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Sabre working on a universal rail booking product

09/05/2007| 10:01:00 AM| 中文

Sabre Travel Network is developing what is being described as the world’s first universal rail booking product, the Sabre Rail Platform. (9/3/2007)

Sabre Travel Network is developing what is being described as the world’s first universal rail booking product, the Sabre Rail Platform. (9/3/2007)

The new offering will enable the diverse range of rail companies around Europe to easily connect to all points of sale, regardless of their technology protocol, connectivity requirements and ways of doing business.

“Rail operators around the world have individual technology platforms, connectivity requirements and booking protocols that each require a dedicated separate connection and specific agency training. This ultimately makes it difficult for travel agencies to promote and sell rail alongside air and car which all have one ‘universal booking platform’,” said Martin Cowley, Senior Vice President, Sabre Travel Network.

“Sabre Rail Platform will resolve all these issues by providing what is essentially a single global marketplace for all rail suppliers, travel agencies, and travellers to come together to buy and sell rail products using a single universal currency or language. It’s like a universal plug adaptor for rail operators worldwide,” stated the company.

“Rail suppliers will be able to plug quickly and easily into the Sabre Rail Platform regardless of their technology protocol, and in turn provide a consistent interface to all of Sabre’s points of sale. At the same time, travel agencies will be able to search, book and manage all rail bookings in the same way they currently make air, hotel and car bookings through the GDS,” said Cowley. “This new capability reflects our desire to deliver a service that meets the requirements of the entire industry by simplifying, speeding up and expanding the range of rail products available through the Sabre global distribution system (GDS), Travelocity’s online travel agency brands and the GetThere self-booking tool for corporate travel.”

UK travel agents have been able to book UK National Rail services through the GDS since October 2006 using Harry Weeks Travel’s Evolvi rail booking product. Sabre is now beta testing the integration of this product into the Sabre Rail Platform, which will be available to all UK travel agencies by the end of the year.

Sabre plans to integrate Deutsche Bahn and SNCF next year, followed by rail operators in Belgium, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and North America.

The Sabre GDS will be the first Sabre business to plug into the system. GetThere, Travelocity’s online travel agency brands and other Sabre lines of business will follow.

Sabre Rail Platform is being developed at its European product development centre in Krakow, Poland.
TAGS: GDS | Sabre | Sabre Travel Network | Sabre Rail Platform | Travelocity | GetThere | Evolvi | UK National Rail | SNCF
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