Docs

All you need to sell rail ​

The All Aboard API provides tools for selling train tickets and rail passes across Europe. Whether you're building a booking platform, integrating rail travel into your travel app, or creating a custom booking experience, the API supports your needs.

What is All Aboard? ​

All Aboard offers three ways to sell rail travel:

  • The Dashboard: A user-friendly web interface for travel agents to book tickets and manage orders manually. Suited for smaller operations or when you need human oversight.

  • Embeds: Pre-built web components you can drop into any website. No coding required, just copy and paste. Useful for adding rail search and booking to existing sites quickly.

  • The API: A GraphQL API for building custom integrations. Search journeys, get prices, create bookings, and manage orders programmatically. Designed for automated systems and deep integrations.

Quick Start ​

The typical booking flows through the API isn't more than five or so operations.

1. Search for journeys ​

Find available train routes between two locations on a specific date.

graphql
query {
  getJourneys(
    origin: "Sb0ISveC"  # London
    destination: "p6fERure"  # Rome
    date: "2025-02-15"
  ) {
    id
    itinerary {
      # Journey details
    }
  }
}
query {
  getJourneys(
    origin: "Sb0ISveC"  # London
    destination: "p6fERure"  # Rome
    date: "2025-02-15"
  ) {
    id
    itinerary {
      # Journey details
    }
  }
}

2. Get pricing and offers ​

Once you have a journey, request pricing options (offers) for your passengers.

graphql
subscription {
  getJourneyOffer(
    journey: "journey-id"
    passengers: [{ type: ADULT }]
  ) {
    itinerary {
      ... on SegmentCollection {
        offers {
          price { amount currency }
          parts {
            # Offer details
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
subscription {
  getJourneyOffer(
    journey: "journey-id"
    passengers: [{ type: ADULT }]
  ) {
    itinerary {
      ... on SegmentCollection {
        offers {
          price { amount currency }
          parts {
            # Offer details
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Create a booking ​

Select an offer and create a booking (createBooking). This confirms availability and price but doesn't book anything yet.

graphql
mutation {
  createBooking(journeyOffer: "offer-id") {
    id
    passengers {
      id
    }
    requirements {
      # What passenger info is needed
    }
  }
}
mutation {
  createBooking(journeyOffer: "offer-id") {
    id
    passengers {
      id
    }
    requirements {
      # What passenger info is needed
    }
  }
}

4. Add passenger details ​

Provide passenger information required by the train operator.

graphql
mutation {
  updateBooking(
    id: "booking-id"
    passengers: [
      {
        id: "passenger-id"
        firstName: "Jane"
        lastName: "Doe"
        email: "jane@example.com"
        # ... more details
      }
    ]
  ) {
    id
  }
}
mutation {
  updateBooking(
    id: "booking-id"
    passengers: [
      {
        id: "passenger-id"
        firstName: "Jane"
        lastName: "Doe"
        email: "jane@example.com"
        # ... more details
      }
    ]
  ) {
    id
  }
}

5. Create and finalize an order ​

Create an order (createOrder) to confirm the booking, not applicable if using the payment gateway. The tickets are now pre-booked and on hold, awaiting finalization.

graphql
mutation {
  createOrder(booking: "booking-id") {
    id
    status
  }
}
mutation {
  createOrder(booking: "booking-id") {
    id
    status
  }
}

Settle payment with the user before finalizing the order (finalizeOrder).

graphql
mutation {
  finalizeOrder(order: "order-id") {
    id
    status
  }
}
mutation {
  finalizeOrder(order: "order-id") {
    id
    status
  }
}

6. Retrieve tickets ​

Once finalized, tickets are automatically issued. Fetch them with the node query. Download as PDFs or get collection references.

graphql
query {
  node(id: "order-id") {
    ... on Order {
      items {
        resources {
          ... on PdfTicket {
            url
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
query {
  node(id: "order-id") {
    ... on Order {
      items {
        resources {
          ... on PdfTicket {
            url
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

That's it! You've completed a booking from search to confirmed tickets. For detailed guides on each step, see the sections below.

Typical User Flow ​

Understanding the booking lifecycle helps you build better integrations. The process works like this:

Journey Search: Find available routes between locations. A journey represents a complete trip, which may include multiple train segments and stopovers.

Offers: Pricing options for a journey. Different offers provide different fare types (flexible vs fixed), service classes, and comfort levels.

Booking: A temporary reservation that holds your selected offers. Bookings expire if not converted to orders within a set time.

Order: The confirmed purchase. Creating an order pre-books the tickets. Finalizing the order completes the purchase and triggers ticket issuance.

Tickets: Digital tickets issued by train operators. Most are PDFs, but some require check-in links or collect at station.

Choose Your Integration Path ​

Building a custom booking flow? ​

Start with the API documentation. You'll have full control over the user experience and can integrate rail booking into any application.

Need something quick? ​

Check out Embeds. Pre-built components that handle the complex parts of rail booking for you. Just add them to your website.

Booking manually? ​

Use the Dashboard for point-and-click booking. Suited for travel agents or when you need human oversight.

Next Steps ​

Suggested learning path:

  1. Getting Started with the API: Set up your API key, learn about endpoints, authentication, and technical details
  2. Finding Journeys: Learn how to search for train routes
  3. Getting Offers: Understand pricing and fare options
  4. Booking Tickets: Complete the booking process
  5. Payments: Learn about payment options (wallet, gateway, invoice)
  6. Rail Passes: Explore rail pass products

Reference Material ​

Need Help? ​