
Rail Sector Welcomes Europe’s Green Deal
Following von der Leyen's speech on the EU Green Deal in the European Parliament, the rail industry has voiced its support.
Following von der Leyen's speech on the EU Green Deal in the European Parliament, the rail industry has voiced its support.
Alstom has started manufacturing the trains for Line 3 of Mumbai's metro network at its Indian SriCity facility in Andhra Pradesh.
After services began on Doha's phase 1 red line and gold line earlier this year, the metro network now has a full red line and green line.
Transfesa Logistics has wrapped one of its locomotives with the #TimetoAct message and will deliver this message across Spain.
Bombardier has revealed a new test centre at its site in Bautzen, Germany, that will be its serial production centre of competence.
Alstom will provide Angers Loire metropole with 20 Citadis trams for service from 2022, costing a total of almost 55 million euros.
Alstom and the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia have signed a contract for 43 trains for Perth. Delivery will begin in 2022.
A consortium of Bombardier joint ventures in China has won a contract to upgrade the automated people mover system at Beijing Airport.
Adif says it wants to reduce its carbon footprint by 86 percent by 2030, taking into account its plans to purchase green electricity.
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 49 – all the important news 2–6 December: COP25 takes place in Madrid, new rolling stock contracts.
Bombardier Vado Ligure site celebrates the production of the 2000th locomotive. It has manufactured 1000 since 1994, averaging 40 per year.
Rail Baltica has revealed the first visualisations of elements of the infrastructure for the new high-speed line, such as regional stations.
Alstom's Avelia AGVs have hit a milestone of 100 million kilometres travelled across the high-speed Italian network for operator NTV..
Hitachi is to build 23 new intercity trains for the new Avanti West Coast franchise which First Trenitalia will begin operating on 8 December.
All 22 metro train the Siemens Mobility consortium delivered for the Green Line of the Bangkok metro are now in passenger service.
The climate change conference COP25 is under way in Madrid. Transport is a major polluter and a shift to rail is vital for our future.
Alstom's first Citadis X05 tram for the Île-de-France T9 line was inaugurated in Orly on 3 December. Alstom will supply 22 trams in total.
The UK's Railway Industry Association's Exports Director Neil Walker on the UK and Australasian rail industries.
Stephanie Salter, Director at the Transport Digital Accelerator for TfNSW explains how the accelerator has already had a positive effect.
Two of the authors of McKinsey's 2019 report "Australia's Infrastructure Innovation Imperative" talk to Railway-News about their findings.
Alstom and FERROVIENORD have signed a contract for 31 Coradia Stream EMUs for the Lombardy Region. Delivery will commence in 2022.
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 48 with the top news and comment pieces for the rail sector, including from AusRAIL sponsor Bombardier.
The Alstom-Bombardier consoritum have won a contract with Île-de-France Mobilités for 44 four and five-car metro trains for Paris.
Construction of the standard-gauge high-speed line connecting the Baltics to Poland and Finland, began in Estonia on 28 November 2019.
The Australian and Queensland governments have signed a bilateral agreement that is a major step forward for teh 1700km Inland Rail project.
Desiree Baer is to be the new CEO of SBB Cargo, starting in March 2020. Her appointment will be preceded by a one-month introductory period.
Alstom has won a metro contract in Marseille. It will provide 38 new rubber-tyred metro trains and automation equipment for lines M1 and M2.
An overview of Melbourne's most important rail infrastructure projects, such as the new Metro Tunnel, which is due to open in 2025.
Azerbaijan Railways has purchased its first FLIRT trains from Stadler for deployment on both interregional and regional lines.
Our Infrastructure Progress Report for Syndey, the city hosting this year's AusRAIL PLUS 2019, the biggest rail event in Australia.
Early works have now commenced on the Yanchep extension of teh Joondalup Railway Line. It is estimated works will be complete in 2021.
Hull Trains has received the first of its five Class 802 'Paragon' trains from Hitachi. They will enter service over time, all by early 2020.
The Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development on the key successes and challenges for rail.
Bombardier is one of the event sponsors of AusRAIL PLUS 2019 the biggest rail show in Australia, which takes place in Sydney 3–5 December.
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 47 with all the important rail news from 18–22 November 2019, including TPE's new Nova fleet.
