Rail Europe

Two more amazing promotions with Rail Europe!

Rail Europe, thanks to its great cooperation with Britrail and Thalys (the high speed train between France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany), offers this spring two more great promotions, to enable travelers to enjoy even more their stay in Europe.

Britrail “Free Day” promotion
Get a free day for the purchase of a Britrail Pass before June, 30th 2008 and benefit from this extra day to discover (or re-discover) Liverpool, the versatile 2008’s European Capital of Culture.
From the captivating Merseyside Maritime Museum, to the World famous Albert Dock, renovated in the 1980’s, and the largest cathedral of the UK, Liverpool as plenty to offer.

Thalys Summer promotion
Following last year’s success, Rail Europe and Thalys decided to offer this year again the Thalys Summer promotion on all Thalys international routes between France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany.
Book your ticket before September, 17th 2008, travel before September, 30th 2008 and get a 50% discount on the regular fares in 1st or 2nd class.
In the same day, you can visit the Aachen cathedral founded by Charlemagne, king of the Franks and in a certain way, founder of the modern Europe, and ride a bike among the windmills in Amsterdam surroundings. Or stroll in the charming city centre of Gent and discover the beautiful Art Deco buildings in Brussels… With Thalys, France, Benelux and Germany are your oyster… at high speed!

For more information about these products, to purchase your Britrail Pass or Thalys ticket, consult your Rail Europe travel agent. List to be found on www.raileurope.fr.

Discover the Mont Saint Michel, « Wonder of the western world », with Rail Europe

Rail Europe and SNCF (French National Railways) celebrate their way the 13th centenary anniversary of the Mont Saint Michel by offering easier booking and shorter journeys to this outstanding monument classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979. The trip to the
Mont Saint Michel consists in a TGV trip between Paris and Rennes and a bus section between Rennes and the Mont Saint Michel. When booking with Rail Europe, travellers arrive at the feet of this impressive landmark after a fast, comfortable and scenic trip. And as of July, 5th, the journey time is reduced to 3h30 from Paris!

During its long history, the Mont Saint Michel has been renowned both for its spiritual and religious significance as well as its historical and architectural interest. With more than 3 million visitors each year, the Mont Saint Michel is one of the 3 most visited places in France. The abbey and its surroundings will be alive with cultural events to celebrate its foundation, including exhibitions, concerts and pilgrimages throughout 2008 and 2009. So don’t miss this commemoration while in Europe and jump at the chance of the Paris – Mont Saint Michel connection.

Be sure to get your ticket during this busy period by booking it now through the wide Rail Europe network. List of Rail Europe’s travel agents in your country is to be found on www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy.

Rail Europe achieves record results in 2007

Rail Europe published their 2007 results, and it appeared to be another excellent year... Numbers speak for themselves: with sales of 120 millions € up by 14% vs 2006, Rail Europe realized its best year ever. In other terms, more than 1,4 million travellers experienced Rail Europe’s services and expertise!!!

“We are very proud of these excellent results which reinforce Rail Europe’s position as the leader of European Rail distribution worldwide” says Pierre-Stéphane Austi, CEO of Rail Europe. “2007 was a strategic year for us, we implemented a lot of new, technical innovations and the numerous improvements of the European Rail network as well as the emergence of rail as an eco-friendly option of travel created a lot of interest for our products. The commitment of our teams and partners worldwide was of course instrumental in transforming these elements into success”.

2007 was indeed an intense year for Rail Europe with, to quote but a few
• Web services implementation in Korea, Australia, Japan, India, Brazil, China, Taiwan and many other markets, enabling now more than 18 000 additional travel agents to access Euronet, Rail Europe’s unique online reservation system, with direct connection to the European rail carrier’s inventories
• Rail Europe's further geographic expansion, with the accreditation of 20 new General Sales Agents, on traditional as well as on new territories. Rail Europe is now present in 46 countries
• The launch on 2 new consumer web sites in Japan (www.raileurope.jp, in Japanese) and in South Africa (www.raileurope.co.za), which follow the successful launch of Rail Europe’s consumer website in Australia, www.raileurope.com.au, in 2006. These sites are a prelude to several new ones, planned in 2008, for India, South America, Israel and South East Asia.
• The opening of Rail Europe’s Australian representative office in Sydney, in December 2007. With this opening, Rail Europe has now its ownoffices in its 5 biggest markets (Japan, South Korea, India, South America and Australia), with industry professionals, able to both animate the market and the distribution network, with a local touch.

