Rail Europe

The new high speed line between Madrid and Barcelona opens tomorrow, the 20th of February: book your tickets with Rail Europe!

Rail Europe, the World leading distributor of European rail is delighted to announce that the high speed line between Madrid and Barcelona will finally open on February, 20th!

The two vibrant capitals, Madrid and Barcelona, are now connected with 17 daily services, in 2h38 instead of 3h55 today. Thanks to this new line, it will also take only 1h51 to go from Saragossa to Barcelona (39 minutes saved) and 1h03 from Lerida to Barcelona (27 minutes saved).

Enjoy this new European High Speed experience in total comfort, aboard the AVE trains, some of the most technically advanced trains of the Spanish Railways… and in the world!

Between Madrid and Barcelona, you will enjoy at high speed (300 km/h – 186 mph) the high quality services usually proposed onboard AVE trains such as individual sockets, reclining seats, movie screenings, etc. And if you travel in “Club” or “Preferente” class, you’ll even benefit from a new catering offer at your seat.

Just contact your Rail Europe travel agent to book your rail trip in Spain or just to get more information about Spanish trains and destinations.
Contact details to be found on www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy.

Eurostar sets a new record for the journey between Brussels and London

Rail Europe is delighted to announce that last Thursday, 20th of September, Eurostar, the high-speed train operator that links the UK with the European Continent, achieved the fastest journey time ever between Brussels and London, setting a new record for the journey between the Belgian and British capitals.

It took just 1 hour and 43 minutes to cover the 373 km (232 mile) distance, travelling at 300km/h (186mph) on the UK’s new high-speed line, High Speed 1. It was also the first run from Brussels to arrive at St.Pancras International, Eurostar's new terminal in the heart of London, , which will open on 14th November 2007.

On board the inaugural run were 12 journalists from Australia, Japan, India, South Korea, Hong-Kong, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina & Malaysia, invited by Rail Europe and Eurostar to discover high-speed Europe. This journey closed the week long 2007 Rail Europe Press Trip, which this year focused on the high ! speed trains members of the rail alliance, RailTeam, of which Eurostar is a founder member.

On the 5th of September, Eurostar also broke the record between Paris and London, with a run of just 2 hours and 3 minutes and 39 seconds!) for the 492 km distance, running at speeds of up to 320km/h (200 mph) on the French and British High Speed Lines.

From 14 November, the scheduled non-stop time between St Pancras International and Brussels will be 1 hour and 51 minutes, cutting at least 20 minutes off the current journey time from Waterloo. The time savings between Paris and London will also be at least 20 minutes, and the scheduled non-stop time will be 2 hours 15 minutes. Richard Brown, Chief Executive of Eurostar, said: "Today’s journey puts London and Brussels firmly within the ‘two hour club". Eurostar is quite simply the fastest, most convenient way to travel – avoiding wasted time and money in getting to out-of-town airports, lengthy! check-in times, and baggage reclaim delays.

From 14 November, E urostar will also move to its new London terminal overnight, with services at Waterloo ending the previous evening.

Eurostar tickets are available through Rail Europe’s accredited sales agents in your country.
Just log on to www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy to find their contact details.

Eurostar is moving. 14th November 2007

Rail Europe is glad to announce that from 24th July, travellers can book their Eurostar tickets to/from Saint Pancras International for their journeys between 14th to 19th November through Rail Europe's accredited sales agents. The sales to/from the other new station, Ebbsfleet International, are also open.

Wednesday, 14th November 2007 will be a big day for Eurostar. It's the day they launch services from / to Saint Pancras International in central London and the day Eurostar starts running on High Speed 1, the UK's first high speed line.

