Euro train booking system shelved

Eurostar has just celebrated its 15th anniversary

Railteam, the alliance of European high-speed rail operators, has shelved plans for a Europe-wide common booking system because of increasing costs.

The system would have allowed customers to book tickets for Europe-wide rail journeys in a single transaction.

The platform was due to be unveiled this year, but has been scrapped for the foreseeable future, according to Eurostar.

Railteam's other members include Thalys, SNCF and Deutsche Bahn.

"All seven high-speed operators thought the platform would be a good idea but once we started looking at the system in detail we realised that it would be very complicated and therefore extremely expensive." said Lesley Retallack from Eurostar.

At present, although travellers can book some Europe-wide tickets through the individual websites of Railteam's members, passengers often receive more than one ticket for journeys onward from the carriers' normal routes.

The new system would have created a one-stop-shop for tickets for complete high-speed journeys across Europe.