The government of NSW will acquire 23 additional Alstom Metropolis trains for the seamless operation of the Sydney Metro, once extended.
TransPennine Express has launced its new Nova fleet, unveiling the trains to the public at Liverpool Lime Street station on 22 November.
Alstom and SBB have signed a second ten-year maintenance contract for 25m euros for on-board ETCS equipment installed between 2003 and 2008.
Stadler's board of directors has nominated former President of Switzerland, Doris Leuthard, to join it starting in April 2020.
OEBB spent one month putting its Cityjet eco through its paces in passenger service. The electric-battery multiple unit performed well.
The German Pro-Rail Alliance has honoured Alstom employee Saskia Schulz with its 2019 innovation prize for shaping mobility
A new German-Swiss agreement to develop interconnected infrastructure projects to encourage a shift to rail and maritime transport.
Your quick read for all the important rail news for the week from 11–15 November, including Stadler's first hydrogen train order in the US.
MECX Medical support your business by providing your employees with regular medical health screening programs for a happy workforce.
Alstom has presented the new rubber-tyred future metro for the Lille metropolitan region at the 3rd Assises des Mobilités.
Adina-Ioana Valean, the European Transport Commissioner-Designate, had her hearing in front of MEPs on 14 November.
After signing a framework agreement in 2016, Alstom has delivered the first of 46 Coradia Stream 'Pop' trains to Trenitalia.
MARTA and Stadler have signed a contract for 127 two-car METRO trains to be delivered between 2023 and 2028. The contract is worth 646m USD.
After signing a contract with DB Regio, Alstom will deliver 19 Coradia Continental trains to Baden-Württemberg.
Deutsche Bahn has opened a new training centre in Cologne, where it will train new apprentices and upskill its existing workforce.
The Recoletos Tunnel in Madrid has been undergoing upgrade works worth 45 million euros. Alstom has now completed the signalling works.
Stadler has won its first contract for a hydrogen train, the FLIRT H2. The SBCTA will operate the train on the Redlands Passenger Rail line.
The first test tram on the Trafford Park Line, the new extension to the Metrolink network in Manchester, took place overnight Sunday.
Rail Baltica has announced its tender for the Riga Airport station and associated works. Candidate selection will occur in January 2020.
UWC will supply 100 gondola freight cars to National Railways of Zimbabwe for cross-border operations. They will run on 1067mm gauge track.
As part of its knowledge transfer strategy Talgo UK has gifted a Rodal to the National College for Advanced Transport & Infrastructure.
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 45 2019: all the latest rail news from 4–8 November in one place covering DB, CAF, Alstom and others.
Crossrail Ltd says the central section of the Elizabeth line now will not open in 2020. The previous window suggested Oct 2020–Mar 2021.
Von der Leyen has picked her candidate for Transport Commissioner, Romanian politician Adina-Ioana Valean. Her hearing is on 14 November.
MECX Medical Drug & Alcohol Testing Programs are straightforward, simple and backed by a rapid results turnaround service.
The Deutsche Bahn supervisory board has agreed a €100m investment in 30 new trains. Dr Sigrid Nikutta, head of BVB, will join DB in 2020.
The Berlin Wall came down 30 years ago, on 9 November 1989. After German Unity, the government implemented major transport projects.
Serbia: the EBRD is loaning 100 million euros to the Serbian state railway company Srbija Voz for the acquisition of up to 18 trains.
CAF Signalling has won a contract for the Ferrocarril Central project, Uruguay, expanding the CAF Group subsidiary's international operations.
Alstom and MMRC revealed a mock up of the train for the Aqua Line in Mumbai. Alstom is supplying 31 8-car units as part of a 2018 contract.
The electrication works on the Gail Valley Railway in Austria have entered their final phase. The OLE will go live on 11 November for testing.
Alstom and FS Italiane have reconfirmed their partnership with Bologna University. A four-week course will equip students with vital skills.
All the important rail news from around the world, including Germany's first digital interlocking for a long-distance rail service.
Alstom is set to test the new Coradia iLint in the Netherlands. This is due to a signage between Alstom, Engie, Arriva and ProRail.
FreiLacke is the only company to supply both powder coatings and wet coatings in a combined system to the advanced TrainLab.