HS1 (High Speed 1)

High Speed 1 is the biggest engineering project in the UK for over 100 years. With 109 km of high speed track (a quarter of it underground), HS1 will allow Eurostar to travel at its full speed of 300 kmh (186 mph) all the way from the centre of London to the Channel tunnel. Thanks to this new high speed line, journey times will be reduced by at least 20 minutes to offer more seamless journeys and trains will be even more punctual.
Journey times from/to Saint Pancras International will be as follows:
Paris: 2h15
Brussels: 1h51
Lille: 1h20

Saint Pancras International

On 14th November, Eurostar moves from Waterloo International Station and launches services from Saint Pancras International in central London. As of this date, all journeys will depart from/arrive to Saint Pancras International and no longer from Waterloo International.

Saint Pancras is a beautiful Victorian station, with red rubber bricks and streaky bacon stone. It is being transformed, setting new standards for a railway station in the XXIst century. Taking inspiration from New York’s Grand Central Terminal, Saint Pancras International will be “Europe’s destination station”.
The modern Saint Pancras has been designed with the customer at its heart, with a world class brasserie, arcade shopping and a daily farmers’ market selling the very best, fresh, British and Continental products. And last but not least, overlooking the platforms will be the longest Champagne Bar of Europe!

To top it off, Saint Pancras International has also the best connectivity of all the central London stations. It has 6 underground lines and is close to 7 mainline operators at Saint Pancras International, King’s Cross and Euston. Travellers can easily reach the north of England, discover the rolling countryside of the Lake District and the jewels of Scotland.

Kent stations

Ebbsfleet International
On 19th November will open a new Kent station, Ebbsfleet International.
Between Ashford and London, conveniently located close to major highways including M25, M20, M2, A2, the Dartford Crossing and Bluewater shopping centre, Ebbsfleet will offer an easy “park and ride” option to many travellers.
High speed domestic services from Ebbsfleet International will begin in 2009, taking travellers to Saint Pancras International in 17 minutes flat at speeds up to 225 kmh / 140 mph. It will become both an international and domestic rail hub with easy access by rail to all of Kent.

Ashford
Eurostar will still run services from Ashford International and its services will complement those offered at Ebbsfleet International.
Services stopping at Ashford International will be timed to suit both Leisure and Business travellers. There will be 3 trains a day to Paris along with the daily direct Eurostar to Disneyland and the weekly Avignon trains during the summer.

For more information about these services or to purchase an Eurostar ticket, please consult your Rail Europe travel agent. List to be found on www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy

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.”

Trenitalia – Winter Promotion

Another excellent opportunity to discover or re-visit Italy’s treasures!
Rail Europe is offering a 20% reduction on the Trenitalia Pass, which is valid for reservations made between 1st October and 31 December 2006 for travellers wishing to visit Italy between 1st November 2006 and 31st March 2007.
The Trenitalia Pass is not available in Italy, so buy before you fly and take advantage of this fabulous promotion!

EUROSTAR – Ebbsfleet International

Eurostar announced the opening of a new station, Ebbsfleet International, in autumn 2007, which will enable UK travellers to access the Eurostar services to France and Belgium, without having to drive into Central London. This new station, strategically located near Dartford in Kent close by major roads and the Bluewater shopping centre, will give travellers an easy alternative to London’s overcrowded airports. Ebbsfleet is indeed more quickly accessible than any of London’s airports including Heathrow.

Ebbsfleet International will be a 2h05 journey to Paris, 1h41 to Brussels and 1h10 to Lille.

Almost half of the Eurostar services will stop at Ebbsfleet International, with time-tables to suit both business and leisure travellers. The new station will offer 9,000 parking spaces and seamless connections to public transport. The service will commence once the switch has been made from Waterloo to St. Pancras International, in the autumn of 2007.

For more information on using the Eurostar service, please contact your agent www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy

Record numbers on German trains during the World Cup

German Railways recently announced that over 15 million travellers used their services during the World Cup, 5 million more than initially expected! Cities such as Dortmund, Cologne or Gelsenkirchen where matchs were held, had an increase of between 1,2 and 1,5 million passengers during the World Cup. Over 370 extra trains were added to regular services throughout the country to cope with demand. The World Cup was an excellent opportunity to showcase the excellence of DB and to win new customers over to train travel.

