Abacus International has entered into a partnership with railway alliance Acces Rail to launch Abacus Rail, a tool for making rail bookings. From 3 September 2007, Abacus connected travel agents will be able to book rail passes from major railway companies such as the East Japan Railways, BritRail and German Rail, among other as well as purchase point-topoint rail tickets and airport express services in certain countries.

Mr Craig Fong, Vice-President, Non-Air Content Associates at Abacus International welcomed the new partnership with AccesRail saying that it meant travel agents can now book rail with real-time access to rail schedules, fares and reservations offering the convenience of a simplified booking process for both travel agents and their customers.

“Abacus’ move to offer more extensive rail content via our partnership with AccesRail is a natural complement to our other non-air content such as 77,000 hotel properties and 23 car rental companies available via the Abacus Global Distribution System (GDS),” Mr Fong said.

“As the reg ion’s largest GDS provider, the partnership is a natural progression for Abacus and reflects our commitment to collaborate with the best and most established players in the travel industry to help travel agents make the most of Asia-Pacific’s travel growth.”

Mr Oddbjorn Taraldsvik, Senior Director, AccesRail, said, “Abacus has shown they have the experience and knowledge of Asia-Pacific’s diverse markets to assist us in extending our reach as well as creating increased demand. Although our member companies have an established presence in their home markets, Asia is relatively unchartered terrain for us and we are delighted to partner with such an experienced player to grow our footprint in one of the most dynamic markets in the world.”

Since 2003, the sales for the Japan Rail East pass have virtually doubled. According to the company, the Abacus and AccesRail partnership will give greater access to this growing product by allowing travel agencies to book and issue direct.

“With Abacus Rail, travel agents will have all the necessary information on hand to offer seamless air and rail itineraries for their customers. This is part of Abacus’ ongoing efforts to value-add in our service, strengthen our competitive edge and expand market share,” Mr Fong said.

Abacus Rail will be launched in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Cambodia and India. In addition, Japan’s travel agents will also offer the Japan Rail East pass for international travellers visiting the country.