InterRail 26+ was being set up SNCF and FS were up in arms as they feared being overrun. This was mitigated by putting their two countries in separate zones. I wonder if the same concerns will be raised again now.

As for Greece not only is their own system somewhat more of a shambles than it was in the past, there are few international connections left. And of course the northbound runs are likely to be somewhat busy with "boat people". No-one in their right mind is going to attempt Greece by InterRail these days.

 

[telstarbox]

It's not that different from a free 16-25 Railcard as offered with certain student bank accounts, and if it stimulates young people to travel by rail in the future then it's a good idea IMO.

 

[theblackwatch]

If it's for EU citizens, by the time it comes into effect, nobody in the UK will be eligible....

 

[Ianno87]

I think the fact that you've suggested Greece shows how old and simply wrong this view is

Yes. Based on my 2011 holiday there, it was anything but cheap. Restraunts etc were even suspicious about taking credit/debit cards, simply beacuse they wanted money in cash and not the bank. Amazing how a significant investment in infrastructure followed by a major economic crisis can change a country from it's outdated historic stereotype...

Anyway, free interrail ticket = fantastic idea. Shame the older generation of Leave voters are likely to now deprive the younger generation of continuing to broaden their cultural horizons by taking advantage of this offer </politicalopinion>

 

[RichmondCommu]

I think the fact that you've suggested Greece shows how old and simply wrong this view is

So are you suggesting that teenagers are no longer going to Greece in their droves?
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Anyway, free interrail ticket = fantastic idea. Shame the older generation of Leave voters are likely to now deprive the younger generation of continuing to broaden their cultural horizons by taking advantage of this offer </politicalopinion>

However who's paying for it? As for cultural horizons in my experience they're unlikely to look beyond the bar and the beach, not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that when your 18.
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People wanting to get smashed in Greece take Easyjet for a few quid.

Up until now yes I would agree with you. However if the little darlings realise that you can get to the Med for free and with plenty of time on their hands why not take the train!

 

[synthnut]

I was initially confused by this line in the BBC report from Emma McClarkin, a Conservative MEP, told Newsbeat the interrail idea is a waste of time.

"Eighteen-year-olds don't need a rail ticket"
Then I relalised that she meant that they don't "want" one I guess, very poor choice of words. I'm sure the train operators might get a tad frustrated with a load of freeloading youths sans billet...

TTFN,
Ben

 

[WatcherZero]

If every person took it up the €479 Month long passes which allow travel in every single country on the continent except Albania and Russia would cost £1.8bn per year.

Even in worst case it would be a nice subsidy for the rail industry and a good economic stimulus.

 

[Ianno87]

However who's paying for it? As for cultural horizons in my experience they're unlikely to look beyond the bar and the beach, not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that when your 18.
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In Britain, it would be the same people who pay for free bus passes for the over-65s...

And some 18-21 year olds do in fact enjoy a bit of culture, and not just getting bladdered at every opportunity...

 

[yorksrob]

Well, it's not really our place to comment on what freebies the EU provides to it's citizens now (although a few more of these would have been nice before the referendum).

If we're out of all this would it be worth offering all Brits an all line rover on their eighteenth birthday, to better get to know the country ?

Not a bad idea I think, for the same reasons the EU are purporting to suggest it for their citizens.

 

[deltic]

If every person took it up the €479 Month long passes which allow travel in every single country on the continent except Albania and Russia would cost £1.8bn per year.

Even in worst case it would be a nice subsidy for the rail industry and a good economic stimulus.

At most 50% would take it up and EU would negotiate a bulk discount - so probably cost nearer to £500m

 

[Starmill]

One of the best ideas I have seen recently. I've wanted to visit the continent for a long time, and I have studied languages some too. I'm concerned about the impact of flying over such a short distance when an alternative is readily available, so I think reducing the cost of rail travel will be a good way to get people to appreciate the cultural heritage of all European countries, and therefore become more understanding, more tolerant, more 'European', if you will, is a good thing.


Obviously, I won't benefit (and I know whom I have to thank for that ) but one day in many years time when I might have a degree, a job, freedom from crippling debt (har har har!) and some basic self-confidence, I might still be able to appreciate what lies beyond this tiny island... maybe.

So are you suggesting that teenagers are no longer going to Greece in their droves?

How many teenagers do you know? I don't know anyone who has visited Greece in the past few years at all.

