Rail Europe

Rail Europe introduces Thalys’ new wardrobe…

The end of 2008 is full of good tidings for Thalys, the famous red train distributed by Rail Europe.  Thalys, which links Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne at high speed, is getting a makeover. Many improvements of this “new Thalys" will be unveiled before the end of the year ensuring an even higher level of comfort on-board. 

In addition, with the opening of the high speed lines to Cologne and Amsterdam in mid 2009, Thalys plans to offer new services while bringing these 2 destinations closer than ever to Brussels and Paris (1h46 Brussels/Cologne, 1h47 Brussels/Amsterdam, 3h13 Paris/Cologne, 3h14 Paris/Amsterdam).

Thalys already offers a great travel experience to its customers - comfort, multilingual staff, and conscientious service. Thanks to a satellite broadband wireless connection, Thalys is also one of the few train operators in the world capable of offering Wi-Fi onboard so travellers can surf on the Web while travelling at 300 km/h (cf. Rail Europe's Press Release #13)!!!

In the coming months, Thalys will introduce more of its plans for renovation and expansion, further reinforcing its leadership among train operating companies. Its ambitious internal carriage renovation programme as well as its onboard services underscore Thalys’ commitment to deliver more to its travellers, thus making a Thalys journey a truly unforgettable experience.

Thalys’ latest renovation plans begin in December 2008, with train managers and attendants sporting new uniforms designed by German designer Eva Gronbach. Her elegant and sophisticated collection reflects the modernity and dynamism of the new Thalys.

Simultaneously, the first Thalys train featuring a new design and colour palette will be readied to greet passengers by the end of 2008… Created by a consortium of Belgian and French designers, the new interiors will combine modern comfort with quality service while promoting the multicultural identity of Thalys. A new seat design will offer more leg room without reducing the number of passengers, and train sets will offer more storage space, individual lights and individual electric power outlets in first class…

Train exteriors are not left behind and will receive a new red coat, underlined by a chrome line running along the train’s length. Thalys trains will continue to be easily identifiable in the stations as well as stand out as they zoom through the Northern European landscape!

More than ever, Thalys offers the best solution in comfort, service and security when travelling between France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany at high speed.

Rail Europe is the worldwide leader in European rail distribution, and a major distributor of Thalys. For more information or to purchase your Thalys ticket, please consult your Rail Europe travel agent. Contact details can be found on www.raileurope.fr

With Internet on board, make your Thalys journey an unforgettable experience!

Rail Europe is glad to announce that Thalys, the high speed train between France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany proposes broadband Internet access on board.
WIFI is today available when travelling at 300 km/h on a few trains but will be extended to all Thalys trains before the end of 2008.
The system consists in a tracking antenna on the roof of the train that ensures Internet connection by bi-directional satellite link. In covered areas as tunnels, the satellite link is cut off but the Internet connection is maintained by switching to land relays (networks such as GPRS, UMTS, GSM, …).

The ThalysNet portal (only accessible on board trains equipped with WIFI) enables travellers to benefit, free of charge, from differerent services such as the position of the train in real time, access to the latest headlines, etc.

The ThalysNet portal and Internet are free of charge during the whole journey in 1st class as well as the traditional meal served at the seat, complimentary newspapers, etc.
In 2nd class, access to the ThalysNet portal is free of charge but there’s a charge for Internet access.
Two options are available:
- Unlimited surfing for 13 €
- “60 minutes” surfing for 6,5 €
Two means of payment are offered to travellers:
- By credit card (Visa, American Express, Mastercard) directly on the ThalysNet website
- By purchasing a pre-paid card on sale only at  the Thalys Bar

For more information about Thalys or to purchase your ticket, please consult your Rail Europe travel agent. Contact details to be found on www.raileurope.fr

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.

Rail Europe Thalys Winter promo

Rail Europe, the world leader in European Rail Distribution, is glad to announce the launch of the Thalys Winter Promo.

Enjoy a journey on the “red train” with a 50% discount on the regular price!!! Purchase your ticket before March 2nd and travel between January 30th and March 22nd to get this unique fare either in 1st or 2nd class, on all Thalys routes, between France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany! Travel from Paris to Brussels for only 41€ or to Cologne for 45,50€*.

Winter is the perfect season to discover this part of Europe, as it gives to these northern cities a very particular atmosphere with less tourists and still many cultural events. But above all, this season is the one of the unescapable sales and the highly romantic Valentines day on February 14th. So make the most of this great offer and shop ‘til you drop in Amsterdam’s trendy shops or experience the amazing Sablon Antiques Market in Brussels! Shouldn’t you be interested in the bargain’s hunting, just stroll hand in hand with your lover along the canals of the “Venice of the North”, Brugge, or run to the World Diamond Centre in Antwerp, to get your engagement ring or celebrate your wedding anniversary!

This promotion is available only through Rail Europe’s agents. Complete list available on www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy.

* Fare valid for a one way ticket in 2nd class.

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.”

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.”

Thalys’ 10th anniversary

Thalys celebrates its 10th birthday in June 2006. Ten exciting years down the line, Thalys has pioneered a number of records! For example, it won the lion’s share of the international business and tourist market from the airlines. Its train drivers pioneered cross-border journeys in Europe, working with 4 electrical systems and 7 signalling systems when it was launched. As a result, the entire international system is being revised and the ERTMS system is currently being installed.

