CEO Interview: Trainline Aims to Steal Airline Share Down the Line
Photo Credit: Clare Gilmartin, Chief Executive of Trainline. The company has expanded from the UK into mainland Europe in recent years. Trainline
Skift Take
Rail travel still remains a stubbornly offline mode of transport when it comes to booking a ticket. Companies like Trainline are trying to change this by making it easier to search and buy tickets across Europe.
Rail travel has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years.
New high-speed rail lines are springing up across the world and the rolling stock used on existing routes is also being upgraded. While this is all good news, what is almost as important is the work going on behind the scenes.
Unlike airlines, which have had their ticketing standardized for decades, rail transport remains fragmented and it has been left to individual companies to attempt to declutter the data and pull it all together.
UK-based Trainline, the leading rail-bookig site in the UK, is one of those businesses. Just like with Sabre and Amadeus, Trainline was originally developed by a transport operator before being spun off. In 2015, private equity firm KKR bought the company for an estimated $756.5 million.
Since the acquisition, Trainline has expanded, buying Captain Train in 2016. The deal not only improved its in-house technology, but also gave it greater access to European markets.
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