欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩在2026年连接欧洲日大会上发表讲话，提出建设“欧洲交通联盟”的三大方向：完成跨欧洲交通网络（TEN-T）建设、保持在交通创新领域的领先地位、以及提升交通网络应对气候与地缘风险的韧性。她提到，完成TEN-T网络到2050年可使欧盟GDP增长2.4%（约4670亿欧元），并提议在下一长期预算中为交通领域拨款超过500亿欧元，是当前资金的两倍多。她还提到里斯本至马德里高铁、电动卡车充电走廊、自动驾驶跨境测试以及摩尔多瓦与罗马尼亚的交通连接等具体项目。
China Railway Hohhot Group reported 551,300 passenger trips during the September 25-27 Mid-Autumn holiday, averaging 183,800 daily and setting a historical record, with the peak day on September 25 at 229,200 trips. To handle combined family-visit and tourism flows, the bureau added three pairs of nighttime high-speed trains from Hohhot and Baotou to Beijing, doubled some short-distance EMU trains within the region, and added five pairs of temporary passenger trains including Baotou to Xi'an.
On September 24, the State Council Information Office held a press conference. Wang Qiming, Deputy Director of the National Railway Administration, said that the railway Mid-Autumn and National Day holiday transport started on September 23 and ends on October 8, lasting 16 days. National railways are expected to send 284 million passengers, with the highest single-day volume expected to exceed 24.4 million. Railway departments will implement a peak operation plan, with an average of 13,000 passenger trains per day, arrange night high-speed trains on popular trunk lines such as Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Guangzhou, and Beijing-Harbin, add high-speed sleeper trains, and operate cross-border, i…
The European Commission's Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport announced the 2026 Women in Rail Award winners, presented at the Women in Mobility Luncheon during InnoTrans in Berlin. The awards are a joint initiative of the Commission's Women in Transport Platform, EU-Rail, ERA, CER, UNIFE, EIM and ALE, recognizing individuals and organizations advancing gender equality, supporting the next generation of rail professionals, research and innovation, and operational excellence. DG MOVE Director-General Magda Kopczyńska stressed that rail needs everyone's skills, ideas and experience, and that a more diverse workforce is essential to a more innovative, competitive and future-ready se…
According to China State Railway Group, from January to August this year China Railway carried 3.32 billion passengers, up 3.9% year-on-year and a record high for the period; it operated 2,501 tourist trains, including 1,387 tourist special trains and 1,114 tourist line trains. It also ran 812 themed trains, with multi-ride and period tickets covering 78 lines and tourist multi-ride tickets covering 27 lines. In cross-border services, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed rail carried 23.408 million cross-border passengers, and the China-Laos railway carried 245,000.
A passenger with a level-2 physical disability reported buying a dedicated accessible rail seat only once or twice in about ten trips a year, describing the experience as opening a blind box. Reporters found this is not an isolated case; when accessible seats are unavailable, passengers resort to paying extra, negotiating seat swaps on board or sitting in the aisle. 12306 customer service said each train reserves a few accessible seats, sold preferentially to level-1 and level-2 disabled passengers with linked disability certificates, from presale until 24 hours before departure, with unsold seats released to the public pool within the day before departure. Industry insiders suggest stronge…
China Railway released the train ticket sales calendar for the 2026 Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays. Under the rule that tickets go on sale 15 days in advance, tickets for 25 September (Mid-Autumn Festival) can be purchased on 11 September, and tickets for 1 October (National Day) can be purchased on 17 September.
China State Railway Group announced holiday transport from September 23 to October 8, lasting 16 days, with October 1 as the peak day. The national railway will operate a peak schedule with about 13,000 passenger trains daily, including special tourist trains and fan trains. The railway authority reminds that popular trains may sell out quickly and advises passengers to book early.
Virgin secured pre-approval from UK regulator ORR for Channel Tunnel track access, planning 20 daily services to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam from 2030, breaking Eurostar's monopoly since 1994. This could lower fares and promote air-to-rail shift, but analysts note ~36% of traffic is connecting passengers who must still fly. Virgin's edge includes its Virgin Red loyalty ecosystem and secured access to Temple Mills depot.
The Beijing-Kowloon Railway celebrates 30 years of operation, having carried 1.77 billion passengers. The 2,397-km line connects Beijing West to Shenzhen, opening in 1996. Through five speed-ups, maximum speed rose from 60 to 160 km/h, cutting Beijing-Shenzhen travel from 49 to under 22 hours. In 2025, annual passenger volume reached 95.1 million, over four times the initial figure.
