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

 

177,280 thoughts on “Railway Industry in France

  1. agreement Former Brexit Secretary David Davis said the prime minister had “pulled off a formidable negotiating success” and “secured the best possible deal Former Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said there had been “huge progress”, adding: “It all now depends on whether the communities in NI feel it’s the right solution However, other Tory MPs were more cautious, with prominent Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash saying “the devil as ever lies in the detail DUP MP Ian Paisley said the deal had “fallen short” in a number of key areas, including the continued role of the European Court of Justice as the final arbiter in disputes over EU rules บาคาร่า ออนไลน์

  2. Mr Sunak said Parliament would get a vote on the agreement at the “appropriate time” but that MPs needed a chance to consider the detail Labour has said it will support a deal but the government will be reluctant to rely on opposition votes Leader Sir Keir Starmer said the deal was not “perfect” but “now that it has been agreed we all have an obligation to make it work Mr Sunak also confirmed the government was dropping the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which was introduced under Mr Johnson when he was prime minister and would have given the UK the power to unilaterally scrap parts of the old deal He said the bill was now no longer needed and the original legal justification for it had “fallen away บาคาร่า ออนไลน์

  3. Northern Ireland will travel through a new “green lane”, with a separate “red lane” for goods at risk of moving on to the Eu Products coming into Northern Ireland through the green lane will see checks and paperwork significantly reduced, while red lane goods will still be subject to normal checks A “Stormont brake” allows the Northern Ireland Assembly to raise an objection to “significantly different” EU rules which would apply in Northern Ireland บาคาร่า ออนไลน์

  4. I’m impressed, I must say. Genuinely rarely do you encounter a weblog that’s both educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you may have hit the nail about the head. Your concept is outstanding; ab muscles something that too few people are speaking intelligently about. I’m delighted i found this in my hunt for something about it. Digital Global Times

  5. Forget the pictures of the old casinos. The present may change a lot. Because the casino that we know will come in a modern style and much more comfortable than before. liquid incense c4

  6. Thanks for taking the time to discuss that, I feel strongly about this and so really like getting to know more on this kind of field. Do you mind updating your blog post with additional insight? It should be really useful for all of us. 토토사이트 먹튀검증

  7. Dr. John Den Boer is an expert in sports-related concussion and dementia. He received his internship training at VA Boston Healthcare System (Boston University School of Medicine/Harvard University) and received his postdoctoral training at Barrow Neurological Institute. He has published extensively in the area of Clinical and has been an expert speaker at many local, national, and international conferences.href=”https://mentaledgetennispsych.com/”>mentaledgetennispsych

  8. I loved the way you presented the information in this post. It was easy to understand and follow, and I feel much more confident now in my ability to choose the right floor mat for my needs.

  9. I essentially discovered your site page and expected that would state that I have truly respected the experience of looking on the web diary sections. 토토사이트

  10. Good stuff..

    Legal divorce is the process of ending a legally recognized marriage. Look for reputable law firms or individual lawyers specializing in family law or best divorce lawyers in chennai. then select Legalprime experts If you are considering divorce, you should seek legal counsel from a qualified attorney in your area who specializes in family law or divorce law.

  11. This a decent method to welcome the instructor as they put their endeavors to prepare understudies. UK exposition Writers acknowledges the educators. 토토사이트

  12. After study a few of the content in your site now, we genuinely such as your technique of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark web site list and will also be checking back soon. Pls check out my web-site likewise and make me aware what you believe. Digital Global Times

  13. Looking to withdraw from trust wallet to bank account? Our easy-to-follow guide will walk you through the process step-by-step. Trust Wallet’s user-friendly interface and reliable support make it a trustworthy platform for managing your digital assets. With our guide, you’ll be able to quickly and securely transfer your cryptocurrency holdings into fiat currency. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to take control of your finances and get the most out of your Trust Wallet experience. Follow our guide today and start enjoying the benefits of hassle-free withdrawals!

  14. Positive site, where did u come up with the information on this posting?I have read a few of the articles on your website now, and I really like your style. Thanks a million and please keep up the effective work. snookernewsth.com

  15. We are really grateful for your blog post. You will find a lot of approaches after visiting your post. I was exactly searching for. Thanks for such post and please keep it up. Great work. classicnewstimes

  16. A garden jhula is a swing designed for outdoor use in gardens or parks. It typically consists of a wooden or metal frame with chains or ropes attached to the seat, allowing it to swing back and forth.

  17. This is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here keep up the good work เชลซีคืนนี้

  18. definately enjoy every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff of your blog a must read blog!

  19. Pretty nice post, I just stumbled your blog and wanted to say that I’ve truly enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again very soon! Jenna Ortega’s movies

  20. I really appreciate this wonderful post that you have provided for us. I assure this would be beneficial for most of the people. mp3 juice

Leave a Reply

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