The launch of the French High Speed Line in the East of France ("TGV East") on 10th June, the Rugby World Cup in France, the opening of the first High Speed Line in the UK ("HS1") and Eurostar’s move from Waterloo International to the beautiful St Pancras International station were emblematic European happenings in 2007 reminding, if need be, that train travel is definitely the best way to travel in Europe!

To learn more about Rail Europe, its products and its distribution network, click on www.raileurope.fr

Rail Europe launches into new era And Opens an Australasian Office in Sydney

Rail Europe, the worldwide leader in Rail distribution, has appointed over the last 12 years more than 110 Sales Agents throughout the world, selling its products in nearly 50 countries. The Rail Europe distribution partners in Australasia include Rail Plus, Stella Group, CIT Australia, Flight Centre and Gullivers Pacific Ltd.

Rail Europe in Australia already has, in excess of one hundred Euronet terminals, implemented web services allowing Euronet access to nearly 4000 travel agents thus offering the most comprehensive ticketing online reservation system for European trains.  Rail Europe expects this number to grow as it further builds its business within Australasia exceeding its annual turnover of more than 40 million in 2007 representing nearly 20% of its total turnover worldwide.

Through these Sales Agents Rail Europe offers the most extensive range of European rail products; from the famous Eurail Global Pass that enables travellers to discover up to 18 different countries, and an extensive variety of National and Regional Passes for travellers who wish to concentrate on one or two countries; to a complete list of European city to city destinations.

“I am extremely happy to have Rich join the Rail Europe family as the Rail Europe Australia Office Manager and I am sure that he will make a fantastic contribution to our company’s success in the Australasian territory”, says CEO of Rail Europe Pierre-Stephane Austi from Paris.

Rich comes into this role with significant Marketing and Sales Experience within the Travel and Tourism sector including time with Tourism NSW, Tucan Travel and GAP Adventures. Prior to working within the Travel and Tourism sector Rich held significant sales, marketing and other management roles within the insurance, finance and sports management sectors.

Rich will be reporting directly into the Rail Europe head office in Paris. He will be in charge of promoting the Rail Europe products in Australasia and coordinating marketing activities with the local Rail Europe partners.

Contact Rail Europe on (02) 8251 0075 or email richard.leonard@raileurope.com.au
Rail Europe office is located at level 1, 299, Elizabeth Street, Sydney.

Visit the Rail Europe Website at www.raileurope.com.au

EUROPEAN HIGH SPEED RAIL OPERATORS LAUNCH RAILTEAM

Railteam makes international travel on high-speed trains
to and from Europe easy for travellers

Real alternative to air alliances and to travel by car

By 2010, 25 million international travellers on European
high-speed rail network

Rail Europe, the leading distributor of European Rail Products overseas is glad to advertise that on 2 July 2007, seven European high speed train operators announced the start of Railteam. SNCF (France), SBB (Switzerland), Eurostar (UK, France and Belgium), Deutsche Bahn (Germany), SNCB (Belgium), NS Hispeed (The Netherlands), ÖBB (Austria), and subsidiaries Thalys, Lyria and Alleo offer then to give travellers seamless high-speed train travel across international borders in Western Europe.

The already wide range of products of Rail Europe, with a Western European high speed rail network that links over 45 major urban destinations in Europe via over 4,700km of track, will keep on growing as the network will stretch to 6,000 km by 2010 and will triple in size by 2020. However, despite the size and continuing growth of the high speed rail network, many international travellers remain unaware of the benefits of taking high speed rail.

Easy, faster and seamless journeys.

From today, if for any reason, a traveller misses their connection because of a late running service, Railteam will ensure they can hop on the next train, irrespective of the ticket type they have.

Rail Europe’s offer will gain in quality with the diffusion of multi-lingual information onboard trains and in stations that will ensure international travellers know where, when and how to connect onto other services.

