Rail Europe and Pharos in Distribution Partnership

READING, England, January 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Rail Europe Limited, a subsidiary of SNCF in the UK and Pharos Datacom, the reservations technology and services provider, have announced their collaboration to boost distribution of rail products.

UK trade organisations offering continental rail will now be able to take advantage of the wide product range by means of XML integration, adding to the existing Rail Europe B2B channels of Internet, Call Centre and GDS.

The Web Services interface, provided as the Rail Europe reservations access by Pharos, will enable users to book all Eurostar, Eurostar Connections, European point-to-point tickets and rail pass products through the single consolidated link.

The new technology means online travel agents, classical tour operators and dynamic packagers, specialists, memberships/clubs, distribution networks, comparison sites, portals and other travel organisations have a powerful rail service opportunity to develop markets to France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.

Pharos, as distribution partner working closely with Rail Europe, provides technical expertise, support and the reservation service for the new technology, as the local centre of excellence on Rail Europe's behalf.

About Rail Europe Limited

Rail Europe is the UK's leading specialist in tickets and passes for rail travel around Europe. With around a hundred years as the UK arm of the French National Railways (SNCF), they are the leading organisation for travel from the UK to the continent by rail and for European-wide rail adventure.

Thanks to their close links with SNCF and numerous other train operators, they have a unique understanding of European rail routes and services.  As well as booking high speed TGV trains throughout France, their advanced booking system also allows travellers to book rail tickets and passes to numerous  other European countries.

About Pharos Datacom

Pharos is the specialist reservations technology provider and trade booking system service in rail and ferries. They have extensive expertise in rail reservations and ticketing systems engineering developed over fifteen years in Eurostar and UK rail services.  

Their Xchange B2B-only reservations and distribution hub serves over 120 product suppliers and trade partners, supporting online travel agents, tour operators, intermediaries and networks.  

Pharos collaborates with ten travel solution providers who have integrated their services into their own solutions.  

Clients include Eurostar, Thomas Cook, Multicom, Holidaybreak Group, Raileasy and Brittany Ferries.