BRITAIN will no longer be a part of the long-running Eurail and Interrail schemes as of January 1 2020, it has been announced.
The schemes provide unlimited borderless train travel across several countries or one country at a time. Eurail passes, launched in 1959, are available to non-European residents while Interrail passes, launched in 1972, are available to European residents.
Now, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) - which brings together the companies that operate across Britain's railways - has announced Britain will no longer participate in the scheme.
Eurail Group, which manages the schemes, ended the membership of Britain's rail firms after they chose to stop selling Eurail passes.
RDG denied the move was related to the UK's membership of the European Union.
This means travellers from outside of Britain will not be able to travel around the country using the passes.
SNP MEP Alyn Smith said the move was "so sad".
On Twitter he wrote: "Leaving the EU is not one event, it's a series of small ways in which the lives of people in the UK will be more difficult, smaller and meaner.
"We need to stop Brexit because I'm concerned by the time enough folk realise it will be too late."
This is so sad. Leaving the EU is not one event, it’s a series of small ways in which the lives of people in the UK will be more difficult, smaller and meaner. We need to stop brexit because I’m concerned by the time enough folk realise it will be too late. https://t.co/Ja7X5spYlR
— Alyn Smith MEP 🏴🇪🇺🏳️🌈 (@AlynSmith) August 7, 2019
Eurostar tickets will still be included, offering travellers connections from Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam into London.
This sparked concern that the move could stop tourists from travelling outside of London when visiting the UK.
This is UK tourism policy in a nutshell. Let all the tourists come to central London, but god forbid someone from abroad might want to see Edinburgh, or Liverpool, or the Yorkshire Moors, or Stratford, or Stonehenge or... https://t.co/LG7CNFnAcp
— Ste JM 🚊🛰🐦 (@stejormur) August 7, 2019
The scheme's participating countries include the Republic of Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey.
All Interrail and Eurail Passes purchased before December 31 2019 are still valid for travelling on the RDG network until the end of their validity period.
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