After successful testing in June, an e-version of the Eurail pass is now available online for travellers to Italy.

The new Italy mobile pass is currently available at the Eurail webshop, with a mobile version of the multi-country global passes, and additional one country passes, to follow later this year.

This marks the first time in the company’s 61-year history that Eurail travellers can conveniently access an all-in-one mobile pass through the rail planner app.

Trenitalia, Italy’s primary train operator, is the inaugural carrier in the Eurail scheme whose rail services will be available via the new digital solution.

As part of the e-pass pilot launch with Trenitalia railways, Eurail Pass holders will be able to manage their travels from their personal devices as they ride the rails across Italy.

Eurail has also initiated training and field testing for Trenitalia ticket inspectors to ensure a smooth transition to the new pass format.

Carlo Boselli, general manager at Eurail said: “I could not be prouder of this milestone.

“Trenitalia was among the first European carriers to introduce e-ticketing for their national services years ago.

“They were also the first carrier to make seat reservations digitally available for our customers in the rail planner app.

“I look forward to extending this project with other carriers later this year.”

The launch of the mobile pass for Italy is the first step in a comprehensive digitisation project across the brand’s 35 participating carriers throughout Europe, with the ultimate goal being an entirely digital global pass.

Several years in the making, the tech initiative will ultimately create a centralised distribution system for Eurail passes, negating the need for paper tickets.