FEATURE RAIL TRAVEL
“A joined-up approach to mobile ticketing is still a long way off due to the rail network's complexity”
➔
to provide season tickets across the rail network to TMCs' corporate clients. Jon Reeve, Evolvi’s director of trade
relations, says TMCs’ demand for traveller tracking, heightened by recent terrorist attacks and air disasters, is one reason why barcode technology is needed. You could then tell if a person is on a particular train, unlike now. But the main driver is the greater convenience of barcodes on mobile tickets. “A joined-up approach to mobile
ticketing is still a long way off, due to the rail network's complexity,” says Reeve. “It’s okay for travel on one train operator, but a journey from Brighton to Leeds, for example, needs compatibility between two train operators and London Underground. It’s up to the DfT to drive a national, compatible network for any ticket, anywhere. Business travellers don’t appreciate this complexity. They see similarities between air and rail travel, but not the disparities.”
Evolvi is refining pre-trip authorisation
to include a financial limit below which this is not required, but Reeve cautions against demands for more split ticketing – separate tickets from A to B and B to C on a continuous journey from A to C. While great savings can be made on Anytime tickets, advance ticket savings are modest and he expects operators to clamp down on the practice.
Thetrainline.com is also pressing ahead
with barcode technology for mobiles or plain paper, and head of distribution, Ian Cairns, says it is encouraging that this is part of new franchise awards. It is already available for advance tickets on the main long-distance operators, and trials are underway for Anytime tickets available on more than one operator. “Advance tickets now represent 40 per
cent of our business sales, but putting barcodes on flexible tickets would really move mobile ticketing forward,” he explains. “These fulfilment methods are cheaper for train operators than issuing paper tickets or ticket on departure, and there will be progress this year. “Traveller tracking will be improved,
and not just for emergencies. You will also get better traveller behaviour data,” adds Cairns. Rail ticketing providers are also
increasing their interfaces with generic online booking and expense manage- ment systems such as KDS, with
Thetrainline.com aiming to offer them “the best content on the market”.
48 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
ALL CHANGE IN SCOTLAND
Rail services within and to Scotland are set for major improvements as new franchise operators take over, and the Scottish government invests in electrification and a new route. While Virgin Trains East Coast took over the core
London-Edinburgh route in March, Abellio (owned by the Dutch national rail operator) took over the ScotRail franchise in April to operate most domestic routes. On the same date, the Caledonian Sleeper overnight service from London was hived off into a separate franchise run by Serco. ScotRail will benefit from electrification of the key
Edinburgh-Glasgow via Falkirk route within a few years, while the new Borders line opens in September between Edinburgh and Tweedbank, along part of a route abandoned in the 1960s. Business travellers within Scotland will benefit from
revamped express trains, including a comfortable premium class, being introduced from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness. This will happen after 2018 using InterCity 125 trains retired from the East Coast route. Caledonian Sleeper trains still attract some business
travellers, despite the availability of early morning flights to/from London and the major cities they serve. Another drawback is the lack of private facilities in the sleeper cabins, but Serco will introduce innovative new trains from 2018. The 75 new carriages will offer cradle seats and airline-style pod flat beds, while standard sleeping berths and en-suite berths will be available, plus a brasserie-style Club Car. Routes currently served include Inverness, Fort William, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow to/from London Euston. A new website,
www.sleeper.scot, allows passengers to book the services up to 12 months in advance of travel.
C M Y CM MY CY CMY K
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96