Rail Europe has promoted Grant Robertson to regional manager for Australia and New Zealand.
Robertson joined Rail Europe in 2023 as a key account manager and has since played a key role in strengthening partnerships and driving rail travel awareness across the region. With extensive global experience spanning aviation, car rental, and now rail, Robertson brings a wealth of industry knowledge and leadership expertise to his new position.
Before joining Rail Europe, Robertson spent 12 years with Air New Zealand, working in both London and Los Angeles, where he led sales teams and managed key distribution channels. In 2012, he transitioned to car rental, joining Hertz, where he managed major accounts, including Ryanair, the company’s largest European airline partner at the time.
After relocating to Sydney in 2016, he continued with Hertz, overseeing destination North America from a global source market perspective.
Now, with a firm foothold in the rail sector, Robertson is eager to continue supporting the travel trade as demand for sustainable travel options grows.
“I see the customer continuing to drive demand for rail as the focus on sustainable travel increases,” Robertson said. “With Europe’s expansive rail networks and the variety of routes and product types available—from high-speed trains to iconic night trains and flagship services like Eurostar—customers can sit back, relax, and enjoy seamless city centre-to-city-centre travel.”
“Rail Europe has been very active in this region for more than 25 years, with loyal and strong travel trade partners, along with a local team that always stays close to agents’ and customers’ needs,” Rail Europe CCO, Florence Pasquier, said.
“Australia and New Zealand are priority markets (within the top five markets for Rail Europe). They love Europe, and they love it by train! With Grant now leading this region, we are confident in continuing our hard work (growth +18 per cent YTD), implementing local marketing activities, educating, attending industry events and making new partnerships. Our objective is to make booking rail easy for our travel distribution partners.”
In his new role, Robertson leads a dedicated team spread across Australia—including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth – supporting agents in selling both point-to-point rail tickets and pass products such as the Swiss Travel Pass and Eurail Global Pass.
“I’m excited to lead our team in helping agents seamlessly sell rail and grow their business,” Robertson added.
Featured image: Grant Robertson (far left) with Richard Leonard, GM of APAC Rail Europe,, Sandra Babey, Director Switzerland Tourism ANZ and Antonio Khattar, account manager Switzerland Tourism,