UK high-speed rail operator Avanti West Coast offers private carriage hire for meetings, team-building, and events, with bespoke packages for larger gatherings. Rail travel offers a sustainable alternative, and group bookings can be made up to a year in advance.
WiT's latest report shows that in 2025, 72% of rail bookings in APAC are made online, with state-owned operators retaining most traffic through their own apps. Car rental online penetration is only 47%, but expected to surpass offline by 2027. OTAs like Trip.com and Klook are integrating direct rail APIs and expanding bundling. AI is increasingly used in booking, such as Booking.com's ChatGPT-based car rental helper.
At SAP Concur Fusion, SAP Concur and Amex GBT announced new advancements in Complete, their AI-enabled co-developed solution. Updates include integrated travel support with Joule AI and live counselor hand-off, a new home page for travel managers, expanded content across air, hotel, and ground including NDC and rail, and integration between Concur Expense and Amex GBT Egencia. These features aim to streamline booking, servicing, payments, and expensing, enhancing customer value.
Omio Group has agreed to acquire Rail Europe, a global distributor of European rail tickets, with the deal expected to close in September. Separately, Omio received a $10 million strategic investment from Granite-Integral to expand in Japan and Southeast Asia. The acquisition will strengthen Omio's global rail capabilities and distribution network.
Phocuswright's report identifies ten structural shifts reshaping Asia-Pacific travel, spanning demographics, geopolitics, infrastructure, capital, and technology. These forces interact to redefine demand. India, Indonesia, and Malaysia remain young and growing, while Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan face aging populations. Geopolitical tensions impact arrivals, such as Cambodia's 36% drop and Japan's forecast $7.7 billion loss due to friction with China. Rail and short-term rentals gain share, fintech becomes infrastructure, hotel groups expand abroad, venture capital tightens, and cross-industry partnerships emerge as new distribution channels.
Phocuswright reports Germany's travel gross bookings reached €76.3 billion in 2025, up 5%, making it Europe's largest outbound market. Despite two years of GDP contraction and geopolitical disruption, Germans redirected to Southern Europe. The report projects ~4% annual growth from 2027 if Middle East conflict eases. Germany is increasingly digital: 77% of trips include at least one online booking, and 17% use AI for travel planning.
The European Commission has proposed the 'Passenger Package' comprising three proposals: rail ticketing, multimodal booking, and passenger protection for single tickets. The rail proposals would oblige railway operators with a national market share over 50% (currently only state-run operators) to open their online ticketing services to any requesting operator. Ticketing platforms must display offers neutrally, including sorting by greenhouse gas emissions where feasible. Passengers who miss connections during multi-operator journeys would receive full passenger rights protection, including assistance, rerouting, reimbursement, and compensation. The proposals are now under consideration by t…
This week's travel tech news briefs cover multiple partnerships and product launches: Klook partners with Korail for real-time rail booking in South Korea; Spotnana integrates with Air Canada via NDC, enabling Flight Pass credits; Wizz Air teams with Hopper for disruption assistance; Roomex launches Best Rates Display comparison tool; 12Go launches ChatGPT app; Kayak introduces Ask AI; Fareportal launches Enterprise Solutions; Duffel launches Duffel Cars; WEX partners with Extend for virtual cards in Concur Invoice.
Berlin-based startup Nox Mobility raised €2 million in pre-seed funding to develop a private-cabin overnight rail model in Europe. The round was led by IBB Ventures, with participation from investor Tommaso Lucca and HomeToGo co-founder Patrick Andrae. Funds will grow the team, build a full-scale mock-up, and prepare for first routes launching in 2027. The company notes European night trains declined from ~1,200 per week in 2001 to 450 in 2019. Its model offers private rooms instead of shared compartments, targeting leisure and business travelers; business travelers already account for 30% of night train users in France.
Amtrak, the U.S. National Railroad Passenger Corporation, has officially joined the Concur TripLink ecosystem. The article says the integration lets business travelers book directly on Amtrak.com and the Amtrak mobile app, connect their Amtrak loyalty program, capture negotiated rates, and automatically sync the itinerary and e-receipt with SAP Concur solutions. Amtrak also features a direct connect integration with Concur Travel, letting travelers book a train reservation the same way they book air, hotel, or car reservations. The article says Concur TripLink serves a growing ecosystem of air, hotel, rail, and car suppliers, is used by over 14,000 customers, and supports more than 11 milli…