Railteam information points will be installed in the five main hubs (Brussels, Cologne, Lille, Frankfurt and Stuttgart), and in the coming months, at other major stations such as London, Strasbourg, Amsterdam and in the main high-speed train stations in Paris.

To reduce transit times for travellers, Railteam partners will also better coordinate connecting departure and arrival times.

Railteam members are investing 30 million euro in a new distribution system that will allow international travellers to find an attractive combination of prices, make a reservation, pay, and receive their ticket from Rail Europe in one transaction.  The new system will go live in 2009.

Railteam also will seek to introduce new innovations as technologies develop over forthcoming years such as text messaging about timetables and service disruptions.

A greener and mart choice: the choice of the future!

Rail Europe expects that with travel on high-speed trains becoming even easier and smoother, increasing numbers of travellers will opt for environmentally friendly high speed train travel within Europe. It is common knowledge that high speed rail journeys release significantly less carbon dioxide than flying to the same destinations.

Extensive research has also shown that business travellers are willing to travel up to four hours on rail because of the increased productivity versus the airlines, whilst leisure travellers are prepared to enjoy longer journeys of around 6 hours.

By 2010, the Railteam members expect 25 million international travellers to be using their European high-speed rail network.

Guillaume Pepy, Chief Executive Officer of SNCF said: “It is achievable when you consider that Rail is served by city centre terminals. Factor in the transport time,travelling to airports, grinding traffic jams, security delays ans so on, and it’s pretty clear that on travel times alone high-speed rail is, at the very least, a realistic alternative on any journey across the Railteam member states”

“High-speed rail represents the future of sustainable, comfortable travel across Europe.”

Rail Europe is glad to introduce its new brand identity!

With a brand new design and bright colors, it embodies Rail Europe's uniqueness and ambition, as the worldwide leader in European Railways' distribution. Simple, warm and powerful, it is built around two elements: the Rail Europe's Name, and the cyan blue arrow.                               

A name that says it all… Rail Europe is about discovering Europe by rail, enjoying Europe by train. It was obvious Rail Europe's name would be the most appropriate choice for a new logo…

The elegant and contemporary typography reminds Rail Europe's network's professionalism.

The color, a daring blend from crimson to vermilion, conveys dynamism, innovation and proximity, reflecting the colors of the French and Swiss National Railways, Rail Europe’s shareholders.

Traveling is also, by essence, being in movement, discovering, dreaming… which is symbolized by the cyan blue! arrow.

Not only this cute little arrow softly evokes the sky, the power of imagination, freedom and space … it also naturally links together Rail and Europe, as natural evidence …

Easy to read, easy to understand, this new logo is a strong element for rail Europe's forthcoming communication… so get prepared to often pass it on!

MORE REASONS TO TRAVEL IN EUROPE IN 2007… WITH RAIL EUROPE!

Rail Europe, the leader distributor of European Rail Travel, is proud to propose in 2007 a wider range of products than ever… What with new passes and new routes, travellers will find the tailor-made rail products, suited to their needs and budget, for an efficient, stress less and authentic trip in Europe. Travelling in Europe has never been so easy!

New Passes
There are now a lot more possibilities to visit European countries in depth and in total freedom, thanks to the new Eurail passes, sold by Rail Europe!

Discover Dubrovnik and beautiful Croatia, thanks to the Eurail Croatia Pass… You can also choose to explore Portuguese coasts and dive into the vast and diversified historic and cultural heritage of this country with the Eurail Portugal Pass or enjoy Irish hospitality and magnificent landscapes with the Eurail Ireland Pass…
In 2007, there are also 2 new regional passes, the Eurail Austria & Hungary Pass and Eurail Italy & Spain Pass, and both the Benelux TourRail pass and Trenitalia pass are taken over by Eurail and become the Eurail Benelux Pass and Eurail Italy Pass.

Like all other Eurail Passes, these passes offer unlimited rail travel in the countries where they are valid, and exist in different validities with adult, child or youth prices, and for individuals or small groups ("saver").

All these passes are part of the Rail Europe large choice of passes, also including for instance the France RailPass, the Swiss Pass, the Balkan FlexiPass and the Eurail Global Pass, previously named Eurailpass.

