The rail industry must improve its distribution if it is to meet the growing demand for travel by train, delegates at the first Amadeus Rail Forum were told.
Steve Fosh, head of distribution for ATOC which represents 21 UK train operating companies, said distributors needed to increase and improve their retailing capacity through the Internet, electronic payment methods and automation to take advantage of the growth in rail travel.
Mr Fosh said the European market was growing at 3-5% a year while in UK alone, travel management companies (TMCs) handle £400m a year on train bookings for corporates.
Gillian Gibson, Amadeus's vp multinational customer group, said most TMCs currently had to use several different rail booking platforms or websites.
As the process could be complicated, it meant that rail booking was not productive for agents.
Ms Gibson said that TMCS needed a single booking tool "to make efficient and accurate reservations."
More than 60 delegates from rail, air and travel agencies attended the event in Nice.
Albert Pozo, Amadeus' managing director of travel services and leisure, said the event had been a "great success."
"This enables us to better understand our customers and the rail industry in particular, so that we can provide the solutions that enable the success in the growing European rail market," he said.