SAP Concur Expands Cross-Border Rail Travel in Europe

SAP Concur is expanding its European rail offering by integrating content from French rail operator SNCF (incl. TGV, regional trains, Eurostar and Lyria) and Austrian rail operator ÖBB into Concur Travel. Building on its existing rail content, these integrations will simplify how business travellers book domestic and cross-border rail journeys in Concur Travel.

Europe’s rail network brings together a wide range of operators, each with its own booking content, requirements and distribution systems. This fragmented rail content has made it difficult for companies to offer rail options through online booking tools, leaving business travellers having to book separately, often using channels outside the managed travel programme.

SAP Concur has been working with Trainline Partner Solutions to address this challenge. Trainline aggregates rail content from different providers through a single integration, giving business travellers and travel managers access to a broader range of rail options in Concur Travel. This supports SAP Concur’s development towards a European rail booking platform.

SNCF integration adds self-service capabilities to Concur Travel 

With SNCF now available in Concur Travel, business travellers can book, manage and cancel their journeys in one place, on the Concur Travel mobile app. By Q1 2027, they will also be able to change travel times and exchange tickets. Concur Travel is currently the only online booking tool to offer these full self-service capabilities for SNCF bookings, giving business travellers more control over their journeys and reducing the need for offline servicing while keeping them within their company’s managed travel programme.

ÖBB content is now also available in Concur Travel, further expanding the booking options for business travellers. They can search for, book and pay their journey in one place, on Concur Travel, without having to switch to an external rail provider.

Journey stitching connects cross-border rail journeys in one booking 

Cross-border rail travel has traditionally required business travellers to book each leg separately with individual rail operators. Through its expanded partnership with Trainline, SAP Concur has integrated Journey Stitching into Concur Travel, enabling users to combine rail segments from different operators in a single itinerary and booking. For inbound journeys, particularly for business travellers arriving in Europe from outside the region, Concur Travel now makes it possible to pre-book onward rail travel before departure, rather than having to organise it after arrival. This reduces friction for inbound journeys and helps companies keep more of the trip within their managed travel programme.

A journey from Zurich to Marseille, for example, could combine an SBB segment with an SNCF segment. With the rail content now connected in Concur Travel, business travellers could also book a journey from Vienna to Madrid combining services from ÖBB, SBB, SNCF and Renfe across four countries. In each case, the separate rail legs can be booked together in Concur Travel while remaining operated by their respective carriers.

The same principle applies to domestic journeys involving different rail operators. For example, a return trip between two Spanish cities could combine a Renfe service in one direction with an Iryo service in the other, allowing business travellers to choose the operator and service that best meets their needs.

“Corporate customers have been asking for a rail booking experience that works across borders and reflects the way people travel in Europe,” said Paul Dear, VP Concur Travel EMEA at SAP Concur. “Together with Trainline, we have built a rail platform that supports domestic travel, inbound journeys and cross-border journey stitching. Adding SNCF and ÖBB expands our European rail network and allows companies to offer more rail routes in a single booking, supporting lower-emissions business travel.”

Expanding Rail Options for More Seamless Business Travel

Each additional rail operator integrated into Concur Travel expands the range of European rail journeys that business travellers can search for, book and manage in one place, all through one corporate travel experience. For companies, this makes rail a more accessible and manageable part of their business travel programme. It also improves visibility into employee journeys, supports duty of care and provides emissions data at the point of booking to help track progress towards sustainability targets. 

By expanding Journey Stitching, SAP Concur enables companies to offer more cross-border rail journeys and make rail a more practical choice for lower-emissions business travel.