More than 18 000 new routes!
Passes offer great value for money, but for travellers who do not want to travel intensively and just need to visit one or two cities, point-to-point tickets are ideal.
The great news is that now, almost all European routes are available from Rail Europe, as Euronet has been enriched with more than 18 000 routes! In a nutshell, Rail Europe and Euronet allows you to virtually go everywhere in Europe!

Travel from Firenze to Siena for only 12 EUR, from Salzburg to Wien for 45 EUR or between Krakow and Warsaw for only 21,60 EUR!
Fares on these routes are set until 8th December 2007, and benefit from adapted after-sales policy, specifically designed to suit foreign travellers needs.

Besides that, Rail Europe of course keeps on offering the best possible fares on revenue managed trains thanks to Euronet's real-time connection to European inventories. Overseas travellers have access to domestic fares and can make substantial savings when booking enough in advance.

For more information about European Rail products, to purchase a pass or a ticket, consult your Rail Europe agent: www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy.

RailEurope opens a new office in Argentina

Rail Europe consolidates its leadership with the opening of its new representative office in Buenos Aires. This new office is the fourth opening in line with the company’s development strategy. Other representative offices are located in Japan, Korea and India.
The office is run by Maria Corinaldesi who was previously agent for Rail Europe in the area. She will be responsible for promoting and positioning rail as the best way to travel through Europe for the whole South American continent.

Commenting on this opening, Xavier Theret, Sales Director for the region, said, “South America represents an important market for RailEurope, particularly Argentina and Brazil, and the opening of this office is a clear signal of our intentions to develop this market.”

RailEurope in Manila

Adventure International Tours Incorporated recently organised a trade and media event in Manila, making the most of RE4A’s representative, Xavier Theret, visit to Philippines. It was an excellent opportunity to show the synergies which exist for several years between the two organisations in this important market for ASEAN.

1ST SEMESTER 2006 – GREAT RESULTS FOR RAIL EUROPE 4A

With an accumulated turnover of 71 million USD at the end of June, Rail Europe 4A closes its first semester 2006 with a record increase of 11% versus the first semester 2005.

"This first semester is really satisfactory!" says Pierre-Stéphane Austi, Managing Director of Rail Europe 4A. "Our excellent results reflect Rail Europe's new strategy since the beginning of the year as well as the great commitment of our General Sales Agents (GSAs) throughout the world"

2006 is indeed an intense year, what with new GSA accreditations, the release of new version of Euronet, Rail Europe's exclusive ticketing and online reservation system for European trains, and the rapid expansion of web-based distribution channels.

With the new Euronet version, called REDS, booking point to point tickets has never been so easy, fast and user-friendly.
Besides, new tools such as internet websites, "white labels" sites and web-services will allow Rail Europe to make the most of the web opportunities to increase awareness about their products and facilitate the purchase of Rail tickets and passes.

Rail Europe 4A is a joint venture of the French and Swiss National Railways (SNCF & SBB), in charge of marketing and selling European Rail Passes and Point to Point tickets in Asia, Australia, Africa and South America.
As of July 2006, 81 GSAs are located in more than 40 countries and 416 Euronet accounts are active on RE4A markets
Rail Europe 4A has 3 liaison offices in Tokyo, Seoul and Mumbai.

Total sales in 2005: 122 million USD

For any query about our products, to purchase a pass or a point to point ticket, please contact one of our GSAs.
For a complete list, just log onto www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy

New GSA

Rail Europe is glad to inform you that a new GSA has been appointed in Israel: OPHIR TOURS.
Contact details can be found on www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy

Rail Europe at the Arabian Travel Market

In association with Maison de la France, Rail Europe and Thomas Cook Al Rostamani attended the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai from 2nd May to 5th May. This fair, the biggest event of this kind of the region, provided an excellent opportunity for Rail Europe to be more visible on the Middle-eastern markets, build up more contacts and promote our range of products.

Maison de la France Workshops in South Africa.

Rail Europe 4A and World Travel (Rail Europe GSA in South Africa) participated to the workshops organised by Maison de la France from March 13 to March 17 in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. These workshops represented a great opportunity to meet the trade and increase awareness on Rail Europe products in South Africa.

