Amadeus expands rail booking functionality

Travel technology provider to consolidate rail services worldwide onto its platform

Amadeus wants to unite rail and air bookings under one system

Travel specialist Amadeus has enabled travel agents to book Heathrow Express tickets via its selling platform as part of a wider strategy to bring all rail services onto a single booking system.

The move means that travel agents worldwide can purchase tickets for the shuttle service in one booking. Agents can also create train tickets in PDF format, which are then used to board the train.

Amadeus estimates that the Heathrow Express booking service will be used by more than 90,000 travel agencies in over 215 international locations.

"This is a significant step forward in our strategy of providing the most complete air and rail content of the industry, and streamlining the overall trip experience for the traveller," said Amadeus head of rail Diane Bouzebiba.

"We trust other airport express railways will follow the path started by Heathrow Express."