Eurail Group Rail Pass Sales Up More Than 25% in 2005

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UTRECHT, Netherlands, January 6/PRNewswire/ --

- North America and Asia-Pacific Drive Growth

Eurail Group reported a worldwide increase of 25.1% from January through October 2005 with revenues up 17.3%. During that period, Eurail Pass purchases totaled 343,961, and revenue totaled US$141,406,284.

North American purchases totaled 199,885, up 22.8% from the same period in 2004, while Asia was up 20.8% with 91,792 purchases and Oceania was up a whopping 56.4% at 33,784 purchases. Despite high fuel prices, unfavorable exchange rates and a weaker US economy, North Americans could not be deterred from going to Europe in 2005. Indeed, since 2003, US arrivals in Europe have been steadily drawing closer to the record of 13.2 million in 2000. More and more Americans are learning that Eurail Passes are a great hedge against exchange rates, since they are purchased in dollars in the US before departure for Europe.

With new promotions and products in 2006, Eurail Group is looking forward to another strong sales year. The current Early Bird promotion offers a free day of travel on six-, eight- and 10-day Eurail Selectpasses purchased through March 31 2006.

New products introduced this year include single-country rail passes, offered for the first time ever. Travelers will be able to become intimately acquainted with one of 9 countries included in the Eurail National Pass program: Finland, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain or Sweden. With flexible validities from three to 10 travel days for one month or two, travelers can easily find the right match.

The Eurail Group offers currently 16 different Eurail regional passes - seven new country combinations have been added to the range. To know: Austria-Czech Republic, Austria-Switzerland, Benelux-France, France-Germany, France-Switzerland, Germany-Austria and Germany-Switzerland.

Finally, 2006 prices will average roughly three percent more than in 2005, barely keeping pace with inflation. Compared with rising airline fares and a ten percent hike in European gasoline prices, Eurail remains the most affordable and the best way to see Europe.

The Eurail Group comprises 27 railways and shipping lines, as well as several bonus partners, and the 2006 Eurail offer includes Eurail Passes for travel by train and connecting ship in 24 European countries. For more information about Eurail and rail travel in Europe, visit http://www.Eurail.com.

All Eurail products are available from travel agents and from our authorized North American sales agents: ACP Rail International, 1-866-9-EURAIL, http://www.eurail-acprail.com/; Destination Europe Resources (DER), 1-800-782-2424, http://www.der.com/; Rail Europe, 1-866-6-EURAIL, http://www.raileurope.com/; Flight Centre, 1-866-WORLD-51, http://www.flightcentre.com/and OctopusTravel.com 1-877-330-7765, http://www.octopustravel-us.com/.

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