FIP stands for Groupement pour les facilités de circulation internationales du personnel des chemins de fer. It is the association for international travel concessions for railway staff. With FIP, international travel concessions can be used in other European countries.
To use FIP travel discounts, you must be entitled to use FIP. This is usually granted after one year of employment, although different rules may apply depending on your employer.
Important Information
Below we explain the general FIP basics. However, specific information may vary depending on the country or railway company. Before traveling, you should always familiarize yourself with the rules of the specific railway operator in the country you are visiting. The FIP Guide can help:
FIP discounts often apply only to rail travel and not to buses, subways, or trams. However, there may be exceptions, which are described on the relevant operator pages. In the case of rail replacement buses, FIP discounts apply if the rail replacement service replaces a train where FIP would have been valid.
When using FIP discounts, it matters which railway company operates the train. There are cross-border cooperative trains that are operated by different railway companies in two countries (e.g., many EC connections). The country pages in the FIP Guide explain how to find out who operates a train in each country. In general, the operators’ websites are also helpful. The Deutsche Bahn website shows many European connections and their operators.
Important Information
For tariff purposes, what usually matters is not which country a train is traveling through, but which railway company operates the train on which segment. However, operator changes often occur at national borders. The relevant country pages describe the border points where operator changes occur.
There are exceptions here too: for example, some Nightjet trains are operated by ÖBB for their entire route, but you will need FIP Coupon for all countries you pass through.
FIP Card
To use FIP discounts, you need a valid International Discount Card for Railway Staff, commonly known as the FIP Card. The FIP Card is required as proof of eligibility for FIP 50 Tickets. It is issued either for 1st or 2nd class. With a 1st class card, you can obtain FIP Coupons and FIP 50 Tickets for both 1st and 2nd class; with a 2nd class card, only for 2nd class. The card can be ordered through your respective railway company. The exact ordering process varies by company.
The validity period of the FIP Card depends on your railway company. The FIP Card is valid starting one month before the printed first year of validity (from December 1st of the previous year) and up to one month after the last year of validity (until January 31th of the following year).
You can find out the validity period of your FIP Card on our FIP Application.
Some railway companies also allow employees to obtain FIP Cards for their dependents, allowing them to purchase FIP 50 Tickets.
FIP Card
Discounts
FIP discounts come in various forms; a FIP Card is always required to use them.
FIP Coupons
FIP Coupons (colloquially known as international free travel passes) entitle you to travel on trains operated by the company indicated on the coupon. An FIP Coupon consists of several fields. Each field is valid for two consecutive days. You must enter the first day of validity on the ticket; the ticket is then valid on that day and the following day. The different fields do not have to be used on consecutive days, but the dates must fall within the printed validity period. Some railway companies have different rules for FIP Coupons for their own employees.
You can apply for one FIP Coupon per operator per calendar year. Some railway companies may have different rules for their own employees. This means you can order one FIP Coupon with one to four fields from as many operators as you like each year. The relevant calendar year is determined by the date the validity begins. The application for the international free travel pass is usually made through your railway company’s personnel service or travel center. Some companies also offer online portals.
FIP Coupons are sometimes also available for dependents. Availability depends on bilateral agreements between the issuing railway company and the railway company where you wish to use FIP discounts.
Important Information
Once you return to the rail network of your home country, you may not use the FIP Coupon again within its validity period if the country of the coupon borders directly on your home country’s rail network.
Personal Tip
Officially, the FIP Card does not have to be shown on the train when using FIP Coupons. However, in practice, train staff may still ask for it. To avoid any issues, you should be able to present your FIP Card even when using FIP Coupons.
>Example of using an FIP Coupon</span
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Suppose I’m an employee of a European railway company (e.g., Deutsche Bahn) and want to travel for a total of eight days on various trains within Austria. To do this, I need to order an FIP Coupon for the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) with four fields (4 fields = up to 8 days of free travel with that operator).
The FIP Coupon is valid for three months; I can only travel during this time (example validity: 10.02.2026 - 09.05.2026). I enter the country on 01.03.2026 and, before my first train journey in Austria, I fill in 01.03.2026 in the first field. Now I can use ÖBB trains on 01.03 and 02.03.2026 (exceptions and special rules are found on the respective operator page).
On 03.03.2026 I don’t travel by train, but I do on 04.03. So I fill in 04.03.2026 in the second field, allowing me to travel on 05.03 as well. This continues until I’ve used all four fields. I use the last field, for example, on 10.03.2026 and travel back out of Austria on 11.03.2026.
Personal Tip
To travel by train for longer than eight days in one country or with one operator, you can skip a day without using a coupon and instead purchase an FIP 50 Ticket for that day’s journey. These can be purchased at any time independently of a coupon.
FIP Coupon
FIP 50 Tickets
FIP-eligible employees can purchase discounted tickets. These typically cost 50% of the flexible price. Therefore, these tickets are not train-specific and can be used flexibly on the route, unless the train requires a mandatory reservation. Some railway companies have bilateral agreements and grant each other higher discounts, for example 75%.
FIP 50 Tickets can be purchased at any time in any quantity. FIP 50 essentially functions as a discount card for many connections. A single FIP 50 Ticket can cover multiple operators.
