The New Year brought a brutal end to an ambitious Australian travel dream as Metro 1 Travel and Technology Pty Ltd—the company behind the booking platform ‘Rail Online’—officially collapsed into liquidation on December 31, 2025. What began as a high-tech solution for navigating the complex world of international rail travel has ended in a financial graveyard, leaving more than $2.7 million in unpaid debt and a shell-shocked workforce.
Administrators from Grant Thornton moved into full liquidation after a desperate $12 million capital raise failed to materialize, leaving staff members holding the bag for nearly $1 million in unpaid wages and entitlements. In a move that has sparked outrage, senior employees had previously agreed to defer their salaries to help keep the company afloat, only to be hit with redundancy just as the firm went under. While the platform’s director, James Dunne, blamed “external factors” for the failed funding, the reality on the ground is a trail of broken promises, unpaid rail giants like Eurail, and a warning page where a thriving booking hub used to be.