Thalys sets new records

For its 10th anniversary, Thalys had a record year. Among others,

• In terms of passengers, on April 28th, Thalys carried 25 575 passengers in one day.
• The week between June 26th and July 2nd, Thalys reached its best passenger levels with almost 141 000 customers.
• In terms of performance, Thalys reached in the Netherlands the record speed of 331,1 km/h.

RAILTEAM is now on tracks!

A major step forward has been achieved with the agreement in Berlin, on June 14th, between the major European railways – German, Austrian, Belgian, Dutch, Swiss and French. This alliance between the main high-speed services operating in Europe (Thalys, ICE, Eurostar, Lyria, TGV...) will offer travellers top quality service on Europe’s high-speed network. RAILTEAM is similar in concept to alliances set up by the major airlines.

Types of services which will be offered by mid-2007 include:

• Facilitating tickets, rates and platform changes at “hubs” such as Brussels, Frankfurt or Charles de Gaulle airport
• Harmonising rates, on-board services, in-station services to increase awareness of high-speed services
• Access to top notch services – waiting rooms, internet access
• Combining passenger loyalty schemes and determining passenger rights
• Combining marketing and communication activities to encourage usages of high-speed services in Europe

The alliance will be headed up by a top level committee with 4 working groups to implement plans. Guillaume Pepy, CEO of the French Railways, commenting on this new alliance said “Our ambition is to bring high-speed Europe to customers. By combining German and French services, we have a large network and top level quality service on offer. We aim to be the rail alternative for customers looking for an alternative to the airline offer.”

Eurostar new Fare Range

From August 1st, Rail Europe will introduce Eurostar new fare range.
This new fare range is designed to better meet today’s travellers’ needs, with:

• Less restrictions: you no longer need to travel between Monday and Thursday from 11am to 3pm to enjoy cheap fares!
• Cheaper prices: up to 47% discount when you buy a return ticket.
• Wider range of fares: new fare levels for senior, youth and pass holders, increasing your chances to get a good price.
• Optimized fares and availability, for individuals, groups and Tour Operators.

For more information about this new Eurostar fare range, please contact your agent www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy.

Cisalpino – new developments

Cisalpino, a subsidiary of the Swiss and Italian railways, announced a 75% increase in the number of passengers carried in 2005 - 7,8 million people used the service. The company took over management for rail traffic between Switzerland and Italy in 2005.

Cisalpino has 32 daily trains running between the two countries, with 9 pendular trains and 22 Euro-City trains and posted an annual turnover of 160,9 million CHF compared with 97,9 million CHF in 2004.
A major expansion programme is underway and Cisalpino is also preparing for the opening of the Lotschberg tunnel, at the end of 2007. This 34,6 kilometers long tunnel, along with the Simplon tunnel, will be the first north-south transalpine high speed train link. To prepare for this, Cisalpino will receive 14 new pendular, second generation train sets from Alstom Italy, which will be delivered from 2007 through to 2008.

By 2009, journey times between Zurich and Rome will take only 7 hours, when the new high speed link between Milan and Rome opens.

Da Vinci Code team takes Eurostar to Cannes

Another Guinness World Record was set when the Da Vinci Code team took the longest non-stop train ride on board Eurostar from London to Cannes. Prior to leaving London at 9h40 (GMT), Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou as well as the producer Ron Howard baptised the specially branded “Da Vinci Code” train. The entire cast (Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Sir Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Jûrgen Prochnow, Paul Bettany and Jean Reno) as well as the production team continued on a 1,421km journey to Cannes arriving 7 hours and 25 minutes later, the day before the opening of the Cannes Film Festival. A representative from the Guinness Book of Records was there to meet the “Da Vinci Code” Eurostar in Cannes and validate the record.

Guillaume Pepy, President of Eurostar, made the following comment “This is an extraordinary performance, as Eurostar has set a new world record for high speed trains. We had the privilege of taking the actors and the team from London to Cannes – top class service in a high speed train. The team will live yet another extraordinary experience at the Cannes Film Festival.”

