FIP is, in the main, a railway benefit (and one of my favourites at that). Show your coupon or discount card, board a train and enjoy Europe at a frankly ridiculous value. But spend enough time with fipguide.org, which is an excellent new find documenting in great detail FIP operators, their restrictions, and specifically what “GB National Rail” colleagues can access, and you start to notice that the list of operators is more varied than you might expect.
Ferries – cable cars – mountain railways charging £200 for a return that most tourists do without blinking (although I must admit I wouldn’t blame them!) The benefit stretches further than the railway and it’s worth knowing where.
Here are a few of my favourites.
Stena Line, Harwich to Hoek van Holland
The most immediately useful one for Brits is that Stena Line operate a FIP50 discount and coupon offer on the Harwich to Hoek van Holland route. I’ve done it three or four times now, always on the night crossing – though I keep meaning to try the day sailing.
Worth noting separately: Stena Line and Irish Ferries routes to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are governed by our domestic priv travel policies rather than the continental FIP framework, covering GB, NI and the Republic. The terms are reasonable, and you’re essentially just covering port taxes and environmental charges. I usually just sort it at the ferry terminal on the day.
Attica Group ferries, Italy and Greece
One I haven’t done yet but intend to. Attica Group operate several routes in and around the Adriatic and Aegean, such as Ancona to Patras, connections into Greece and between islands – and there’s a FIP arrangement for GB colleagues that requires booking through a special form on the Rail Staff Travel website rather than through the usual channels.
The Eiger Express, Jungfrau Railway, Switzerland
Switzerland is where FIP starts to feel almost implausibly generous, especially given the usual cost of trains, and the Jungfrau Railway is up there. Using the Schweizer Privatbahnen coupon, you can ride the Eiger Express cable car – a three-cabin gondola from Grindelwald Terminal up to Eigergletscher – entirely free. From there, a 50% discount applies on the Jungfraubahn itself up to Jungfraujoch, the so-called Top of Europe at 3,454 metres.
Top tip: Going up from Eigergletscher rather than Kleine Scheidegg cuts the distance you’re paying for, which is worth thinking about given the full return from Kleine Scheidegg is eye-watering even at 50% off. On my visit I bought a return from Eigergletscher to Jungfraujoch and, on the way back down, had a word with the Kundenbegleiter in the carriage who was kind enough to let me ride the full way down to Kleine Scheidegg anyway. Whether that’s policy or “railway family” discretion I couldn’t say, but it was appreciated.
Uetliberg, SZU S10, Zürich
Less dramatic in altitude than my previous one, but the Zürich to Uetliberg Bahn S10 line, which runs out to Uetliberg above the city, is another Schweizer Privatbahnen operator and crucially, not covered by a standard Interrail pass. With the SP coupon, you get free or discounted travel up to what I’ve taken to calling the Top of Zürich: it’s a modest peak, but the views across the city and out to the Alps are lovely if you get the right weather for it.
Gornergrat Bahn, Zermatt
The Gornergrat Bahn (GGB) climbs from Zermatt up to 3,089 metres at Gornergrat, with uninterrupted views of the Matterhorn for most of the journey. It is one of the most beautiful train rides I have ever done.
The FIP50 discount is available but requires a bit of knowing: select half-fare when booking on the GGB website, or ask for it at the ticket office at Zermatt Gornergrat station on the day. This brings a return ticket from its standard price – somewhere around £200 – down to a still-significant but considerably more manageable £100.
If you’re trying to work out how to get to Zermatt, it’s a simple change at Visp from SBB CFF FFS services – of which is free from Zermatt to Visp also using a Schweizer Privatbahnen.
Note that I’ve mentioned a lot of Schweizer Privatbahnen services, but the state operator, SBB CFF FFS, uses a separate coupon – they are the primary mainline operator at Visp.
If you want to explore further, fipguide.org is the best single resource I’ve found: it covers operators country by country and specifies exactly what different railway colleagues can access and how, depending on operator. And as always, any specific questions, feel free to just drop me a line!