Applications have opened for 18-year-olds to apply for a free rail travel pass under the European Commission’s DiscoverEU scheme, with the deadline set for 15 October.
Almost 41,000 passes are available in this round for people born between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2008, the Commission informed in a release on Thursday.
Applicants can come from EU countries and from non-EU countries associated with the Erasmus+ programme — the EU’s education and youth exchange scheme — including Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey.
Successful applicants will be able to travel for up to 30 days between March 2027 and May 2028.
They will also receive access to a DiscoverEU European Youth Card, which offers discounts on services including transport, accommodation, food, culture and sport in eligible countries.
New route and extra hostel offer
A new DiscoverEU route will be launched in this round focusing on European Heritage Label sites, the Commission said.
For the first time, the 250 highest-ranked applicants across all programme countries will receive one free night in a youth hostel.
“DiscoverEU gives young people the opportunity to travel across Europe by rail, while gaining new experiences and meeting people from different countries,” Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Glenn Micallef said.