The purchase process differs from FIP Coupons. While the latter are issued by your own railway company, FIP 50 Tickets can be purchased in various ways. For travel within a country, a local ticket counter or travel center is usually a good starting point. Some operators also allow booking online or via ticket machines. On the respective country and operator pages, we try to summarize the information on ticket purchases as comprehensively as possible. Prices for FIP 50 Tickets can vary depending on the sales outlet.
Important Information
FIP discounts do not apply in your home country. Even if a FIP 50 Ticket includes a ticket segment in your home country, the ticket is not valid there. You must use a separate ticket or national discount for this segment. The only exception is FIP Global Fares.
Personal Tip
Since FIP 50 Tickets only discount flexible tickets, they can be more expensive than regular tickets such as inflexible tickets (e.g., savings fares or advance tickets) and other discount offers (e.g., Deutschland Ticket).
>Example of using an FIP 50 Ticket</span
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I am FIP-eligible at Deutsche Bahn and want to travel from Frankfurt am Main to Amsterdam on 01.03.2026. I purchase an FIP 50 Ticket from Frankfurt Hbf to Amsterdam Centraal at the DB travel center (in this case, it would also be possible online via a special DB page). If the ticket is not linked to a reservation, it is flexible and valid on any connection of the same operator and train category (e.g., ICE) on that day. However, this ticket is only valid for the Dutch section, since the ticket is not valid in your home operator’s country. I therefore need another ticket for the German section, for example an employee discount for DB staff.
The situation is different if, for example, I book a ticket from Vienna to Budapest; in this case I get an FIP 50 Ticket valid for the entire route.
FIP Global Fares
For some trains, special fares and rules apply. These cannot be used with either FIP 50 Tickets or FIP Coupons. Instead, a special FIP Global Fare for the specific train service must be purchased. The issued tickets are train-specific. FIP Global Fares are required, for example, for Eurostar, TGV/AVE services between Barcelona and France, or various night trains.
National Discounts (Non-FIP)
FIP discounts never apply on trains operated by your own railway company. Therefore, a different ticket is needed within your home country.
Traveling with FIP tickets is not always the cheapest option. Discounted FIP tickets typically offer a discount on the flexible ticket price. However, train-bound tickets such as savings fares can still be cheaper.
In addition, some railway companies offer their own employees discounted tickets for cross-border travel into other countries or up to the border. Using these tickets can sometimes be cheaper for travel abroad than using FIP. More information about these offers are available in the FIP Application.
Border Points
FIP discounts are generally only valid in the country/network of the respective railway company. The validity of the FIP Coupon officially extends to the so-called border tariff point.
Important Information
You always need a ticket up to the border. FIP Coupons are only valid in the country/network of the respective railway company. The border is not always the last station in the country. Therefore, it may not be sufficient to buy a ticket only to the last station. This is particularly important when leaving your home country, as FIP tickets are not valid there.
In detail, two types of border tariff points are distinguished:
Border station: This is a real physical railway station. From both neighboring countries, you can travel to this stop with one train ticket. Examples include Salzburg Hbf, Basel Badischer Bahnhof, or Konstanz.
Border tariff point: This is a “virtual” station that exists only in theory to determine ticket validity. They are located on open track. Therefore, you need a ticket both before and after this border tariff point. Border tariff points are usually marked with “(Gr)” or “(fr)” for Grenze/frontière (border).
Further information on border tariff points can be found on Wikipedia.
While an FIP Coupon is always issued for exactly one railway company, an FIP 50 Ticket can be issued for multiple railway companies. Which railway companies exactly accept the ticket can be determined from the CIV code (more information on Wikipedia).
Which border stations and border tariff points exist between two countries or railway companies are listed in the FIP Guide on the respective country page.
>Example of dealing with border stations</span
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I am FIP-eligible at Deutsche Bahn and want to travel from Frankfurt am Main to Vienna on 01.03.2026. I have two options: either order an FIP Coupon for ÖBB or book an FIP 50 Ticket from Frankfurt Hbf to Vienna Hbf. Both are only valid for the Austrian section since I cannot use FIP in Germany. The journey typically takes place via Passau Hbf, which is the border station between Germany and Austria.
I therefore need an additional ticket for the journey between Frankfurt Hbf and Passau Hbf, such as a regularly purchased ticket or an employee discount for DB staff within Germany. From Passau Hbf onwards, both the ÖBB coupon and the FIP 50 Ticket are valid.
Example graphic border station
>Example of dealing with border points</span
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I am FIP-eligible at Deutsche Bahn and want to travel from Frankfurt am Main to Copenhagen on 01.03.2026. I have two options: either order an FIP Coupon for DSB or book an FIP 50 Ticket from Frankfurt Hbf to Kobenhavn H. Both are only valid for the Danish section since I cannot use FIP in Germany. The journey typically goes via the border point Padborg (Gr), which is only a virtual border point between Flensburg and Padborg, not an actual railway station.
I therefore need an additional ticket for the journey between Frankfurt Hbf and this border point, such as a regularly purchased ticket to the first Danish station Padborg or an employee discount for DB staff within Germany that is valid up to the border. A ticket, for example, to the last German station (Schleswig) where the train stops, or to Flensburg is not sufficient. From the border point onwards, both the DSB coupon and the FIP 50 Ticket are valid.
Example graphic border point
Taxation
For employees of some countries, additional taxation of FIP benefits is necessary, which can result in additional costs.
