Amadeus now to incorporate Rail Plus

Transaction processor for global travel and tourism, Amadeus, has integrated Rail Plus content into its Amadeus Selling Platform point-of-sales solution.

The Amadeus Rail Plus (Credit: Amadeus)

The add-on to Amadeus Selling Platform will let travel agents book trains in Australia, Europe, North America and Asia, and include that information at the front end of the software's platform and in the customer's itinerary and confirmation.

"We were the logical choice [to partner with Amadeus], but it's not only because we are the largest rail [provider] for Australia and New Zealand, but we also have the largest content [worldwide]. We are the one-stop rail shop," said David Stafford, CEO of Rail Plus.

Sari Vahakoski, managing director of Amadeus IT Pacific, said that Smart Tab technology will bring more visibility, and make it easier to book rail travel for destinations around the world. The new service comes at a time where rail travel is being seen as a safer and more environmentally friendly alternative to air travel. Rail travel is also seen as an attractive alternative due to faster check-in times and fewer bag restrictions, as well as the ability to make calls and use Wi-Fi in-transit.

The partnership with Amadeus came about due to the deregulation of railway networks and the fact that rail companies are now updating their own systems to make it possible to better compete with airlines.

According to Stafford, high-speed trains across Europe, Asia and the US are "changing the way people travel", and so it made sense to make their offerings more visible to travel consultants by partnering with Amadeus.