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

 

178,241 thoughts on “Railway Industry in France

  1.  If someone week i really ashen-haired not actually pretty, whether you will lite grope a present, thought to follow us to displays bursting with ends of the earth considerably? Inside the impeccant previous, sea ever have dried-up, my hubby and i only may very well be with all of you connected thousands of samsara. slotsvibes

  2. 72 Followers, 73 Following, 11 Posts – Ayan@@ (@ayanbhatti2439) on Instagram: “Only love❣️ #69” M.Ayan

  3. I have read so many articles or reviews regarding the blogger lovers except this piece of writing is genuinely a good paragraph, keep it up SEO Services UK

  4. Adultscare is an Indian online store specializing in sex toy. They offer a wide range of products, including male masturbation toys, sex dolls, and vibrators. Known for discreet shipping and quality products, Adultscare caters to diverse adult needs. visit the website and buy sex toys today.

  5. Melaka adalah salah satu destinasi pelancungan popular di Malaysia yang kaya akan sejarah, budaya, dan makanan. Banyak pelancung yang mengunjungi bandar ini setiap tahun. Sebagai alternatif penginapan, homestay menjadi pilihan popular bagi para pelancung yang ingin merasakan pengalaman menginap yang lebih dekat dan akrab dengan budaya setempat.

  6. I know your aptitude on this. I should say we ought to have an online discourse on this. Composing just remarks will close the talk straight away! What’s more, will confine the advantages from this data.  slotsvibes

  7. Elevate your game with SportsBets Game: Where passion meets precision, and every play is your chance to win big. Experience the rush of victory with our industry-leading odds and live-action thrills – Sportsbets Game, turning fans into champions!

  8. Elevate your game with Sportsbets Game: Where passion meets precision, and every play is your chance to win big. Experience the rush of victory with our industry-leading odds and live-action thrills – SportsBets Game, turning fans into champions!

  9. Asort, based on available information, appears to be a
    co-commerce company registered under Dynamic Beneficial Accord Marketing Pvt. Ltd. in India. Here’s a breakdown of what we know: asort company

  10. I am curious to find out what blog system you’re using? I’m experiencing some small security problems with my latest blog and I’d like to find something more safeguarded. Do you have any recommendations? oranum

  11. Asort is a direct selling and co-commerce company based in India. It operates on a unique business model that combines
    traditional direct selling with a digital marketplace. Asort provides a platform for entrepreneurs to start and grow their
    businesses by offering a wide range of products, including fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and home goods.:read more asort company

  12. I wish more authors of this type of content would take the time you did to research and write so well. I am very impressed with your vision and insight. slotsvibes

  13. I love significantly your own post! I look at all post is great. I discovered your personal content using bing search. Discover my webpage is a great one as you.I work to create several content this post. Once more you can thank you and keep it create! Enjoy slotsvibes

  14. Superbly written article, if only all bloggers offered the same content as you, the internet would be a far better place.. betcoin

  15. AppleForce UAE offers expert repair services for all Apple devices, including MacBooks, iPads, iPhones, and more. Located in Dubai, we provide reliable and professional repairs using original OEM parts to ensure the best performance of your devices. Whether it’s screen repair, battery replacement, logic board repair/replacement, SSD upgrade, data recovery, or software troubleshooting, trust AppleForce UAE for all your Apple repair needs.
    http://www.apple-force.com

  16. Very efficiently written information. It will be beneficial to anybody who utilizes it, including me. Keep up the good work. For sure i will check out more posts. This site seems to get a good amount of visitors. briansclub

  17. A lack of eye contact, or excessive blinking AMB Slot or fidgeting are signs that a person may be lying but these are also signs of anxiety,

  18. Thanks for sharing this information. I really like your blog post very much. You have really shared a informative and interesting blog post with people.. kohlsfeedback.bond

  19. If you’re searching for a Home Theater Service Near Me in Pakistan, Desert Sound is an excellent choice. Their expertise in home theater installations ensures you receive top-notch service tailored to your specific needs. Desert Sound is renowned for its attention to detail, high-quality components, and the latest technology, providing an immersive audio-visual experience.

  20. is the best website for the world of online slots which is currently very popular because it is played by many people. Of course, if you play on our site, you will definitely feel an extraordinary sensation of joy and happiness because you get big profits in every game. For further information, please visit our website
    https://sefuwebsite.com

  21. Temukan pengalaman bermain slot online yang mengasyikkan di Batman138, situs terpercaya dengan deposit hanya Rp10.000. Bergabunglah sekarang untuk. Batman138 Login

Leave a Reply

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