Creating Direct Rail Bookings

RailCreateReservationReq

RailCreateReservationRsp

Direct Booking, in which known booking data can be entered directly without a previous Rail Availability transaction. Direct Booking does not include a price and can be used to create an open booking, if supported by the supplier.

To book a Rail segment based on previous Rail Availability data, a standard Rail Booking is used.

How To

The Direct Booking request uses RailCreateReservationReq, but does not include a price.

There is no explicit indicator to differentiate a standard Rail Booking and a Direct Rail Booking request. If RailPricingInfo is omitted from RailCreateReservationReq, the request is processed as a Direct Booking. However, if the minimum required data is not included in the Direct Booking request, an error is returned.

To create a Direct Rail Booking request:

  1. Include the following minimum information in /RailCreateReservationReq:

    • The number of passengers, indicated by the number of instances of /BookingTraveler.

    • /RailJourney ProviderCode="RCS"

    • /RailJourney @SupplierCode (also known as rail distributor).

    • /RailJourney @DepartureTime
      The date values are required; the time values are optional if the booking is open.

    • /RailJourney @Origin

    • /RailJourney @Destination

    • /RailJourney/RailSegment/TrainNumber
      The Service ID. This value is optional, and is not used for open journeys, if permitted by the supplier.

    • /RailJourney/RailSegment/RailAvailInfo @CabinClass
      First, Business, and Economy fare classes are supported by SNCF.

    • FormOfPayment @FulfillmentType
      A fulfillment type is required, even if a form of payment is not included in the request. If not fulfillment type is included, the fulfillment type is processed by RCS as "Ticket on Departure" and a warning is returned.
    • /FormOfPayment/Payment @ApproximateAmount
  2. Be sure to exclude the following elements:

    • RailPricingInfo

    • OfferID

Request

Response

 

 

Errors and Warnings

If RailPricingInfo is omitted from RailCreateReservationReq, the request is process as a Direct Rail Booking rather than a standard Rail Booking. However, if all of the mandatory data is not included in the Rail Booking request, an error is returned: The mandatory information of Distributor, Date(s), Origin and Destination, Fare Class and Passengers must be included in this request.

If a FulfillmentType value is omitted from the request, RCS processes the fulfillment type as "Ticket on Departure" and returns the following warning: Ticket on Departure was assumed as the fulfillment for this booking.