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

 

206,006 thoughts on “Railway Industry in France”

  12. The content is not only insightful but also presented in a way that makes complex ideas easy to understand. The attention to detail and the depth of knowledge showcased in this post are commendable. It’s evident that the author has a solid grasp of the subject matter and has taken the time to conduct thorough research.

    Betbhai9

  21. Begin the journey by understanding the precision engineering principles that form the bedrock of state-of-the-art brush making machines. Explore the meticulous design and construction that ensures every aspect of the machine brush production machines contributes to achieving unparalleled precision. Enter the world of laser-cutting technology and its role in shaping intricate bristle patterns with unmatched accuracy. Explore how state-of-the-art machines utilize lasers to cut and shape bristles, ensuring consistency and precision in every brush produced.

  22. Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me. roket288

  23. There are lots of remarkable benefits associated with opting for professional Chennai escort services. The highly trained call girls will serve as your good friends. You can easily lower your mental burden by sharing almost all your heartfelt thoughts.

  28. Discover the epitome of luxurious farm living at 922 Emblica Estate, where sprawling farm lands are complemented by top-notch amenities. With prices starting at ₹60 lakhs onwards, this exclusive estate promises a life of tranquility and sophistication.
    Visit – https://922emblicaestate.net/

  29. Really insightful write-up! There exists a whole lot of data right here that will help any small business begin with A prosperous social networking campaign.
    IPRO889

  32. Explore our range of Corteiz Jacket crafted for comfort and fashion forward individuals This jacket combines modern design with premium quality materials

  34. 더킹플러스 카지노는 2023년에 가장 뛰어난 카지노 경험을 제공하는 최고의 선택 중 하나입니다. 새롭게 선보이는 에볼루션카지노 게임과 프라그마틱 플레이로 플레이어들에게 완벽한 카지노 에스컬레이션을 제공합니다. 더킹플러스

  38. Cenforce 200 tablets this drug improves Erectile Dysfunction in men. It is collectively one of the many regular ED medicine produced up until now. The method is described as advice, especially for the patient undergoing Erectile Dysfunction difficulties and believes it’s hard to keep up a hard erection despite burning through many erectile dysfunctions.

  44. Looking for a top-tier Commercial RO Plant Manufacturer ? Trity Environ Solutions is your trusted partner. Our advanced technology and unwavering commitment to quality set us apart in the industry. Whether you’re in hospitality, healthcare, or industry, we deliver tailored RO plants to meet your specific needs. Choose Trity Environ Solutions for the future of clean water in commercial settings.

  45. I’m very pleased to discover this site. I want to to thank you for ones time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely savored every part of it and i also have you saved as a favorite to see new information on your blog

    카지노사이트

  47. We are grateful that you shared this informative piece on the world of online betting. We are dedicated to provide Sky 99 Exchange, our customers with a safe and trustworthy online platform so they can enjoy the thrill of online cricket betting as a reputable supplier of.

Leave a Reply

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