Omio Rail Europe acquisition adds agency network for Asia expansion

Omio agreed to buy Rail Europe and secured a separate $10 million investment as the Berlin travel platform pushes further into Asia. The Omio Rail Europe acquisition gives the company access to a large agency network that it wants to use for Asian rail content, CEO Naren Shaam told Fortune.

Rail Europe, a rail ticketing company with roots stretching back nearly a century, works with 22,000 travel agencies that distribute European train inventory, Shaam said. Many of those agencies are in Asia, and Omio plans to add regional rail options for customers who travel within markets such as Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Thailand, he told Fortune.

Omio and Rail Europe have not disclosed the purchase price. The deal was announced July 16, according to Rail Europe.

Why did Omio buy Rail Europe?

Shaam told Fortune the acquisition gives Omio distribution through agencies that already sell European rail tickets, including agencies in Asian markets. Omio’s plan is to use those sales channels for Asian train inventory as tourism demand in the region grows.

Omio moved into Southeast Asia last year and Japan earlier this year, Fortune reported. The expansion followed a pandemic-era pullback that slowed the company’s earlier international plans.

Shaam said travel demand is spreading beyond the best-known tourist routes, which could help a platform focused on ground transport. He pointed to Japan, where tourism is often concentrated around Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, and said Omio wants to direct travelers to more regions rather than focus only on established corridors.

Who is funding Omio’s Asia expansion?

The new $10 million investment comes from Granite-Integral, a venture firm focused on Asia, Omio said. Granite-Integral is a joint venture between Singapore-based Granite Asia and Japan-listed private equity firm Integral Corporation.

Granite-Integral launched in 2025 with $100 million in committed capital to support technology companies entering Japan, according to Granite Asia. CK Choun, the firm’s co-head, said in Omio’s July 23 announcement that Japan and Southeast Asia are among the key long-term opportunities in travel because of rising demand for connected trips across the region.

Shaam told Fortune that Granite-Integral’s value to Omio is not only the money. He said the firm can help the company build relationships in markets where contracts and local operations take time.

Japan can be especially slow for an outside platform, Shaam said. He told Fortune that getting a Japanese contract can take three years and that companies need capital to secure inventory, build systems and reach scale before the business model matures.

What is Omio?

Omio is a travel booking platform founded by Shaam in 2013 as GoEuro after he had difficulty booking rail travel in Europe, Fortune reported. The company sells ground and other travel tickets across 47 markets.

Omio has raised more than $600 million to date, serves about one billion users a year and sells more than 130,000 tickets per day, according to figures cited by Fortune. Its focus on ground transportation puts it in a market that Shaam argues is less developed globally than air travel, hotels and car rental.

The Asian travel market is competitive, with companies including Trip.com, Klook and Agoda offering bookings for hotels, flights and experiences, Fortune reported. Shaam said he still sees room for Omio because many travel companies focus on flights, lodging and rental cars, while global ground transit remains less built out as a platform category.

Visitor arrivals across Asia are forecast to reach 710 million this year, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association. The group’s data also showed arrivals passed pre-pandemic levels last year, adding to the case Omio is making for a larger presence in Japan and Southeast Asia.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.