Rail search and booking technology specialist SilverRail Technologies has taken a majority stake in a similar firm operating in the Swedish rail market for an undisclosed sum.
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SilverRail aquires majority stake in Swedish rail tech firm Linkon
Rail search and booking technology specialist SilverRail Technologies has taken a majority stake in a similar firm operating in the Swedish rail market for an undisclosed sum.
Linkon provides solutions ranging from inventory hosting through to mobile ticketing.
SilverRail is acquiring 75% of the business, while the current owners, SJ, the Swedish national rail company, will keep 25%.
The Linkon team will be retained by SilverRail, with offices in Stockholm and Norrköping, Sweden.
The acquisition means that SilverRail is now a 200-strong engineering company, with offices in London, Boston, Brisbane, Stockholm and Norrköping.
SilverRail said it believes the acquisition will accelerate its ability to innovate how rail is accessed and sold, and improve the industry’s ability to compete effectively with regional air travel.
Company co-founder and chief executive, Aaron Gowell, said: “Linkon is a great fit for us.
“Our global rail search and transaction platform is revolutionary for the industry, but our ability to innovate is often constrained by the limitations of the underlying rail operator systems.
“Linkon brings us direct access to one of the most forward-looking rail markets in the world. As a combined force, we’ll be able to deliver a world class customer-centric e-commerce experience for global rail travel.”
An estimated 85% of all rail tickets in the Swedish market are currently delivered via mobile, the highest rate of mobile ticketing in the global travel market.
Gowell added: “There has never been more growth or investment in global rail, but it is still extremely difficult to search for and book rail travel.
“Until it is as simple and easy to book a rail trip as it is to book a flight, the rail industry will not realise its full potential.
“Combining Linkon’s expertise from the rail operators’ perspective with our own strong track-record working in a global market place makes SilverRail extremely well placed to solve this challenge.”
Christer Jernberg, chief executive of Linkon said: “We are extremely pleased to be combining with SilverRail and are excited about the prospect to further innovate our technology platform and offer rail operators and passengers around the globe the opportunity to benefit from the same positive customer experience Swedish travellers currently enjoy.”