As for looking beyond the bar and the beach, you don't know how much I wish those were things I didn't have to look beyond in life. Would be so much better than the real world. Having said that I've got drunk a lot more since Brexit so maybe you are onto something, it's a good way for us to all escape from the constant incredible madness forced onto us by utterly insane politicians and Brexit supporters!

 

[me123]

It's a great idea. It gets the young people to go and travel around Europe. In the process, they spend their money in various establishments and stimulate the local economies to some degree. Maybe a few years later they'll look back on their inter railing experience and do it again, at their own expense.

 

[theblackwatch]

It's a great idea. It gets the young people to go and travel around Europe. In the process, they spend their money in various establishments and stimulate the local economies to some degree. Maybe a few years later they'll look back on their inter railing experience and do it again, at their own expense.

Rather than spending their money in their own country....

 

[WatcherZero]

It's a great idea. It gets the young people to go and travel around Europe. In the process, they spend their money in various establishments and stimulate the local economies to some degree. Maybe a few years later they'll look back on their inter railing experience and do it again, at their own expense.

My parents still talk about their continental travels around Europe by train in the 70's including behind the curtain.

 

[dutchflyer]

Noone, nor any newsppr, ever said it was to be the full all-30days variety. Might just as well be the 5 in 15 or 10 in 30 pass.
in BElgium, young people (forgot at which age 16/17/18?) get a free GOpass (10 national rides) from their govmt- thus around half are then offered for a little cash at an e-bay lookalike site.
Also note that the EU has several countries that do have railways, but do not accept IR: The 3 baltics, and then the island-states of Malta and Cyprus have none at all. AND that IR-scheme is also valid in non-EU countries, like Serbije, Macedonia, Turkey and in the distant past even in Morocco-long since gone.
Following some IR-specific fora, about all newbies either want to visit the capitals of as many countries as possible by using night-trains (which are ever less and less) and seem to think only direct no-change through trains can do the works for them. Here in NL all head for AMSterdam-overcrowding the Berlin-AMS 2 hourly IC-trains to the hilt in summer without a hint of making some stops on the way and using other trains to do that.
Saw some other calculations on a forum, that the daily average of 22.000 INternational train pax here (at least half of these are very short local shopper trips, like germans from Gronau shopping in Enschede or Dutch people going for the saturday to Antwerpen) could rise by 50% if only half of potentail users would visit NL.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

One of the best ideas I have seen recently. I've wanted to visit the continent for a long time, and I have studied languages some too. I'm concerned about the impact of flying over such a short distance when an alternative is readily available, so I think reducing the cost of rail travel will be a good way to get people to appreciate the cultural heritage of all European countries, and therefore become more understanding, more tolerant, more 'European', if you will, is a good thing.

The trouble is that once you join the ranks of the employed spare time (annual leave) starts to become rather precious. If you want to get to somewhere any real distance away then surface travel just takes too long and will wear you out. During the 1990s I got thoroughly bored with the rail scene here and made numerous trips to Europe to sample foreign rail systems. The first three times were classic rail-sea-rail jaunts; an overnight leg was unavoidable (starting from NW England) so I was tired before I really started and I soon stopped using that route. So then I tried Eurostar. Good if Paris or Brussels are reasonable jumping off points for where you want to go but you still have to allow time to get to/from London. Inevitably to maximise time at my preferred destination(s) I ended up flying to the likes of AMS, DUS, FRA, ZRH which made much better use of my leave and even before the age of mass low-cost flying it was a cost-efficient way of getting to where I actually wanted to be.

The classic InterRailers have tended to be students with very long summer holidays and therefore no time pressure especially as the traditional InterRail was only available as a one month ticket. For that particular group the idea of long rail journeys as a way of immersing into foreign cultures is reasonable though many will be disappointed that global-pricing of many high-speed services will confine them to much slower trains. But even if the offer was made more widely available practicalities will still keep most people in the air. And if the offer is strictly for 18 year-olds I wonder how many at that age would even want to undertake any extensive travel: I suspect other posters are correct and the demand will mostly be to get to a beach.

 

[30907]

And if the offer is strictly for 18 year-olds I wonder how many at that age would even want to undertake any extensive travel: I suspect other posters are correct and the demand will mostly be to get to a beach.

Can't speak for 18yos specifically, but the number of under 21s using InterRail in its one-off year 1972 (I was 19!) was enough to persuade UIC to make it permanent. Yes, I know the world has changed since then....
Seriously, I think there would have to be a little flexibility, as in some countries 18 year olds haven't finished their schooling.

 

[AlterEgo]

Rather than spending their money in their own country....

You don't think anyone would come here?