New rail travel technology provider SilverRail has not only come out of stealth mode today but is also throwing its consumer-facing train booking site open for testing.
Quno is the B2C version of the SilverRail system which has been under development for the past ten months after securing $9 million of Series A funding from Sutter Hill Ventures, Grandbanks Capital, PAR Capital and Brook Ventures.
Headed by ex-Trainline business development director, Jeremy Acklam, Quno reckons it is taking the idea of a single place to purchase European rail tickets to the next level.
Quno is starting with UK services and has aspirations to conquer Europe and elsewhere (including the US) in the coming months.
Until now many of the main rail search sites have redirected users to the train operator's own website, but Quno claims it will be a leading OTA for rail travel after securing agreements with the all suppliers and coordinating ticketing through the UK's Association of Train Operating Companies.
SilverRail founder and CEO Aaron Gowell claims the notoriously difficult UK rail structure was "not much of an issue" once dialogue began with ATOC and other suppliers.
The Quno site itself gives a respectful nod toward the existing user experience found on metasearch websites, allowing users to filter results using slide bars and the use of pop-out boxes containing maps and other important information.
The site is currently in private beta but the curious can request an invite code from the current homepage of the site.
Despite Quno's claims of a revolution in rail ticketing, the launch comes just a few weeks after the launch of a similar rail site known as RedSpottedHanky, created by ATOS Origin, a global technology company unfortunately better known for issues around data protection via its outsourced work from the UK government.