BDZ, the Bulgarian national railway company, has announced that construction works at Sofia Central will start from 7 May 2024 and are expected to last for 15 months until August 2025, impacting the flow of traffic through the station. You can expect the following changes in traffic movement at Sofia Central:

• Trains from Ruse (Bucharest), Vidin and some from Varna will terminate at Sofia Sever (North station). For trains leaving/arriving at Sofia Sever, the BDZ have arranged special replacement trains which will do the transfer from Sofia Sever to Sofia Central. These trains will depart/arrive on platform 6, track 13.
• All trains coming from Northern Bulgaria will stop at Sofia Sever(North).
• Trams 1, 3, 7 and 27 will change their routes to accommodate traffic, with trams 27 and 3 continuing to Sofia Sever as their last stop.
• Bus line 413 will also continue to Sofia Sever.

For more details about the construction works and the impact on Bulgarian public transport systems, please read the BDZ announcement (only in Bulgarian). The BDZ timetable is also expected to be updated by the end of April 2024, so please plan your rail journey accordingly.

The French national railways has announced that rail traffic between Modane and St-Michel-Valloire will be disrupted for the time being due to a landslide that was reported in the French Alps on 27th August 2023. This would impact train journeys on the route between Paris – Turin – Milan. Read more about it on the SNCF website.

From 10th January, TGV trains will operate between Paris to Milan with a replacement bus from St Jean de Maurienne to Oulx after which passengers can continue their journey to Milan by train. The travel schedule including the replacement bus service with a slightly longer travel time will be updated on the Interrail Timetable and can also be found on the SNCF timetable. Your reservations will be valid for the whole route, including the replacement bus service. For more information, see this SNCF document.

We recommend using an alternative route via Zurich. Please note that the route from Paris – Zurich – Milan is currently facing a delay due to the partial closure of the Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland (check post below for more information). Please make sure to check the SBB timetable shortly before departure of your planned journeys for up-to-date information.

The Swiss National Railways has announced that a freight train derailment on 10th August 2023 in the Gotthard Base Tunnel located on the route between Zurich to Milan has caused severe track damage. SBB expects that the tunnel will only be available for passenger train travel from September 2024. 

As a result, most direct international Eurocity trains will now take the scenic route across the mountains instead of the tunnel, resulting in 1 hour longer travel times. For this reason, SBB recommends catching a 1-hour earlier train from Zurich or Basel so as to not miss any further connecting trains:

• Eurocity Zurich/Basel – Milan

For all other international and domestic connections, there are direct trains every 30 minutes from Zurich to Lugano taking the scenic route instead of the tunnel. In Lugano or Chiasso, one can change trains for destinations such as Como and Milan. In addition, many local Trenord trains run from Lugano and Chiasso into Italy without requiring any seat reservations.

If you happened to miss your connecting train because of this disruption, please get a new seat reservation arranged locally at a train station in Lugano, Chiasso or Italy.

Check the SBB timetable for the most up-to-date traffic information. The Interrail timetable is up to date, but does not have real-time traffic information for last minute updates.

It is possible to travel between Bosnia Herzegovina and Croatia with a seasonal train connecting Sarajevo and Ploče. This train runs only in the summer and during weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

Trains to Zagreb and other parts of Croatia are suspended until further notice.

International trains between Bosnia Herzegovina and Serbia are suspended until further notice. It is possible to travel to/from Bosnia Herzegovina to Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia by international bus. The tickets for such bus journeys are not covered by the Pass. 

International connections from Bulgaria to Greece and Serbia are suspended until further notice.

The Sofia - Istanbul connection has resumed circulation on the 25th of April, 2022. 

There are different international buses connecting Bulgaria to neighbouring countries. Please notice these buses are not included in the Pass. 

It is possible to travel between Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina with a seasonal train connecting Ploče and Sarajevo. This train runs only during weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) between July 1st and September 11th.

Trains from Zagreb and other parts of Croatia to Bosnia Herzegovina are suspended until further notice.

Unfortunately, international trains connecting Croatia to Serbia are suspended until further notice. The available international buses serving these routes are not covered by the Pass. 

When travelling between Estonia and Latvia by rail, it is necessary to change trains at the Valga border station. It is advised to check the timetables of both the Estonian and the Latvian Railways.

International train connections from Greece to Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Turkey are suspended until further notice.

You can still use a Global pass or a Greek Islands Pass to travel between Greece and Italy. More information can be found here. 

Another option is to travel by international buses. The tickets for such bus journeys are not covered by the Pass. 

Finally, Pass holders are entitled to a discount when travelling with some of our benefits partners on alternative ferry routes.
 

Because of construction works, direct international trains between Budapest and Belgrade are currently suspended until further notice. The alternative route is via Szeged, Subotica and Novi Sad. Find timetables for trains in Serbia here and trains from Hungary to Subotica in our online timetable.

Tips for using the timetable of Srbijavoz, the national railway company of Serbia:

• Belgrade is spelled as Beograd
• Search for journeys from Novi Sad to Beograd and from Subotica to Novi Sad separately on the timetable

When travelling between Latvia and Estonia by rail, it is necessary to change trains at the Valga border station. It is advised to check the timetables of both the Latvian and Estonian Railways.

• Latvia – Germany: Liepaja - Travemunde (Stena line, up to 30% discount)
• Latvia – Sweden: Riga - Stockholm (Tallink Silja Oy Ferries, 20-50% discount)  

Pass holders are entitled to a discount on Lux Express buses, one of our benefit partners. 

Train traffic between Portugal and Spain is currently limited to the following options: 

• Porto - Vigo (two departures daily)
• Lisboa - Badajoz (which requires a change of trains in Entroncamento)

International connections between Serbia and the above countries are currently suspended until further notice. There are international buses connecting Serbia to these neighbouring countries (unfortunately, not covered or discounted for Pass holders). 

Because of construction works, direct international trains between Budapest and Belgrade are currently suspended until further notice. The alternative route is via Szeged, Subotica and Novi Sad. Find timetables for trains in Serbia here and trains from Hungary to Subotica in our online timetable.

Tips for using the timetable of Srbijavoz, the national railway company of Serbia:

• Belgrade is spelled as Beograd
• Search for journeys from Novi Sad to Beograd and from Subotica to Novi Sad separately on the timetable

Train traffic between Spain and Portugal is currently limited to the following options: 

- Vigo - Porto (two departures daily)

- Badajoz - Lisboa (which requires a change of trains in Entroncamento)

The Istanbul – Sofia night train runs daily in both directions. During summer season, a daily night train also connects Istanbul with Bucharest.

International connections between Turkey and Greece are currently suspended until further notice.

There are international buses connecting Turkey to Greece. Unfortunately, these buses are not covered or discounted for Pass holders.