Rome2rio launches UK rail operator bookings in SilverRail deal

Multi-modal transport search engine Rome2rio has launched onsite bookings for all UK rail operators.

Multi-modal transport search engine Rome2rio has launched onsite bookings for all UK rail operators.

Powered by SilverRail, the new capability allows Rome2rio users to search its site for available transport options between any UK locations, and then book selected rail segments directly on the Rome2rio website.

The company is focusing on the UK first to address the needs of its European customers, who account for more than 65% of monthly site traffic.

Rome2rio chief executive Rod Cuthbert said: “The UK is the first of a number of rail markets we’ll launch over the coming months.

“With this announcement, we’re serving notice we intend to offer a complete multi-modal booking capability worldwide, with the distinct advantage over rivals of a powerful search engine capability that allows users to perform the discovery phase of their travel planning on the same site as the booking itself.

“That global, multi-modal search capability attracts consistent, high-volume and rapidly growing traffic to Rome2rio, from users asking questions like ‘How do I get from Split to Ancona?’.

“Answering those queries properly requires a full complement of air, rail, bus, ride-share, ferry and self-drive options, which today’s OTAs simply don’t have.

“We are seeing growing demand for exactly this broad-based functionality. The company will soon roll-out SilverRail powered support for onsite bookings of journeys in markets including Spain, the US, Canada and Sweden, with further onsite booking launches in the flight, rail, bus and ferry sectors on the horizon.

Rome2rio has also partnered with social commentator Bernard Salt to produce the inaugural Global Connectivity Ranking.

The ranking utilises data from the search engine to measure the connectivity of a city via the number of direct flights it offers to international destinations, it includes a top 20 global ranking.

London is listed as the world’s most connected city with direct flights to 351 international destinations.

Paris is second with connectivity to 291 destinations followed by Frankfurt with 278 and Amsterdam with 242.

Cuthbert added: “Rome2rio is in a unique position to produce analysis of this nature.

“Each month we attract millions of users from around the globe, all planning journeys that might include air, rail, road or ferry components.

“Analysing that data, particularly when upcoming reports factor in the impact of high¬-speed rail networks, is going to throw a bright light on economic activity and trends that should be of wide interest to both industry and the research community.”