A new agreement between Amadeus and Italy’s national railroad, Trenitalia, will allow U.S. and other travel agents who use the Amadeus Selling Platform to book Italy’s high-speed and other rail services.

By early autumn agents worldwide, including in North America, will be able to use two tools: Rail Agent Track, a rail-based search solution designed exclusively for rail services, and FlyByRail Track, which allows agents to compare Trenitalia services with flights on the same route.

High-speed routes
In the initial deployment, Frecce Alta Velocità (the Frecciarossa and Frecciargento services), and Frecciabianca trains will be available in the GDS, followed soon by medium and long-distance Trenitalia routes.

•    The Frecciarossa high-speed trains offer Rome-Milan, Milan-Naples, Rome-Turin and Bologna-Florence services.

•    The Frecciargento high-speed trains serve passengers traveling between Rome and Venice, Verona/Bolzano, Bari/Lecce and Lamezia Terme/ReggioCalabria.

Trenitalia’s sleek Freccia (arrow) trains bear more resemblance to Italian sports cars than to trains in the Americas.

Traditional trains
The Frecciabianca trains are traditional trains with an upgraded level of comfort. They connect Milan with Venice, Udine with Trieste, Genova with Rome, and Bari with Lecce.

Trenitalia also operates traditional regional trains with multiple stops. They do not require reservations.

Preferred mode of travel
Rail travel is much more prevalent in Europe, where most major and secondary cities are linked by rail. Rail generally dominates markets in which point-to-point service is two hours or less.

As high-speed and express services proliferate, rail is expected to become the mode of transport most used for business and leisure travel within Europe by 2020, according to a recent Amadeus study titled “The Changing Face of Rail Travel.”