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

 

213,512 thoughts on “Railway Industry in France”

  8. BK8 là một trong những thương hiệu giải trí có tiếng trong giới với các sản phẩm game online chất lượng. Đến với nhà cái, hội viên sẽ có cơ hội được thưởng thức các sản phẩm và dịch vụ đa dạng.

  15. King88 Golf King88 is a leading reputable online bookmaker in Vietnam, founded in 2006 and headquartered in Costa Rica. This bookmaker is licensed to operate by the Curacao Gaming organization and is highly appreciated for its reputation, transparency and good service quality.

  16. 789club – Nơi bạn có thể thỏa sức đam mê với các trò chơi bài đổi thưởng hấp dẫn và đa dạng nhất. Với hệ thống game bài phong phú, tính năng độc đáo cùng đội ngũ CSKH chuyên nghiệp, nhiệt tình.

  17. 789club hoạt động trong lĩnh vực cá cược đổi thưởng như nhiều sân chơi đình đám khác trên thị trường. Đến nay, địa chỉ này đã nhận về sự ủng hộ của đông đảo khách hàng khắp nơi.

  18. Best Mushroom Spawn Kerala provides top-quality mushroom spawn for cultivators, ensuring high yield and disease resistance. Sourced from reputable suppliers, these spawns are ideal for growing varieties like oyster, button, and milky mushrooms. Enhance your mushroom farming success with the best spawn available in Kerala.

    https://coonfresh.com/

  20. Explore Gazettedupmu2net for its engaging mix of current events, opinion pieces, and insightful analysis across a wide range of topics See more.

  22. Decent Blog post, My group is a good believer on advertisment observations at online sites to help you allow web log people know they’ve applied a product favorable to help you the online world! The Growh Matrix

  28. Nhà cái uy tín HCM ✅ Địa chỉ đánh giá top 10 trang nhà cái chất lượng nhất HCM, cá cược casino, lô đề, thể thao, game bài,… ⚡ Update gifcode miễn phí ⚡ Nhà cái uy tín

  29. I’ve been using Sahar Tech for my website, and their service has been outstanding. The performance and reliability of their hosting in Pakistan are second to none. My website loads quickly, and I’ve experienced virtually no downtime. Their customer support is responsive and knowledgeable, always ready to help with any issues. I highly recommend Sahar Tech for anyone looking for top-notch web hosting in Pakistan.

  31. Jollibee’s menu is a vibrant celebration of Filipino cuisine, combined with popular fast-food favorites. The standout star is Chickenjoy, their crispy, juicy fried chicken that has garnered a loyal following.

    https://www.jollibeemenuph.com/

  33. Nhà cái uy tín HCM ✅ Địa chỉ đánh giá top 10 trang nhà cái chất lượng nhất , cá cược casino, lô đề, thể thao, game bài,… ⚡ Update gifcode miễn phí ⚡ Nhà cái uy tín

  34. Card fraud is an illegal financial activity that uses credit cards to embezzle cash, and many people use it as a means to escape financial difficulties. However, this activity is considered a financial crime and is subject to legal punishment, so it can be considered a serious problem. https://www.bsc.news/post/card-fraud-methods

  40. NLP Impact Life Coach in Dubai offers transformative services that blend Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) with personalized coaching, guiding individuals towards achieving their goals and unlocking their fullest potential. Their approach is both empowering and results-driven, making them a valuable partner in anyone’s journey towards personal and professional growth.”

  41. 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… 총판구직

  42. 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! slotsvibes

  43. “i9bet là một trong những nhà cái trực tuyến phổ biến, chuyên cung cấp các dịch vụ cá cược thể thao, casino trực tuyến, và các trò chơi giải trí khác. i9BET cung cấp nhiều loại hình cá cược từ cá cược thể thao (bóng đá, bóng rổ, quần vợt, v.v.), casino trực tuyến, đến các trò chơi slot và game bài.
    Website: https://i9bet.cymru/
    Email: i9betcymru@gmail.com
    Địa chỉ: Số 187/7 đường Điện Biên Phủ, phường Đa Kao, quận 1, thành phố Hồ Chí Minh.
    #i9bet #i9betcymru #nha_cai_i9bet #casino_i9bet #trang_chu_i9bet #i9bet_casino”

  45. “i9bet là một trong những nhà cái trực tuyến phổ biến.
    Website: https://i9bet.cymru/
    Email: i9betcymru@gmail.com
    Địa chỉ: Số 187/7 đường Điện Biên Phủ, phường Đa Kao, quận 1, thành phố Hồ Chí Minh.
    #i9bet #i9betcymru #nha_cai_i9bet #casino_i9bet #trang_chu_i9bet #i9bet_casino”

  47. Discover the power of Jepturfnet’s predictive modeling, enabling businesses to foresee trends and adapt swiftly, ensuring agility and sustained competitiveness in a rapidly evolving market See more.

  48. A debt of gratitude is in order for posting this information. I simply need to tell you that I simply look at your site and I discover it exceptionally fascinating and educational. I can hardly wait to peruse bunches of your posts. slotsvibes

  50. 안녕하세요 처음으로 귀하의 웹 사이트를 방문했습니다. 나는 당신의 게시물에서 좋은 정보를 얻었습니다. 나는 당신의 웹 사이트에서 일의 질을 얻었습니다. 이제 나는 당신의 영구 사용자입니다. 바카라사이트

Leave a Reply

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