by

Railway Industry in France

TGV 1

1. Industry Overview:

In France, one of the most popular transport modes is train.  SNCF is France’s national railway, providing high speed, overnight and local services in France and beyond into Spain, Switzerland and Italy.

>> http://www.tgv-europe.com/en

Types of Train in France:

01-TGV

02-Lunea

03-Teoz

04-TER

06-Intercites

Railway industry is quite similar to airline industry, as it sells seats for a transport from an origin to a destination. The price depends on journey, class, and date of booking. Thus, railway industry can be placed in Quadrant 2, where its service has variable prices for a predictable duration. This industry also has the appropriate characteristics to apply revenue management strategies. Those characteristics are:

– Inflexible capacity: the number of seats on a train is fixed

– Variable and uncertain demand: the demand is different depending on the time of day, day of week, origin-destination pairs, and purpose of travel

– Perishable inventory: the unoccupied seat cannot be inventoried, and the revenue of that seat is missed

– Low marginal cost and high production cost

– Product can be sold in advance

– Heterogeneous customers with different segments, varying by age, purpose of travel, independent or group, etc.

However, there are some differences that make the revenue management of railway industry is little bit different than that of airline industry.

– More difficult to forecast demand and to have the accurate number of travelers on a service: no check-in procedure, open tickets (rail pass) generally allow passengers to travel on any rail service, walk up tickets are very common (a large number of passengers purchase their tickets on the day from the station)

– Less difficult to deal with overbooking: passengers are often allowed to stand during train journeys hence increasing capacity beyond the number of seats

———

 2. Space

Railway industry defines space implicitly.

Normally, a train has two classes: Economy (2nd Class) and Comfort (1st Class). The seating options and services are different for each class. The price is same for different seating options in a class.

 Economy Class:
01-Class2
 Comfort Class:

01-Class 1

Trains, especially TGV has “TGV bar”, which provides a wide selection of meals and sweet snacks available for purchase. Additionally, the TGV bar offers films on DVD, magazines, games for children, Paris Metro tickets, even USB sticks for purchase. There is also a rolling snack cart that comes to the customers’ seats.

01-TGV Bar

For additional revenue, TGV offers Premium service includes 1st Class seat, meal service, and access to the TGV lounge at the train stations.

Personally, I would charge difference fares for different seating options in each class. A group will want to pay more to have a Club 4 seat. A couple will want the Duo seat or Club 2 seat. And an individual traveler will want a solo seat. As the number of seat are fixed, we can charge for each option, rather than a “first comes first served” policy.

I’m also thinking about a mini-cinema on train, especially overnight train. Normally, the overnight train have load factor less than 80%, so the train can use one car to transform into a mini-cinema with a projector and a screen. When the train is busy, the car will be transformed in normal guest car again.

——

3. Time

Railway industry defines time implicitly.

Although the duration of a journey is determined, the railway industry sells a journey rather than specifically selling time. In addition, there may be issues that cause the increase/decrease in duration of the journey.

However, the railway industry also tries to sell time explicitly with the Rail pass. With Rail pass, customers can have unlimited travel on the national rail network of France for a fixed number of days. The choices are 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9-day pass within a one-month period. Travel days may be used consecutively or non-consecutively.  Thus, the fare becomes rate-per-day, not anymore rate-per-trip.

>> http://www.raileurope.com/rail-tickets-passes/france-pass/index.html

The industry can sell time explicitly by providing Rail pass with weekly or monthly unit. However, I think it will not be effective as it makes the demand forecasting much more complicated.  Half-day unit won’t make sense as a trip is normally more than 3 hours.

——–

4. Price

Tickets can be purchased 60 to 120 days in advance depending on the route.

Ticket discounts are based on advance purchase, availability, and certain restrictions. Everyone is eligible to receive discounted fares by purchasing an Economy or Comfort class ticket in advance. Youth and seniors can enjoy specific discounts as well. Discounted tickets are available for youth (under 26 of age), seniors (age 60 and over) and children (generally ages 4-11) but should be verified with each product.

Price at 1 week before departure
01-Price-1st class-10AM-1wk

Price at 2 weeks before departure

01-Price-1st class-10AM-2wk

Price at 3 weeks before departure

01-Price-1st class-10AM-3wk

Price at 4 weeks before departure

01-Price-1st class-10AM-4wk

Normally, prices are reduced for 1or 2 week-advanced purchase, slightly reduced for 3-week-advanced purchased, and stay same for more-than-4-week-advanced purchase.

