A symbol of the development of the railway market due to the public's enthusiasm for train travel in Europe, two major distribution platforms have announced their merger. Omio, formerly GOEuro and a specialist in multimodal travel (train, bus, plane, etc.), has signed an agreement to acquire Rail Europe, a railway distribution site with 25,000 agencies and partners in 70 countries worldwide.
Since 2022, Rail Europe has been owned by the Hivest Capital fund, accompanied by BPI France, following the divestment by SNCF Voyageurs and SBB, the Swiss Federal Railways. Founded in 1932, Rail Europe was a pioneer in its field and today sells 5 million train tickets per year. It remains a major international distributor for SNCF and its subsidiaries (Eurostar, TGV Lyria, etc.). With over 200 employees, Rail Europe is headquartered in Paris and has subsidiaries in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and India.
Omio is expanding its international distribution
Once this acquisition is complete, the Omio group will become a significant player in rail distribution, with 22 million train tickets sold annually. It will then collaborate with « more than 28,000 transport operators and travel sellers, and would offer the most comprehensive ground transport in the world », announced Omio in the press release presenting the operation.
Building on its seniority and reputation, Rail Europe will continue its operations under its brand while benefiting from of the Omio Group's range of technologies, platform capabilities and multimodal inventory The latter will, in return, inherit the importance of the international network of travel agencies that regularly collaborate and have often done so for years with Rail Europe.
