Global rail booking service raises $40m

SilverRail – a close to impossible OTA raises $40m in funding to advance global rail ticketing to $60bn market

SilverRail, currently the global leader in passenger rail search and distribution technologies, has announced it has raised $40m in Series C funding to accelerate the integration of global rail carriers, continue building next generation search technology, and expand carrier IT solutions. 

This will include multi-modal journey planning and pricing, booking and reservation management, inventory and seating management, and reporting and analytics.

The Series C investment round was led by Mithril Capital Management, the global technology investment firm founded by Ajay Royan and Peter Thiel, (Facebook investor and PayPal co-founder. It is supported by existing investors – Canaan Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures and Brook Ventures.

"There are two critical global networks that have never worked well together: web and rail," said Ajay Royan, co-founder and managing general partner at Mithril Capital Management.  "Currently, a lot of time, energy, and data are being wasted. By upgrading the interactions among users, operators, and travel agents, SilverRail is making train travel much easier than air." Royan will join the company’s board of directors.

"Mithril, which focuses on businesses that use technology to solve intractable problems, often in traditional sectors long overdue for innovation, is a perfect fit for SilverRail" said Aaron Gowell, co-founder and CEO of SilverRail. "This additional funding will allow us to continue to develop market leading solutions for both rail carriers and travel sellers around the world," he added.

Aaron Gowell and Will Phillipson founded SilverRail in 2009 with the vision of connecting every major rail carrier in the world and transforming search and ticketing.

By consolidating content across multiple rail carrier systems, SilverRail has created a global marketplace for sellers and suppliers to connect, a feat historically close to impossible.

Today, the SilverRail platform is connected to markets accounting for $60bn in rail transactions throughout North America and Europe. In the last year alone, SilverRail has added connections in Spain, Italy, and Sweden, and is looking to move into Asia, with the goal of having all major global rail carriers integrated over the coming years.

Valere Tjolle

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