The physical rate fences are the classes:
01-Booking-Class

 

The non-physical rate fences are age, season ticket, and loyalty

01-Booking-Rate Fences-1

01-Booking-Rate Fences-2

01-Booking-Rate Fences-3

01-Booking-Rate Fences-4

As the rate fences are now already too sophisticated, I would rather consolidate these fences than create new fences to confuse customers.

 

(-Thao Ly)

——–

References:

http://www.raileurope.com

http://www.tgv-europe.com

http://www.sncf.co.uk/

Amstrong and Messneir, 2010. Railway revenue management: Overview and Methods

Schroeder, Braun, and Schnieder. Revenue management in the railway industry

 

163,991 thoughts on “Railway Industry in France”

  8. After reading this article, I think it’s a good article that has a lot of meaning, and it’s a great word that really makes your head and chest realize a lot of things토토사이트

  9. 두통은 비아그라 복용의 가장 흔한 부작용 중 하나입니다. 임상 연구에서 비아그라를 복용한 남성의 최대 16%가 두통을 경험했다고 보고했습니다. 두통은 보통 경미하거나 중등도이며 머리가 둔하거나 욱신거리는 통증으로 설명될 수 있습니다.

  13. จีคลับ888 คาสิโนออนไลน์เจ้าเก่าเปิดมากว่า 20 ปี บาคาร่า เกมสล็อต ออนไลน์ใหม่ปี 2023 ที่ดีที่สุดคนเล่นเยอะ ต้องค่ายเกม gclub คืนยอดเสีย 10% ทุกจันทร์

  16. เว็บสล็อตออนไลน์เจ้าใหญ่ สล็อตเว็บตรงมาพร้อมกับโปรโมชั่นมากมายที่รังสรรค์แก่เหล่าผู้ที่ชื่นชอบเกมสล็อตออนไลน์ slotbet789 pg slotเว็บตรง

  20. This is a great article thanks for sharing this informative information. I will visit your blog regularly for some latest post. I will visit your blog regularly for Some latest post. mpg to l/100km

  21. blogs.cornell.edu/advancedrevenuemanagement12/2012/03/26/railway-industry-in-france/comment-page-482/

  23. Mpocash Slot online Indonesia adalah permainan yang menarik dan menyenangkan. Permainan ini sangat populer di dunia, dan telah mendapatkan popularitas yang luar biasa di negara-negara seperti Singapura, Malaysia, dan Indonesia.

  25. สล็อตออนไลน์ คาสิโนออนไลน์ คาสิโนสด เปิดประสบการณ์ทดลองเล่น มากกว่า 500 รายการ บนเว็บ fomobet88 ทางเลือกเดินเกมเร็ว เดิมพันได้มากกว่าใคร เริ่มเลย คาสิโนออนไลน์

  28. In addition to the top-tier professional leagues, many countries also have lower divisions, such as the English Football League (EFL) in England, which includes the Championship, League One, and League Two. These lower divisions provide a pathway for smaller clubs and young players to progress and potentially reach the top level.
    https://betufa777th.info/

  31. Thank you for sharing this blog. What exactly does Tammi Menendez do to earn an income? Tammi was a successful businessperson and published a book that could be an income source for her.

  32. You were quite interesting.. But sadly I didnrrrt agree with them much :/ Although I may disagree I still you as how confident happen to be on your writing lol
    안전놀이터

  35. Casinos have also become popular venues for sporting events. They have hosted various sports competitions such slot deposit ovo 10rb
    as boxing matches, basketball games, and tennis tournaments. Sporting events are an excellent way for casinos to attract visitors who are passionate about sports and are looking for a unique experience.

  36. The Birth of Casino Entertainment
    The transformation of casinos from gambling centers to entertainment hubs began in Las Vegas in the 1950s. During this Slot ovo
    period, casinos started hosting shows and entertainment events featuring popular entertainers. These events were a massive hit, and they became an integral part of the Las Vegas experience.

  39. I admire this article for the well-researched content and excellent wording. I got so involved in this material that I couldn’t stop reading. I am impressed with your work and skill. Thank you so much. halobet

  40. I simply couldn’t go away your website before suggesting that I actually enjoyed the standard information an individual provide on your visitors? Is gonna be back frequently in order to inspect new posts. https://www.w88sod.com

  49. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to make a great article and post, but what can I say I put things off a whole lot and never seem to get anything done. Please visit our site : IDN Poker Online

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *