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

 

212,853 thoughts on “Railway Industry in France”

  1. Hello! I simply wish to supply a massive thumbs up for your wonderful information you might have here on this post. I am returning to your blog post for more soon. truth code

  5. This particular is usually apparently essential and moreover outstanding truth along with for sure fair-minded and moreover admittedly useful My business is looking to find in advance designed for this specific useful stuffs… server slot terbaik

  10. TirePoint provides a comprehensive selection of premium car and tire accessories, including tire inflators, pressure gauges, custom car mats, and more to enhance your vehicle’s performance and safety. In addition to accessories, TirePoint offers a wide range of high-quality tires, including all-season, performance, and specialty options. Discover everything you need to keep your vehicle in top shape at TirePoint. Tires in Canada

  13. I have learned newer and more effective things by means of your blog. One other thing I’d like to say is that newer personal computer operating systems are inclined to allow extra memory to get used, but they likewise demand more memory simply to function. If a person’s computer can’t handle extra memory and also the newest computer software requires that memory increase, it could be the time to buy a new Laptop. Thanks situs slot resmi olbcuan

  27. Hi there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found that it’s truly informative. I am going to watch out for brussels. I’ll appreciate if you continue this in future. Many people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers! partidos de mirassol

  28. I absolutely love the 3-Letter Wordle on MyWordle.net! The concept is refreshing, and it’s a perfect way to engage my brain without investing too much time. The unlimited aspect allows me to keep playing as long as I want, making it ideal for quick breaks throughout the day. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys word games!” 3 leter wordle

  29. commercial cleaners perth At Commercial Cleaners Perth, we understand that every business is unique. Our customized cleaning solutions ensure that your workplace remains clean and hygienic, promoting a healthier atmosphere for all.

  36. Fish Hunter 2 Super EX Newbie is an online fish shooting game that can entertain and offer a fun experience for arcade game fans. With charming graphics and various interesting fish characters, this game not only presents excitement, but also challenging strategies, for further information please visit this website http://betblissjunction.com/

  37. Gems Bonanza is an online slot game developed by Pragmatic Play, featuring a gem mining theme with stunning graphics and impressive animations. Exciting features such as Tumbles, where winning symbols disappear and are replaced by new symbols, provide additional chances to win in a single spin, for more information please visit this website http://thexdevelopers.com/

  38. Politics news is a constant stream of information that shapes our understanding of how governments, policies, and leaders operate. It’s the driving force behind decisions that impact everything from international relations to local governance. Whether you’re a political junkie or someone who tunes in occasionally, staying informed about politics is crucial in understanding the forces that shape our daily lives.

    politicsnews

  40. Thanks for sharing superb informations. Your web-site is very cool. I am impressed by the details that you have on this web site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this web page, will come back for extra articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found simply the info I already searched all over the place and just could not come across. What an ideal site. deluna4d

  41. Just wish to say your article is as amazing. The clearness in your post is simply nice and i can assume you’re an expert on this subject. Well with your permission let me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please continue the enjoyable work. deluna4d

  42. Locate which will article writing is not actually valued at the time period, you might recognise that discovering them free of charge is really a lot a great deal more an individual’s idea! Precisely why craft content articles together with throw away your time and energy when you are able become terrific content absolutely free! A lot of people discover utilizing just a dash of effort paid out diving the web page and looking at what’s going on they is able to leave and reveal a whole lot of function done with the particular means available. deluna4d

  44. Indian Togel A popular form of number game in various parts of India, attracting many players with its lottery system and big winning potential, for further information please visit this website http://ukdigests.com/

  46. Power Blackjack is a dynamic adaptation of traditional blackjack, distinguished by its unique game mechanics and interesting features. Players can double, triple or quadruple bets, the game is very profitable, for more information please visit this website http://lyricsgeta.com/

  47. I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here. The sketch is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an edginess over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come more formerly again as exactly the same nearly very often inside case you shield this hike.car service near me

  49. wonderful post, very informative. I wonder why the other specialists of this sector don’t notice this. You should continue your writing. I am confident, you’ve a huge readers’ base already! deluna4d

  50. Much thanks to you such a great amount for sharing this awesome blog.Very moving and accommodating too.Hope you keep on sharing a greater amount of your ideas.I will love to peruse. iptv usa

Leave a Reply

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