When launched in 1996, Thalys initially linked Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. In the early days, journey times between Paris and Brussels were just over 2 hours, while Paris-Amsterdam was just under 5 hours at 4h47.

A year later, in 1997, journey times came down to 1h25 on the Paris-Brussels line with the opening of the high speed line. Paris-Amsterdam dropped to just over 4 hours. Aachen and Cologne in Germany joined the Thalys network. And within two years, the French and Belgian railways set up Thalys International, a company based in Brussels, with the German and Dutch railways as partners.

Thalys International introduced direct services like the Thalys Snow train to the ski resort, Bourg St Maurice in the winter of 1998 and for sun-seekers, in 2002, Thalys Sun brought holiday-makers to Avignon and Marseille, a direct link to the beaches of the south of France. Broad-band was offered free of charge in 2005, for business travellers, who made up - in that same year - 48% of the travelling public.

In 10 years, a staggering 52 million people travelled on the Thalys, with traffic growing over 5% in the last two years. In 2005 alone, 6 million travellers (business and tourists) filled the distinctive red Thalys trains. Passenger satisfaction rates run at a high 88% and service reliability is 95%.

For more information on the 160 year old story of relations between the railways on the Paris-Brussels-Cologne-Amsterdam line, please visit the specially designed internet site www.thalystory.com.

To reserve seats this summer on Thalys, please contact your Rail Europe agent: www.raileurope.fr/wheretobuy.

Europe’s high speed network: concepts and plans

Europe’s high speed network continues its tentacular spread. Initially instigated by the French and German railways, over twenty years ago, Spain, Italy and the UK are catching up and making up for lost years with a growing network. It is interesting to see how each country has developed its concept of high speed, in terms of infrastructure, rolling stock and service areas. The 5th Eurailspeed Congress, recently held in Milan, provided an excellent opportunity to review the high speed services in operation and preview developments for the coming years.

In Germany, the focus is on connectivity. ICE services stop between major towns and cities within 150 km of each other on a given route. As a result, speeds rarely surpass 300km and only for a short time. Reservations are not obligatory on these services.

The French concept of high speed is to compete directly with the airlines. With direct services between Paris-Marseille (800 km apart) travelling at speeds of over 300kms, the three hour journey has eaten into airline market share.

The Spanish Railways, Renfe, opted for the latest ICE design for the Madrid-Barcelona a high speed service with a focus on passenger comfort.

The Netherlands announced, however, that the high speed line from Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp will not commence service in 2007 but in 2008.

The year 2007 will see many new projects enter into commercial service, Eurostar’s new terminal at St. Pancras, the TGV East will bring Strasbourg and Nancy much closer to Paris and stretch through to Germany...we shall keep you informed on a regular basis on progress on these projects.

The UIC (International Union for Railways) has participated actively in moving forward the trans-national developments for the European railways. As part of the move to integrate these services across Europe, signaling and power are being adapted and standardised to ensure smooth passage from one country’s system to another. On the ticketing side, Eurostar and Thalys plan to issue joint tickets in 2006. This alliance will benefit travellers to the World Cup matches in Germany. We will keep you informed in future issues of the Press Release.

Lastly, financing new lines and material is also on the UIC agenda, with Western European railways show-casing choices made to enable their Eastern European counterparts prepare for the extension of lines into their regions.

The future for travellers using high speed services in Europe is due to improve even more.

Thalys

Travellers using Thalys between Paris and Brussels are accustomed to reaching their destination in 1h25. With 25 daily connections, services between the two cities run almost hourly. For business and leisure travellers continuing their journey to either Amsterdam or Cologne, they have more time however to view the Belgian flat-lands through to Amsterdam or the hilly woodlands and Belgian towns of Liège or Louvain. This is due to change in 2007. New high-speed lines between Belgium-The Netherlands, Belgium-Germany will shorten journey times considerably. Paris-Amsterdam and Paris-Cologne will take only 3h, compared to today’s journey times of 4h13 and 3h56, respectively.

On the Belgian-German front, major works commenced three years ago on the line between Brussels and Aachen on the German border. New viaducts, a new tunnel – the longest in Belgium - and station renovations are included in these refurbishments. Set up of the metallic structure for the train station in Liege, designed by the Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, commenced the beginning of 2005.

On the Belgian-Dutch front, new high-speed lines between Antwerp and Amsterdam will also shorten journey times. These new lines run alongside existing lines – among the busiest in Belgium – thereby creating serious constraints for work teams. Great care has been taken to organise works around train schedules to avoid perturbing the service. As a result, the majority of works are carried out at night or at week-ends.

Destinations   Journey Time   Service

                                  Current / 2007
• Paris-Brussels            1h25                        25 daily returns
• Paris-Amsterdam       4h13        3h              5 daily returns, 6 week-end returns
• Paris-Cologne            3h56    3h                  6 daily returns
• Brussels-Amsterdam  2h39    1h30               5 daily returns, 6 week-end returns

To purchase tickets for Thalys, please consult your travel agent. The list of all Rail Europe representatives is available on the website www.raileurope.fr.