Rail Online is now the only Aussie online travel agent with a 24/7 connection to live Amtrak inventory in Australian dollars, allowing travel advisors to easily search, book and ticket Amtrak train journeys while avoiding foreign transaction fees.
Rail Online CEO James Dunne said offering live booking capability in AUD makes it more cost-effective, efficient and convenient for advisors to book Amtrak journeys, which include more than 500 destinations in 46 US states and three Canadian provinces.
“Currently Australian travel agents booking Amtrak e-tickets must pay in US dollars, which means bookings attract foreign transaction fees,” Mr Dunne said.
“In addition, agents booking through Rail Online have the freedom and flexibility to self-manage all itinerary changes and refunds, saving significant time.”
He noted the addition of Amtrak is timely because Rail Online was seeing strong enquiry levels for North American train journeys due to current air capacity constraints between Australia and Europe.
Amtrak’s fleet of more than 300 trains includes 20 Acela high-speed trainsets that reach speeds of up to 240 km/h, making it the fastest passenger service in the Western Hemisphere.
Mr Dunne added that Amtrak’s North American services bring Rail Online one step closer to fulfilling its aim of being “the one-stop-shop for all travel agent rail bookings in Australia and New Zealand“.
A recent $2.5 million venture capital investment from Dale Ventures has helped to fast-track Rail Online’s expansion plans in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and now North America.
Travel advisors can register at rail.online
