Amadeus and Rail Europe join forces for international rail sales

Amadeus and Rail Europe 4A increase travel agencies revenue opportunities by offering pan-European rail bookings through the Amadeus Selling Platform

Madrid, Spain, 28 October 2009: Amadeus, a global leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, and Rail Europe 4A, the leading distributor of European Rail worldwide, have partnered to increase the reach of Rail Europe’s European railway products and offer Amadeus travel agencies unparalleled pan-European rail content.

Amadeus will connect Rail Europe’s content through the Amadeus Selling Platform – the company’s travel agency point of sale. Travel agents will be able to book European rail segments productively and as a complement to the travellers’ journey using a merge of the booking information with the customer’s PNR (Passenger Name Record), making this just as easy to integrate as any of the airline, car or hotel products available.

The addition of Rail Europe’s extensive rail content – high speed trains, scenic trains, night trains, rail passes (including Eurail), to quote but a few – enlarges the travel agent’s opportunity for additional revenue. Offering rail segments as part of their customers’ trip improves the quality of the travel agent’s service by providing specialized travel – such as rail passes which are very popular among leisure travellers visiting Europe – or providing convenient point to point travel combinations by adding high speed rail segments for short haul trips within Europe.

“We are witnessing the renaissance of rail in Europe. Travellers coming to Europe are demanding more and more that rail is part of their trip. They see the benefits of rail in terms of comfort and speed, and also because it brings more to travel than just the destination” commented Diane Bouzebiba, Head of Amadeus Rail. “It is essential for Amadeus to provide our travel agencies with the ability to meet demand in the most productive way possible. Our partnership with Rail Europe will strive to improve travel agents access to rail content, therefore generating additional revenue opportunities and extending the level of service.”

“Thanks to our partnership with Amadeus, we have the ability to extend our reach to more travel agencies around the world, who will benefit from being able to book rail segments as a complement to long-haul trips" said Pierre-Stéphane Austi, CEO of Rail Europe. "We have already entered a period of rapid evolution with our distribution system and the Amadeus GDS network is an obvious partner of Rail Europe’s global development program”.

The new product will be piloted with selected travel agencies in India in Q3 and it will be made available in Q4 in a number of countries in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Latin American markets. In a further phase, railways from the Asia Pacific region will also be integrated into the rail platform.

Representing more than 35 European railroads, Rail Europe is the specialist in European Rail and provides and masters all the booking process, from inventory to payment in multiple currencies and forms of payment.

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Notes to the editors

About Rail Europe

Rail Europe is the worldwide leader in distribution of European Railway’s products.

A joint venture between the French National Railways (SNCF) and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), Rail Europe 4A distributes and promotes European Railways products, as well as Amtrak, the US rail operator, in the 4”A”s: Asia, Australia & New Zealand, Africa & The Middle East, and South America.

Rail Europe’s teams are located in Paris –where the head office is based- as well as in Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, Buenos Aires, Sydney and Hong Kong

For more information about Rail Europe and its wide range of products, please contact Rail Europe’s press department: eparfondry@raileurope.fr