Certares bets €300 million on trains

Greg O'Hara, at the helm of Certares, took the Skift Global Forum stage with a number in hand: €300 million committed to the rail business. His thesis, as Skift reports, is that whoever controls the trains gets through the tunnel first. Translated to travel, private capital sees rail as access infrastructure, not just transport.

To me that reads as logic if we look at the pressure airlines face on short European routes and the push of high-speed rail. Trains gain share where planes lose operational efficiency, and that leaves room for operators, distributors and booking tech. The opening for hotels and OTAs sits in packaging that access, not in watching from the sidelines.

What doesn't fully convince me is the enthusiasm for the size of the cheque. €300 million makes a headline, but European rail stays fragmented by national operators, tenders and local rules. Money helps, execution decides. If Certares connects operators with digital distribution, it wins. If it just buys assets and waits, the figure becomes an anecdote.