The SNCF, official partner of the Rugby World Cup 2007

The French Railways have signed a partnership with the Rugby World Cup Ltd, organisers of the world’s third most important sporting event which will take place in France in 2007. As part of the partnership, the SNCF will transport the teams and the technical support teams as well as rugby supporters travelling to the different matchs. On signing the partnership agreement, Mr Gallois, the President of the SNCF underlined the common values shared between the Rugby World Cup teams and the SNCF – all evolving in a changing world which requires a high level of commitment from its team players and an increasing professionalism for customers, the travelling public. He defined it as an excellent logistical challenge for the Group.

As a preview of the Rugby World Cup, fans will be interested to know journey times between the different cities in which matchs will be played:

Lyon - Paris: 2 hours
Toulouse - Montpellier:  2 hours
Montpellier - Lyon: 1 hour 50
Lyon - St. Etienne: 1 hour
Nantes - Paris: 2 hours

For more information on how to reserve your train tickets for the Rugby World Cup matchs, please contact your agent.

Elipsos: Spain, France, Italy with the train-hotel night service

Elipsos is the night-train service which runs between Barcelona and Paris, Barcelona and Zurich, Barcelona and Milan. In 2005, over 260,000 travellers used the night service to travel to and from their holiday destinations, with over 137,000 people travelling between Barcelona and Paris. Occupancy rates are very satisfactory (+80%) with primarily families and friends using the service – the joys of wakening up from a good night’s sleep in a choice of carriages ranging from Grand Class, Club Class, Tourist Class and Super Reclining Seats – and arriving in a foreign holiday destination.

Each train has a restaurant carriage open for dinner until 1am and re-opens for breakfast from 6am for travellers from the Grand Class and the Club Class…

Travellers with Spain, Spain-Portugal, France, France-Spain, France-Italy, France-Switzerland or Greece-Italy passes can use these services with a special pass holder fare. On all services arriving in Barcelona, travellers receive a book of discounted vouchers – Art Travel Pass, which offers a large range of discounts to some of Barcelona’s most well-known museums.

Eurostar post record results

The numbers speak for themselves. Eurostar sales are up 7% in 2005, compared with 2004 as 7,5 million people travelled on the service linking the UK to France and Belgium. Business travellers represented a 14% increase on the previous year, demonstrating that Eurostar is becoming THE choice over airlines. The service can now boast a 71% market share on the London-Paris route and 64% of the London Brussels route.

More services will be added to maintain Eurostar’s already high standards and services in 2006. The major campaign, mentioned in our previous issue, with the release of the movie of Dan Brown’s block-buster “The Da Vinci Code” will no doubt bring a further increase in bookings are visitors follow up on the locations and star-hangouts in both London and Paris.

Da Vinci Code and Eurostar

When the movie of Dan Brown’s world famous blockbuster, Da Vinci Code, is globally released on May 19th of this year, Eurostar, its first global parter, will launch a major tourist campaign to attract travellers to the UK, Scotland and France. Eurostar will work with the tourist boards of all three countries to encourage tourists interested in visiting the trail followed by Robert Langdon, the hero, portrayed by Tom Hanks.

As part of the promotional campaign, Eurostar will promote the film through a series of initiatives in France, the UK, Belgium, the US, and a few overseas markets.
Rail Europe will be associated with some of these initiatives and will give you more information later on.

The Da Vinci Code has already generated huge interest among its readers, with visitors coming to visit and scrutinise many of the locations mentioned. The film will revive interest and London and Paris will be hot tourist destinations in 2006!

Eurostar is the high-speed service which links London to Brussels, to Paris with links through to the French Alps, the South of France and Disneyland Resort Paris. Travellers in Brussels can also connect to Cologne and Amsterdam.

For further information on reserving Da Vinci Code trails or visiting the UK, France or Beligum, please contact your agent.

