It may seem astonishing to some but the consortium of rail companies planning a pan-network booking system across Europe - now unceremoniously axed - had actually failed to approach any external companies about the project.
RailTeam launched the project at the organisation's inception in 2007 with the promise that travellers using high-speed trains around Europe would eventually be able to buy a point-to-point ticket through a single transaction.
It has since emerged that the companies involved had spent the past two years talking amongst themselves about how best to implement such a system but hadn't approached any travel technology firms for advice or to take matters forward.
The reasons RailTeam abandoned the project were simple and two-fold: "too complicated" and "too expensive".
A Eurostar official says:
"We were working with the IT departments at the various companies included in RailTeam. It just didn't get to the stage where we would start tendering."
Disappointing news for those in the marketplace that would have been eager to talk to RailTeam about the project at any point in the intervening two years, and help take it forward.
Amadeus - which has rail booking "solutions" for agents and other rail-related parties - for one.
A spokesperson in Madrid says it will not comment directly on the latest twist in the project's history but says "of course, we would be interested in helping RailTeam meet their goals as building rail reservation systems is what we do".
The other "big players", such as Sabre and Travelport, also have rail products in their portfolio.
There are countless too many other companies to mention elsewhere in the travel technology world who might have been keen to talk to RailTeam.