Acquisition of Rail-Booking Site Loco2 Shows Sector's Potential
Skift Take
Europe may be criss-crossed by thousands of miles of rail track, but it has taken a long time to link each of the different countries. Train travelers who want to go between countries have not benefited from the single market approach that liberalized the aviation industry, and it has been left to startups like Loco2 to connect the different players.
Voyages-sncf.com, a subsidiary of France’s state-owned railway company, has bought London-based booking platform Loco2 as the shake-up in the sector continues.
The price of the deal has not been disclosed and Loco2 will continue to operate as an independent company.
The deal follows Expedia’s purchase of a majority stake in distributor SilverRail in May and illustrates the growing potential of rail travel as well as the increasingly competitive landscape.
For years the sector has lagged behind the airline industry, hampered by the fact there was no central database and European operators seemed uninterested in coordinating services.
Loco2 was just one player that wante