Berlin – a new station for the FIFA World Cup

In a previous article, we mentioned the FIFA World Cup taking place in Germany in June 2006. Berlin, where  the quarter-finals and the big final will take place, has been a hive of activity and major renovations.
Deutsche Bahn, the German Railways, commenced work on Berlin’s rail network shortly after the reunification. As with Paris and London, the city has seven main line train stations spread throughout the city. Each day, 160 main line trains, 310 regional trains and 800 suburban trains move in and out of these stations. The stations are linked by the suburban lines.

In the 1990s, following the reunification of Germany, the German Railways reviewed the Berlin network and decided on a project, christened the “mushroom” which was built on the no man’s land when the Berlin Wall fell.  The new station is a mix of train station, offices and shopping malls. According to a German Railways’ spokesperson, all the shopping mall space has been rented out and not only does the station complex facilitate travellers but also local residents who come to shop at weekends, when other stores are closed. The German Railways have their offices there and a hotel complex is also being planned with some of the major groups.

The countdown to opening is on and in less than 200 days, Berlin will see the opening of a new centre and a major new train station. Over 300,000 people are expected during the FIFA World Cup. For more information on how to enjoy the matches and travel in ease between the different Cup cities, please speak with your agent.

Countdown to the Turin Winter Olympics (Italy)

The Italian Railways confirmed their participation as official sponsors for the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin and at the same time presented the transport plan for the event. The high speed line between Turin and Novara will open the beginning of February and in addition to this, 38 daily supplementary trains will be added between Turin Lingotto and Val Chisone. A further 79 extra trains will be added on the Turin-Val de Suze line. Departures will leave from Turin every 30 minutes, bringing spectators to the Pinerolo, Oulx and Bardoneccia Olympic sites. The Italian Railways have modernised four train stations on the Turin-Pinerolo line for the Games.

Overseas travellers coming to Italy specially for the Olympic Games should contact their agent for information on Trenitalia Pass or point to point tickets.

Brunel Awards

At the recent Brunel Awards ceremony held in Copenhagen, Swiss Railways won 3 of the 9 awards and 5 of the 19 commendations. The Brunel Awards distinguish and award international architecture and design in the railway world. Named after the English railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), the Brunel 2005 Awards received 157 entries from 44 companies in 15 countries on 3 continents in the following categories:
   
• Architecture – 7 awards – 10 commendations
• Graphics, Industrial design and Art – 3 awards – 4 commendations
• Technical Infrastructure and Environment – 2 awards, 3 commendations
• Rolling Stock – 3 awards, 4 commendations
• Special Brunel Jury Prize for Excellence in Corporate Design

Swiss Railways won 2 awards in the Architecture category for Zug and Bern (Wankdorf) train stations and 2 commendations for the stations in Muntelier-Lowenberg and Langenbold. In the Graphics, Industrial design and Art category, for Zug station for the lighting design, which helps create an impression of space and harmony with the suburban environment. Lastly, Swiss Railways received a commendation for the regional train FLIRT for rolling stock design. For the second time, the jury awarded Swiss Railways a special prize for outstanding overall achievement.

Vienna: major renovations

Vienna’s train stations are due for major renovations: Vienna Central Station (Wien-Europa-Mitte) and Vienna Mitte (Wien Mitte).
   
• Vienna Central Station

Vienna Central Station will replace two existing stations, South and East and will become a major rail hub for south Central Europe. Work is expected to commence in 2007 and plans also include building 4,000 new apartments and underground parking lots.
   
• Vienna Mitte

Vienna Mitte, located near the city centre will become the hub for all the city underground services, suburban services and the express train link from Vienna to the airport. Plans include the construction of a 70m high building, with office space, a commercial centre and a hotel. Renovation is expected to start end of 2006.

In 2003, Austria passed a new Railway Act, which modified Austrian Railways (ÖBB). The new organisation which started operations in January 2005 marks a major turning point in the company’s history. ÖBB Group aims to become an important player in the European rail environment and is focusing on modernising its services in the coming years.