The British rail operators have jointly published a report outlining investments in rolling stock and infrastructure for 2020 and beyond.
Talgo has signed a framework agreement with Transport Scotland and Scottish Enterprise for a manufacturing base in Longannet, Fife.
Gazpromtans have signed another contract with UWC, this time for 120 tank cars in order to transport molten sulphur for parent Gazprom.
Deutsche Bahn is transforming its rail network with digital signal boxes. The first regulating a long-distance route has entered service.
Vivarail has announced expansion plans with a move to Southam. It has out-grown its premised at Long Marston thanks to a growing order book.
WESTbahn has purchased 17 Stadler KISS trains. The TOC is selling its existing fleet to DB. The new trains will enter service in 2021.
Alstom is celebrating a milestone for its Hanoi Metro contract signed in 2017. The first trainset will be complete by the end of the month.
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 43: Wabtec and Bombardier celebrate milestones, and Avignon's tramway opens with Alstom rolling stock.
Transport for Wales is continuing its station improvement vision by investing 280,000 GBP in enhancing 13 Borderlands Line stations.
Network Rail is choosing to use augemented reality to showcase its three new footbridge designs to the public via the ARki app.
Bombardier is celebrating 25 years of its APM system running in Germany. Frankfurt Airport got the INNOVIA 100 sytem in 1994.
Wabtec has announced 2 milestones for its India operations at IREE 2019. For example, its Indian factory has been operating for a year now.
Spanish train manufacturer Talgo has established Talgo UK with Jon Veitch as its new MD. It aims to build an 'all Britain' supply chain.
Crossrail has published a new plan that will see 120 key milestones being tracked, with a scheduled opening of October 2020–March 2021.
France's Grand Est region has ordered 39 Alstom Coradia Polyvalent trains for both cross-border and domestic operations.
BLS Cargo has announced it is buying 25 Siemens Vectron multi-system locomotives to operate in Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy.
Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx have awarded the contract to design, build, maintain, operate and finance the Hurontario LRT.
Network Rail and Arup have published a report entitled Tomorrow's Living Station to investigate how Britain's stations might evolve.
Avignon's first tram line opened to the public on 19 October with Alstom Citadis X05 trams. A second line is scheduled to open in 2023.
All the important rail news of the week, summed up for you in one place: our Railway-News Industry Insider Week 42 for 14–18 October 2019.
Stadler has signed the contract with ADIF for 22 rescue locomotives following the company's announcement on 31 July that it won the tender.
Alstom Ubunye has opened its rail factory in Ekurhuleni. It will supply components to Gibela Rail where the PRASA trains are being built.
The Vienna-Bratislava line is seeing upgrade works to make it a faster, electrified railway. 1 of 14 level crossings has now been eliminated.
Germany will cut VAT on long-distance rail journeys to 7%, down from the current 19%. It will also increase taxes on air passengers.
The EU says that it is seeking applications for funding for transport projects worth up to 1.4 billion euros. 50 million are for ERTMS.
All the important rail news of the week, summed up for you in one place: our Railway-News Industry Insider Week 41 for 7–11 October 2019.
Stadler and NAH.SH have signed the contract for 55 FLIRT Akku trains that will enter service in Schleswig-Holstein in 2022 and beyond.
Stadler has won its first major rolling stock contract in the Pacific region, with the Taiwan Railways Authority ordering 34 locomotives.
The ninth edition of EXPO Ferroviaria, Italy’s showcase for railway technologies, products and systems, closed at Rho Fiera Milano.
Skoda Transportation has won a contract to supply trains for the Warsaw metro. The Czech company will deliver the first unit within 2 years.
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Comment
by Railway-News
Published:
16 Jul 2018
Tags
Fare Collection
Loco2
Passenger Train
Ticketing
Just the Ticket: How Third-Party Sellers are Providing a Better Deal on Rail Fares
Of all the issues in rail industry – policy, technology, sustainability – selling tickets does not appear especially complex. In the UK the price of rail fares is a constant talking point for the public, but the systems for actually selling them have generally generated less controversy. In recent months, however, attention has turned to this issue: in April the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Rail devoted one of its meetings, featuring the Secretary of State for Rail, to ticketing, and on 4 June the Rail Delivery Group opened its own public consultation on it. The focus of these initiatives was on ticketing in the UK, but given the rail link with France and the popularity of using this mode of transport to see the continent amongst British tourists, ticketing must also be considered in a European context. Train operating companies (TOCs) in all of these markets are discovering that their models for ticketing are becoming increasingly difficult to sell to potential passengers.
