2024 Rail Recap: Where Interrailers travelled this year
Rachel Schnalzer
23 December 2024
This year, you went places.
Here at Interrail, we love seeing where our travellers go using our rail Pass. In 2024, our travellers have tagged us in photos they’ve posted from their journeys on famous train routes, such as the Bernina Express, Caledonian Sleeper and Dogu Express. Others have shared with us their favourite scenic routes and their pick for the most beautiful train station in Europe.
Some travellers even took to our Community to answer their fellow Interrailers’ questions and offer tips for how to make the most of a rail experience.
As 2024 comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to look back at everything our travellers accomplished this year. Welcome to our inaugural Rail Recap – we're happy you’re on this adventure with us.
Austria was the fifth-most-visited country among Interrailers in 2024.
Norway's Flåm Railway offers some of the most beautiful natural views in the country.
By taking the train, you can score a front-row seat to The Netherlands' tulip fields.
Over 1,300,000,000 kilometres travelled
In 2024, you and your fellow travellers covered over 1.3 billion kilometres of track. We’re talking about a truly astronomical distance – in fact, that’s like travelling from Earth to the moon and back…over 1,800 times.
In total, Europe is home to about 200,000 kilometres of train track, reaching from the southern coast of Spain to far above the Arctic Circle. Judging from the numbers, it’s clear Interrail travellers have made every effort to get out there and see each corner of the Pass network.
More than 5 million trains taken
Europe’s trains vary wildly, from modern, high-speed ICE trains whisking travellers across countries, to slower, regional trains that travellers use to visit the continent’s most off-the-beaten-path destinations. Once again, you managed to experience it all.
In total, Interrail travellers hopped on more than 5 million trains over the course of 2024, averaging about 11 trains per full Interrail trip.
145 million minutes travelled
Many say that time is our most precious resource. Interrail travellers chose to spend over 145 million minutes on the rails, watching the countryside, mountains, coastlines and villages of Europe roll past their train window.
That’s how long it would take to watch every moment of the 2024 Olympics…more than 5,000 times. It’s also roughly the amount of time it would take to become fluent in 1,000 new languages.
Most-visited countries
You ventured far and wide, from the green fields of Killarney in southwest Ireland to the far reaches of Kars, perched on a high plateau in eastern Turkey. In 2024, these countries received the most visits from Interrail travellers:
- Germany 🇩🇪
- France 🇫🇷
- Italy 🇮🇹
- Switzerland 🇨🇭
- Austria 🇦🇹
- Great Britain 🇬🇧
- Netherlands 🇳🇱
- Belgium 🇧🇪
- Sweden 🇸🇪
- Denmark 🇩🇰
The Black Forest is one of many natural areas Interrailers can easily access in Germany.
Berlin may be Interrailers' most-visited destination, but there are plenty of places to go in the city to escape the crowds.
Milano Centrale is the second-busiest train station in Italy.
Most-visited destinations
There are memories to be made at every train stop in Europe. And while Interrail’s Pass network includes over 30,000 destinations, there are a few places that travellers couldn’t stop visiting, time and again.
Below are the most-visited destinations in Interrail’s Pass network. A tip: if you visit these cities in 2025 or beyond, take time to venture beyond the tourism hotspots and experience the lesser-visited sides of each place. Seek to connect with each destination – for example, try some traditional food at a family-owned resturant and shop for locally-produced souvenirs.
- Berlin 🇩🇪
- Paris 🇫🇷
- Hamburg 🇩🇪
- Vienna 🇦🇹
- Amsterdam 🇳🇱
- Milan 🇮🇹
- London 🇬🇧
- Brussels 🇧🇪
- Munich 🇩🇪
- Prague 🇨🇿
Over 400,000 Interrail travellers
Some of you travelled with friends and family this year, while others embarked on an Interrail trip all on your own. But even if you travelled solo this year, you were never really alone – after all, over 400,000 travellers used an Interrail Pass this year.
We feel grateful you decided to explore Europe by train with us. Now, it’s time to start dreaming about next year’s adventures. Take a look at a few of our itineraries below for inspiration or simply create your own unique trip from scratch. We’ll see you out there in 2025.
Meet the writer
Rachel Schnalzer is a senior writer at Eurail, based in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Favourite train route of 2024:
In January, I travelled on the northernmost route in Interrail's Pass network, from Stockholm all the way to Abisko, Sweden. I loved waking up on the night train to the sight of a pink sunrise reflecting on the snow outside my train window..
Change of currency
You cannot change the currency once you have a Pass in your cart. Remove the Pass, and then change the currency on the website header.