 

Debbie Duncan from WTA and Xavier Theret from Rail Europe

New GSAs in India

Rail Europe is glad to inform you that Rail Europe’s range of products can now be purchased in Mumbai through Saltours and Swisstours, the two lately Rail Europe appointed General Sales Agents in India.
Contact details can be found on www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy

Rail Europe at the World Travel Fair in Tokyo

This year again, Rail Europe Japan participated to the World Travel Fair in Tokyo from September 22nd to 24th. Eurostar has been associated to this event and benefited from a large exposure. Specific activities have been held (conference, photo studio, contest) and a Eurostar branded booth has been set up for this occasion.

   

You can see more photos of the WTF on Photos WTF

Press Trip

This year again, Rail Europe organized a multi-national press trip at the end of September. Seven journalists travelled along with two guides from the Rail Europe head office in Paris and had a chance to ride several trains in Switzerland, Italy, Spain and France.

To see more pictures of this press trip: Press trip September 2005

New GSAs

Rail Europe is pleased to inform you that 6 new General Sales Agents have been recently appointed. Rail Europe’s range of products can now also be purchased at:

• CIT Argentina
• CIT Brazil
• Eurovips Argentina
• Eurovips Brazil
• Hana Tour (Korea)
• Hanoi Toserco (Vietnam)

Contact details can be found on www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy

Rail Europe 4A celebrates its 10th anniversary

Rail Europe 4A, created in 1995, is in charge of commercialising, on behalf of the European railways, its services on an international basis.  Rail Europe 4A covers the four continents – Asia, Africa, Middle-East, South America and Australasia. The company celebrated its 10th anniversary in July 2005.

In 1994, Rail Europe was conceived with the launch of the Eurostar service. Its potential international market led its partners to develop a worldwide electronic sales system, which corresponded to the growth and development of the internet. As a result, the French and Swiss railways decided to merge their manual sales network and to equip all their agents with Euronet. The latter was initially developed as an electronic distribution system by the Rail Europe Group for the North American market. Consequently, Rail Europe Australasia was set up in July 1995.

The new Rail Europe Australasia grew from a tiny team of 3 people who posted a turnover of 51 million $ in their first year of operation. The company continued to grow and develop international tourism and entered new markets: Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India.

In 1998, Rail Europe Australasia opened its first direct representative office in Tokyo and took a 50% share in the Rail Plus Australasia Pty Ltd, which is the leader in rail sales in Australasia.

In 2000, Rail Europe Australasia merged Africa and the Middle East into its sales perimeter. In the same year, bought out Rail Europe America Latina and thereby recuperated all of South America. The company operated a name change to Rail Europe 4A, encompassing Asia, Australia, Africa and South America.

The company is 50% owned by the SNCF Group (French Railways), 50% by CFF (Swiss Railways) and posts a turnover of 110 million $ and sells over a million tickets (including passes and point-to-point tickets) in over 40 markets. The company’s head office is in Paris and employs 25 people. The growth strategy is to continue to develop new markets while keeping a close eye on new trends in existing markets. In February last, a new representative office was opened in Seoul, Korea and more recently, in Mumbai, India. These openings will reinforce the company’s presence in strategic markets.

Commenting on the company’s development, Véronique Peccoud, managing director, declared: “Rail Europe 4A is a strategic development tool for its shareholders in new, important markets. The company has a flexible and pioneering spirit which enables it to withstand major challenges, including the 1997 Asian economic crash, the SARS and other unforeseen external events. The past has proved that we can overcome challenging situations. Now we need to develop our presence on the internet in a wide variety of languages and integrate diverse and complex purchasing patterns.”

Al Zouman Holidays joins the Rail Europe network

Rail Europe is pleased to announce that Al Zouman Holidays, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has been appointed as a General Sales Agent in the Kingdom and is now in charge of selling and promoting European rail tickets in this market. With 3 locations in Jeddah, Riyadh and Al Khobar, Al Zouman Holidays will contribute to reinforce Rail Europe’s presence in the Middle East.

Representative Office in Korea

On April 8th, Rail Europe 4A inaugurated its representative office in Korea, second of this kind after Japan. Based in Seoul, the office is managed by BJ Shin, who is in charge of developing sales, working more closely with all Rail Europe partners on the market and conducting marketing activities.
The office is centrally located in Seoul and shared with Swistzerland Tourism new office.