Face-lift for the Parisian train station at Gare de l’Est

Gare de l’Est is to be renovated in preparation for the new TGV Est service which will commence in 2007. The new TGV Est service will attract a significant number of travellers (from 9,5 million today to 14 million in 2007). The front entrance area of the station will be renovated to facilitate access for pedetrians, taxis, buses and bicycles. Parking will also be stream-lined with access reduced to 30 minutes maximum for passenger drop-off. A whole new shopping experience will be developed with a commercial area designed for over 50 new boutiques. Lastly, a new hanging garden passage-way will be built to enable travellers to walk between the nearby Gare du Nord or vice versa.
Gare de l’Est is the last of the 6 Paris train stations to commence renovation works. Currently, Gare d’Austerlitz is being renovated for trains going to the south-west and Spain and work is still in progress at Gare St. Lazare (serving Normandy).
Both of the stations, Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon, have been completely refurbished to accommodate the increased TGV services to the north, the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands and the south through to Switzerland Italy. Modernisation of the platforms and surrounding services has been completed at Gare Montparnasse.

Glacier Express celebrates its 75th anniversary

The Glacier Express is one of Switzerland’s most famous train adventures. It links several spectacular Alpine tourist regions and travellers can experience amazing mountain-views and sensations as they journey from St. Moritz to Zermatt. The total train journey takes 7 and a half hours, on what is known as one of the slowest express train rides. The whole service runs on a mix of old and new. Old narrow gauge lines with modern trains, some with glass-roof for better views, others in old-fashioned décor of yesterday 1st class dining carriages  with wood panelling.

Seventy five years ago, the service operated only on a seasonal basis. In 1982, the Furka Base tunnel was opened and as a result, all-year round service was introduced.

Moreover, in 2006, the service will be upgraded with the introduction of new panoramic cars and catering services to adapt comfort levels to 21st century standards.

Rail-Team’s future projects

Within the coming 3-5 years, the airline alliances may find themselves competing with a serious competitor under the code name “Rail-Team”. High-speed rail services are winning market share from the airlines on journeys less than 4 hours, for example, Paris-Toulon, by train in 3h50 has captured 64% market share from the airlines. The French Railways have launched discussions with their European counterparts to create a commercial partnership on high-speed services which would target 200 million travellers.

Initially, this European network would include Eurostar and Thalys prior to being opened up to Spain’s AVE, Germany’s ICE, the French TGV and the Italian Pendolino or the Dutch HSL.

The first step would mean putting together a network of high-speed services organised around hubs similar to the airlines. Brussels, Frankfurt or Lille could become hubs.

For the customer, this would then mean a single product – the same conditions on all services with special discounts, reimbursements or exchanges applied across the board.

Thirdly, a fidelity programme similar to the airlines, would be introduced and work across all services. Today individual fidelity programmes exists on the French TGV or Eurostar or Thalys, however, they are not linked and points from one service are not interchangeable with another.

From the railways’ point of view, the financial implications are of consequence. Potentially, there are major economies of scale on rolling stock, on-board food services or customer services. However, it took 5 years in total to create and synchronise Star Alliance and it is likely that the Rail-Team will take between 3-5 years to see the day. The French and German railways are collaborating to put together initial proposals on the Paris-Frankfurt line. The German railways hope to have the agreement in place before the summer.

SNCF: new corporate look

“The world is changing and our visual identity must reflect our ability to move with the times and clearly show our ambition to ensure the train is key in transport and the SNCF a major player,” declared Louis Gallois, President of the SNCF when introducing the new corporate look in March 2005.

This new look comes at a time of significant change for the SNCF and its personnel: the opening of Europe’s frontiers, strong customer demands, diverse forms of competition from other types of transport and new private operators entering the markets. The new corporate logo is designed to translate this important mission of change, dynamism and leadership both on a technical and service level. The choice of colours, predominately red, and the shape (somewhat like a TGV) combined, show a company in motion, evolving in a changing world and dealing with the inherent challenges associated with this world. The message is both internal and external.

