Guest Post: Rail needs an urgent platform update to get us on track for sustainable travel

Martin Eade from travel bookings tech provider Vibe believes that the British rail industry could learn a lot from the airline sector when it comes to improving the customer experience and boosting sales

Travelling by rail should be smooth and simple, but for British business travellers, booking a train ticket often feels like the opposite because it lacks many of the quality-of-life features that are standard in other modes of travel, such as air travel. This disconnect means that rail is overlooked in favour of short-haul flights or even driving. At a time when the world needs to reduce CO₂ emissions, it's disheartening that people are spending more money and more time on trips where a rail option exists.

So, what makes integrating rail options into booking flows for TMCs, corporate tools, or leisure sellers so challenging? In the UK alone, the rail system is notoriously complex, with numerous providers, routes, and fare options. The landscape is crying out for a unified, fit-for-purpose platform that understands and caters to modern traveller needs, particularly the needs of businesses. This means features like split ticketing to save costs, user-friendly ticket-exchange options to allow flexibility, seamless refunds to reduce hassle, and comprehensive post-booking functionalities that streamline the entire travel process.

To bring rail up to quality-of-life parity with air travel, any successful corporate booking platform must integrate the full range of rail inventory and fares, ensuring comprehensive coverage. Advanced features like Split Save ticketing maximise cost savings by intelligently combining multiple tickets for the same journey, resulting in lower overall fares — something that is crucial for cost-conscious business travellers. These kind of features make rail a much more attractive choice.

Imagine a scenario where train options are displayed alongside flight results — in the same way that Google Maps shows multiple modes of transport — complete with pricing advantages from split ticketing and the CO₂ difference of the different travel options. If these options were visible and competitively convenient, more travellers would opt for the train.

And with the technological capabilities we have today, surely we can make this a reality. In fact, solutions that simplify and streamline rail bookings already exist, and Vibe is partnering with others to bring British rail into the spotlight. Post-sale, robust user exchange capabilities are also crucial, making it easy for users to manage changes and adjustments to their bookings with minimal hassle. The ability to seamlessly adjust bookings and exchange tickets without penalties is essential for encouraging business travellers to choose rail, offering the kind of flexibility to which they are accustomed with air travel.

But despite the technology, the adoption rate has been slower than it should be. Why? One major barrier is that train providers must embrace greater flexibility, including better automation of refunds, improved customer service, and more dynamic pricing similar to what we see in the airline industry. For instance, automated refund processes would make it far easier for travellers to change plans without the frustration of manual intervention, encouraging more people to consider rail as a viable option.

The real opportunity lies in rail providers evolving to offer the same kind of convenience that business travellers expect from flights. Features like split ticketing that allows users to reduce costs, ticket-exchange options that support last-minute plan changes, and real-time refund automation can all help to modernise the experience. Ticket-exchange options, for example, could make it easier for travellers to adjust their schedules without penalties, a flexibility that is already commonplace in air travel. Furthermore, supporting both online and offline transactions provides the flexibility that businesses require, ensuring a seamless, efficient, and user-friendly experience regardless of how bookings are managed.

Until booking technology providers address these gaps and implement the solutions, train bookings will continue to be less appealing, particularly for busy professionals who value flexibility and convenience.

The answer might lie in government-level intervention or a collective industry push. If we make it a standard that rail is always an option shown for short-haul domestic routes, and ensure all tickets come with simplified conditions and transparent pricing, we could make a significant dent in CO₂ emissions. All tracks should lead to rail—now it's time to lay the tracks for that journey.