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

 

182,545 thoughts on “Railway Industry in France

  1. Those of you who want to play online games that are full of fun and excitement. Because of this online game, there are very large and tempting prizes, namely in the form of cash. If you want to play this online game from us, you can visit our website https://gurumeta.org

  2. I picture this may well be various upon the written content material? nevertheless I still imagine that it could be suitable for nearly any form of subject subject matter, because it would regularly be enjoyable to decide a warm and pleasant face or maybe hear a voice when preliminary landing. kontol

  3. A portable fish finder has other benefits too. They are light-weight and simple to use. Plus they let you use a fish finder in eventualities where you will not be able to employ a fixed one. situs slot online

  4. I really loved reading your blog. It was very well authored and easy to undertand. Unlike additional blogs I have read which are really not tht good. I also found your posts very interesting. In fact after reading. I had to go show it to my friend and he ejoyed it as well! 英文寫作班

  5. This article gives the light in which we can watch the truth. This is exceptionally decent one and gives indepth data. A debt of gratitude is in order for this decent article.  英文寫作班

  6. thank you for taking the time to talk about this, I feel strongly about it and love mastering greater on this topic. If possible, as you benefit knowledge, might you mind updating your blog with more information? it’s far extraordinarily useful for me. best counsellor in vancouver

  7. Hmm it appears like your website ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any points for novice blog writers? I’d certainly appreciate it. restore old picture ai

  8. Thanks for sharing this quality information with us. I really enjoyed reading. Will surely going to share this URL with my friends. balap 4d

  9. We are truly thankful for your blog entry. You will discover a great deal of methodologies in the wake of going to your post. I was precisely scanning for. A debt of gratitude is in order for such post and please keep it up.  英文寫作班

  10. Positive site, where did u come up with the information on this posting? I’m pleased I discovered it though, ill be checking back soon to find out what additional posts you include. Prodentim

  11. I have read your article, it is very informative and helpful for me.I admire the valuable information you offer in your articles. Thanks for posting it.. teratai888

  12. Yes i am totally agreed with this article and i just want say that this article is very nice and very informative article.I will make sure to be reading your blog more. You made a good point but I can’t help but wonder, what about the other side? !!!!!!Thanks Fitspresso

  13. I’m going to read this. I’ll be sure to come back. thanks for sharing. and also This article gives the light in which we can observe the reality. this is very nice one and gives indepth information. thanks for this nice article… Sugar Defender

  14. Thank you because you have been willing to share information with us. we will always appreciate all you have done here because I know you are very concerned with our. Tonic Greens

  15. you are in reality a excellent webmaster. The website loading pace is incredible. It seems that you’re doing any distinctive trick. Also, The contents are masterpiece. you have performed a wonderful task on this subject! teslatoto

  16. “Your positive energy leaps off the screen with every blog post you write. Thank you for being a source of Night Vision Glasses encouragement, motivation, and joy. The world needs more people like you!”

  17. While our platform is loved by millions of users, the most thrilling aspect is that users get to enjoy the ultimate chatting experience on the platform. For those looking for an iMeetzu Alternative, you’re welcome to give our site a try. We are sure you won’t be disappointed. imeetzu website

  18. Greetings, fellow travelers of intellect! I’m Insight Explorer, exploring the uncharted territories of knowledge on Feeds NY. Join me as we embark on an expedition of discovery, uncovering hidden gems of wisdom along the way.

  19. This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your excellent post. Also, I have shared your website in my social networks! teslatoto

  20. Rafigaming terus menghadirkan permainan slot Gacor Online Terbaru dengan inovasi terbaik dan kualitas yang tidak diragukan. Dengan kerjasama bersama penyedia perangkat lunak terkemuka, setiap permainan slot yang disediakan dijamin adil dan menghibur. Link Gacor Online ini menjadi pintu masuk bagi para pemain untuk menikmati pengalaman bermain yang tak tertandingi.

  21. Bagatelle Restaurant offers a divine experience with its exquisite French cuisine and unmatched hospitality. From delectable dishes to impeccable service, every visit is a delightful celebration of culinary artistry and warmth. A must-visit destination for food enthusiasts seeking a memorable dining experience.

  22. It is commonly used by manufacturers (those producing mobile products) as well as by Apple for audio, video and still images. It offers higher flexibility and is compatible with both audio and video files. The Format provided by these files i.e MPEG-4 is commonly used online for streaming the videos.MP4 to MP3

Leave a Reply

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