All TGV (high-speed) trains will have the new logo by May, 80% of the rolling stock will be ready by the end of the year and over 100 train stations by summer time.

The new signature “SNCF, gives the train ideas in advance” symbolises the inherent creativity of the SNCF and its personnel to evolve and adapt to change.

A new advertising campaign will illustrate the innovations introduced by the French Railways with TV ads, radio, press, bill-boards and internet.

                                 

SNCF: on-line advertising campaign

Recently, French railways made a daring foray into a new form of advertising targeting top-end French business travellers via the internet. Humour and viral marketing were used in three short films based on the recurring theme of professionalism and the TGV. Incompetent, stressed-out and invariably late executives messed up in their professional lives…because they didn’t use TGV. The films were easily downloaded and viewers sent them by email to their friends (www.cestunchoix.com). The TGV (high-speed trains) communication manager, Jérémie Zeguerman, said results for this first on-line ad campaign were very satisfactory. Over 1 million people saw the films, with 460,000 visitors to the site.  The conversion rate of 3,37% proved satisfactory as internet-users went on to the TGV internet site to discover current TGV promotions and offers. This France-only campaign ran from 21 September to 21 October 2004 and was awarded the Silver Clic in the e-advertising “Clics d’Or 2005” awards ceremony.

Excellent Annual Results for Eurostar and Thalys

Business is booming for Eurostar operators. Traffic figures announced for 2004, showed 7,27 million travellers used the service, breaking the year 2000 previous record of 7 million passengers. This 15% increase in passengers brought in a turnover of 618 million euros. Some of this success can be attributed to the shortening of the Eurostar journeys between London-Paris, which dropped to 2h35, a time saving of 20 minutes.

As with other transport operators, Eurostar encountered a drop in passengers following the 11 September attacks, the economic recession experienced in some continental countries, as well as delays on the UK section of the line.
• Eurostar runs up to 19 trains on the Paris-London line on a daily basis and 11 trains on the Brussels-London line on a daily basis.
• Bookings for Eurostar can be made with all Rail Europe agents. For more details, please check the website www.raileurope.fr

Latest announcements from Eurostar confirm that construction of the 39 km stretch of track, on the UK side, is making good progress and on schedule for 2007 – despite the complexity of the work involved. The 2h35 journey will be shortened by a further 15 minutes and passengers will arrive into St. Pancras, in the north of London. Most of the work is taking place in urban parts of London and under the Thames.

Thalys operators – the French, Belgian, Dutch and German railways - also posted excellent results for 2004. Thalys carried 5,95 million passengers, which represents a 3,9% increase on 2003 and posted a turnover of 318 million euros, a 5,6% increase on the previous year.
Travellers are neatly divided between business and leisure. Satisfaction levels with service are at an all-time high of 86% and over 85% of the trains arrive on schedule.
Thalys’ Managing Director, Mr Dancoisne, pointed to their objective of shortening the journey time between Brussels and Amsterdam, Brussels and Cologne which will increase travellers’ interest in the service.

• Thalys services operate between Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam and Paris-Brussels-Cologne
• Bookings for Thalys can be made with all Rail Europe agents. For more details, please check the website www.raileurope.fr for the list of agents.

France: iDTGV service launch

Nowadays, low-cost is most frequently associated with the airlines. In France, however, low-cost applies to rail travel on one of the most popular lines between Paris and the South of France. This new service, called iDTGV, was launched 6 December 2004 by the French Railways. It is available to travellers on the Paris-Marseille line and offers low-cost fares with two types of cars: “zen” and “zap”. For travellers who wish to travel in a quiet and relaxed atmosphere, they can choose the “zen” cars. Alternatively, travellers who wish to chat, rent and watch DVDs, have some food, can reserve in the “zap” cars and avail of shows, tastings, massage or product demonstrations and tapas-style food.

• The service is now almost 2 months in operation. The French Railways recently announced it is already highly successful – 57,000 tickets were sold in an eight-week period and 21,000 passengers used the service in December 2004.
• Reservations can only be made in France.