Trainline is continuing its shopping spree in Europe by acquiring its Spanish competitor Trenes.com for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2014 and based in Barcelona, the Trenes.com is a train and coach ticket distributor boasting more than 350,000 customers by 2024. It mainly sells to railway companies operating in Spain (Renfe, Avlo, Ouigo, Iryo, SNCF), as well as European operators including the SNCF, DB, Trenitalia, Eurostar, Italo... As part of this acquisition, Trainline plans to integrate the Trenes.com teams and equip the Spanish site with its technological solution. Platform One. Launched in 2022, it will make it possible to reserve almost 300 bus and train companies in 45 countriesThe tool covers more than 80% of European railway lines.
Trainline is hoping for a sharp increase in sales thanks to easier booking, a healthy dose of AI, new products and marketing synergies. Nothing is said, however, about the long-term future of the site's name and its possible replacement by Trainline, as in the case of the disappearance of the brand Captain Train in France after its acquisition in 2016.
A Spanish market largely open to competition
In its decade of growth, Trenes.com has benefited from a particularly dynamic market thanks to a strong opening of the high-speed rail market to competition. The national airline Renfe has seen its AVEs compete with Ouigo Spain. from 2021 and one year later by Iryo, a subsidiary of the Italian group Trenitalia. At the cost of heavy losses, SNCF's low-cost brand has since acquired more than 20% of the Spanish market. This commercial competition between operators has led to a significant reduction in ticket pricesRenfe has also created its own its own low-cost offering called Avlo to stay in the race.
" The Spanish rail market is at the forefront of the liberalisation of European rail transport, which is stimulating growth and offering customers greater accessibility and a wider range of services. Trenes.com and Trainline share the same mission: to facilitate access to the best travel options at competitive prices, and to encourage more people to choose sustainable rail transport." said Pedro Garcia, Trainline's Managing Director for Europe. The agreement, which is due to be finalised in the next few weeks, will have to be given the go-ahead by the French National Commission for Markets and Competition.
