Amadeus has acquired a controlling interest in Onerail, which provides a suite of technology solutions to the rail industry. Onerail is based in Sydney and Toronto.

Published: 11 Jun 2008

Amadeus has acquired a controlling interest in Onerail, which provides a suite of technology solutions to the rail industry. Onerail is based in Sydney and Toronto.

The company termed the acquisition as a "major milestone in Amadeus' strategy to expand its range of technology solutions for its customers in the travel industry."

The acquisition adds a fully-integrated inventory, pricing, reservation and distribution system, enabling domestic and international distribution, alongside other forms of transport – such as air or car – to Amadeus' suite of solutions for rail companies.

Amadeus highlighted that increasingly, rail companies with long-distance and high-speed routes are building links with airlines, such as code share and interline agreements. This enables trains to play a greater role in an integrated transport network by bringing passengers from secondary towns to major "hub" airports. The high-speed rail network today carries about 400 million passengers and is expected to quadruple in size by 2020.

The solutions include a fully integrated reservation system which allows rail companies to sell tickets through travel agencies, direct on the internet and from kiosks in trains.

"We believe that the next generation technology developed by Onerail combined with the world-class data processing and distribution reach of Amadeus is an extremely compelling proposition for the industry," says Philippe Chérèque, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Amadeus, "This allows us to offer massive value to rail companies and, by developing deeper relationships with these vital travel providers, improve our offer to travel agencies and management companies too."