In this article for Railway-News Dave Ashton, CEO of Loco2, a ticketing service for rail in the UK and Europe, explains how third-party sellers have lured customers away from the options provided by TOCs.
With few exceptions, train ticket distribution by TOCs across Europe is far behind the air travel industry. Why? For two main reasons: firstly – most TOCs distribute a large percentage of tickets via outdated distribution methods (from human sellers and via machines at train stations) and, two – they get away with it because of the lack of competition which reduces the need to innovate or so they think.
A dearth of competition in any industry promotes complacency rather than innovation, and the rail industry isn’t exempt. In a monopoly environment if people want to get from A to B by rail, they have one choice. Take it or leave it.
In the UK we have so many ticket types and fare options that many consumers – particularly those buying directly from a train station window or ticket machine – frequently opt for the ‘any time, any train’ option. This fare gives travellers peace of mind that they can get from A to B without being fined, but it’s usually the most expensive-possible fare. Why would anyone ever do that?
When paying for train travel online and in advance, it’s much easier to identify the best train to travel on and the consumer can see the associated costs and read the fare conditions. This is simply a smarter way of buying train tickets (or any tickets, for that matter: you know what you’re getting and almost always get a better fare). But this method isn’t perfect either: not all TOC websites are user-friendly, and where there are two or more TOCs operating on the same route it can be difficult to compare like-for-like. This is where third-party ticket sellers such as www.loco2.com come in. Third-party distributors give consumers the best chance to get a cost-effective ticket, especially on routes where there is competition from two or more operators.
Over in France, SNCF has been heavily criticised for its fare range, especially for its highly complex, yield-managed TGV fares. They’re not alone though. Most high-speed rail operators are trying to maximise their revenue through aggressive strategic inventory control, or yield management just as airlines do – making sure they sell the right ticket to the right customer at the right time for the right price – to ensure maximum profit, and in doing so their fare ranges are made more complex.
Having said that, the structure of fare ranges in continental Europe is generally more straightforward than in the UK. Fares tend to be broken down by flexibility and class of travel, in a way similar to airlines – confirming that it can be done and that extra layers of complexity are unnecessary. It will be interesting to see the findings from the UK’s rail ticket review in September.
To drive demand and compete with airlines, continental rail operators have also developed low-cost offers (for example Ouigo from SNCF or IZY from Thalys) that are easy for customers to identify, so if someone wants to find the cheapest fare on a specific route, they can. That said, these are only available when booked online and in advance. Yet another reason not to use in-station ticket machines.
If booking a train were made easier and pricing more transparent, more people would use trains – there’s no doubt about it. Loco2 recently published the Great Train Comparison report presenting hundreds of reasons why pan-European train travel has never been so good. It’s a shame when opaque pricing and antiquated ticket distribution methods are the first stage of the rail travel experience – it’s very off-putting.
To promote train travel as easy and accessible, Loco2 is pushing technology to its limits in order to integrate multiple train operators’ ticketing systems to make booking a train journey, from anywhere to anywhere in the UK and Europe as easy as booking a flight. By doing this, we’re also promoting competition, which helps to drive innovation and better value. Our role as a third-party ticket seller is also to push the governing bodies (Office of Rail and Road in the UK) to improve access to data that will enable third-party ticket sellers to offer benefits that TOCs are attempting to use to entice customers to book direct with them, such as automated delay repayments.
Third-party ticket sellers with mobile apps have, for a number of years now, had a ‘halo effect’ on pan-European train travel, by removing the annoyance associated with buying a ticket. If you consider that 20% of 16–24-year-olds only use apps to purchase tickets or access timetables, due to the fact that they are ‘mobile-only’ and choose not to own or use a tablet PC or computer, a good 65% of pan-European TOCs would never sell any tickets to the train users of the future today. The operating companies will adapt eventually, of course, but passengers are ready now. So are we.