Happen to be a (relatively) young German or French citizen? Well, if you do, this one’s for you. The governments of France and Germany are giving out a whopping 60,000 free train tickets this summer – and they’ll be exclusively available to those under the age of 27.
The scheme was announced by transport ministers Clément Beaune and Volker Wissing, who’re giving out the tickets in order to promote travel and cultural exchange between the two nations. It’s also all about trying to get more young people to take the train – as well as to mark the 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty, which was a treaty of friendship between France and Germany.
Apart from having to be French or German and under the age of 27, the only other catch to the tickets is that they’ll only be available for use on rail journeys between France and Germany. The tickets will, however, cover more than just one-way routes. It’s believed they’ll be more like Interrail passes, with travellers able to use their tickets to get around within the countries, too.
It’ll all be financially supported by the French and German national rail providers, SNCF and Deutsche Bahn, with half of the 60,000 given out to Germans and half to French travellers.
Further details about how you can get hold of tickets are yet to be announced. Watch this space – we’ll keep this article updated as more details are released.
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