The European Union has made a further 12,000 Interrail travel passes available for 18-year-olds to explore Europe next year.
To apply you have to be 18 years old on December 31, 2018. You must also be a National of one of the 28 EU member states.
It follows a similar offer last summer, when a pilot scheme resulted in some 15,000 tickets being made available throughout Europe.
The lucky winners were able to undertake their European trips between June and September of this year.
Online applications for the Interrail passes are open now at youdiscover.eu from November 29, until Tuesday, December 11.
Applications can be made as individuals or groups of up to five people, and travel should take place within the EU between April 15 and October 31 of next year.
For this round of applications, the Commission is actively encouraging people who have special needs or face social challenges to apply – it will also cover the costs of special assistance (for example an accompanying person or guide dog for visually impaired participants).
“There is more to our proposal than free train tickets,” said Manfred Weber of the European People’s Party. “We see this as an investment in young people and in Europe’s future.”
The selection will be undertaken by a jury of European Commission officials, with the winners notified in January 2019.
