SMEs are becoming the principal catalysts for business travel expansion in the UK, with Trainline's recent research indicating that 90% of UK SMEs anticipate an increase in business travel for their employees in 2024. However, maintaining stringent control over travel costs presents a challenge, as 38% of SMEs report difficulties in managing their travel budgets.

To address the specific needs of the SME sector, Trainline Business has introduced an enhanced technology platform tailored for SMEs, aiming to facilitate savings and improve the management of rail travel expenses.

The platform encompasses rail travel within the UK and Europe, simplifying the travel planning process for employees, enabling easy retrieval of expense receipts, and providing access to digital tickets via the app while travelling. Additionally, the platform offers customisable tools, including consolidated spend reports for the entire business and tailored travel and budget guidelines, assisting businesses in better spend management and oversight.

Sophie Ireland, Global Head of Trainline Business, said: “Our research shows that too many SMEs are still struggling to access the best value rail travel and miss out on savings as a result. With business travel levels expected to grow this year, it is important SMEs can benefit from the best prices and have easy access to lower-carbon modes of travel like rail. With most SMEs needing to manage their travel in-house, we have redesigned Trainline Business to simplify their rail travel planning, providing greater autonomy for users while still ensuring that businesses have oversight on their travel spend.”