The cost of many rail journeys across Europe has fallen in 2019 because of changes in the rules and validity of Interrail passes. Consider the case of a Dutch business traveller making a longish journey across Europe. A first-class return ticket for the 10-hour ride from Amsterdam to the Swiss city of Lugano can be booked for under €100. But availability at that lead-in price is scarce, so tickets would need to be bought some months in advance.

Our hypothetical traveller may only book less than a week in advance, by which time the return first-class fare will typically be about €320. If she or he needs real flexibility and cannot commit to specific trains, the return fare from Amsterdam to Lugano soars to over €700 return. But the new three-day Interrail pass allows unlimited travel across 30 countries on any three days in a one-month period and costs just €291 (first class) for an adult — with handsome reductions for travellers under 28 or over 59.