The latest phase of a partnership between SAP Concur and Trainline Partner Solutions means that from September it will be possible to book European cross-border rail trips through Concur Travel.
France’s national rail carrier SNCF, Spain’s Renfe and the Eurostar have been scheduled for SAP Concur migration by September, with content from no-frills Spanish rail provider, Iryo, and Italy’s Trenitalia due on Concur Travel by the end of the year.
A Deutsche Bahn integration went live in September 2024 and Swiss Rail went live earlier in 2025. SAP Concur said moving forward the aim will be to include all the main rail companies across Europe.
Due to the complexity and large number of rail providers in European regions, organisations have previously needed multiple licenses to book their employees on cross-border trips. Even with the licenses, individual bookings for each rail leg are required, making the experience and journey difficult and overly fragmented.
An upgrade in technology on both sides of the partnership means business travellers, travel managers and travel management companies can now book multiple domestic and international rail journeys for the same trip, greatly simplifying the process.
According to SAP Concur, there were 8 billion rail journeys made in Europe in 2023 with an estimated 25% to 40% linked to business travel. But more than 95% of these journeys were not booked in a recognised business travel channel, so data and duty of care information were not tracked.
Paul Dear, Vice President – Concur Travel EMEA, SAP Concur, said: “At SAP Concur, we work hard to identify solutions for travel managers’ problems. One such headache was the ability – or lack of – to facilitate cross-border rail. Our solution with Trainline directly fixes that, whilst also meaning travel managers can offer more sustainable and affordable route options to their business travellers – providing a smooth and unified user experience across the entire SAP Concur portfolio.”
Andrew Cruttenden, General Manager Trainline Partner Solutions, added: “We’re proud to strengthen our collaboration with SAP Concur and extend our partnership across Europe. While the rail market continues to grow in both complexity and scale but also demand from business travellers, their needs and the needs of travel management companies remain clear: they want seamless access to a comprehensive rail offering—whether for domestic, cross-border, or international journeys – across the UK and Europe.
“They expect the same intuitive features they enjoy from consumer platforms, including full autonomy to manage their bookings. By bringing this experience into Concur Travel, we’re together making rail a more accessible sustainable travel option for business travellers.”
