“

Chapter -1
Introduction

1
INTRODUCTION
Today transportation is one of the most important element of travel industry
earlier peoples travel by road in order to complete their journey but know
various means of transports are available such as rail, road and air to
complete their journey.These were the means which has simplified the
journey as well as due to availability of high speed means, cost as well as
time effective tourism is also increasing.
The history of transport is largely one of technological innovation.
Advances in technology have allowed people to travel farther, explore more
territory, and expand their influence over larger and larger areas. Even in
ancient times, new tools such as foot coverings, skis, and snowshoes
lengthened the distances that could be travelled. As new inventions and
discoveries were applied to transport the problems, travel time decreased
while the ability to move more and larger loads increased. Innovation
continues as transport researchers are working to find new ways to reduce
costs and increase transport efficiency

The history of rail transportation dates back nearly 500 years, and
includes systems with man or horse power and rails of wood (or
occasionally stone). This was usually for moving coal from the mine down
to a river, from where it could continue by boat, with a flanged wheel
running on a rail. The use of cast iron plates as rails began in the 1760s, and
was followed by systems (plate ways) where the flange was part of the rail.
However, with the introduction of rolled wrought iron rails, these became
obsolete.Modern rail transport systems first appeared in England in the
1820s. These systems, which made use of the steam locomotive, were the
first practical form of mechanized land transport, and they remained the
primary form of mechanized land transport for the next 100 years.
History of European Railways
In19th century,the construction of rail route in Europe started with the prime
objective to connect different countries capital in order to increase
accessibility and also focused on reduce time taking in comparison to air
transport and to cut the cost of travelling.
For regional and economic development of Europe, European union come
to an agreementin the year 1999, This agreementare based on two
dimensions in the development of policy and they are

2
  That modern efficient transport networks are essential if Europe as a
whole is to compete in the global, high-mobility, networked
economy
 That investment in modern transport infrastructure is vital for
economic development in disadvantaged peripheral regions and their
convergence towards the average levels of incomes and well-being
in the European Union (EU).

The Treaty on the European Union (EUROPEAN COMMISSION,1992)1

and the White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment
(EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 1994a) both set out the claim that the
development of TENs is an essential element in both promoting the
economic development and improving the economic and social cohesion of
the EU. However, many features of this enormous investment program
indicate that it is the former of these claims, based on enhancing the global
competitiveness of Europe, which has dominated policy thinking. It is
possible that the completion of the TENs, and especially of the most likely
elements to be achieved, may in certain circum-stances widen rather than
reduce the divergences in both accessibility and the economic opportunities
of regions. The consequences for both central and peripheral regions may
be quite complex.

The First Report on Economic and Social Cohesion has shown that a
comparison of the 10 richest and the 10 poorest regions indicates that, in
1993, in the former average GDP per head was some 3 times higher than
that of the latter, though this was slightly less than a decade earlier when
the figure was 5’ (EUROPEAN COMMISSION, 1996, p. 21). This
confirms the generally well-known picture of rich central regions
surrounded by poorer peripheral regions. The detailed picture is more
complicated with some geographically central regions being classified
amongst the poorest regions eligible for Objective 1 assistance from the EU
Structural Funds. Of greater interest, however, is the pattern of change in
this picture through time. While there was some convergence of regional
per capita income in the European Community in the 1960s and 1970s,
during the early 1980s regional disparities started to increase although, over
the full period 1980±92, there was again some modest convergence

3
High-speed rail in the European Union

High-speed rail (HSR) started developing in Europe in the late 1970s, first
in France and Italy, and subsequently in Germany, Spain and the UK,
among others. In the early stages, its development took place largely at
national level. The EU started providing specific support to European rail
projects with the establishment of the trans European transport network
(TEN-T) in the early 1990s, some priority projects of which concern HSR.
The EU also promotes HSR development through other means, including
technical harmonization measures, security systems and funding
instruments. The importance of high-speed rail has increased over time in
the EU in terms of network length, number of passengers carried and modal
share.2
About Rail Europe
Rail Europeis an online platform through which a traveler can book their
trip or journey in Europe. It is the leading worldwide distributor of
European rail products, Rail Europe is the only one-stop-shop for planning
and booking European train travel and sightseeing.From rail passes to train
tickets and reservations, it provides unparalleled access to an extensive
array of rail products from over 50 European train companies.
Catering to travelers and travel agents from the Americas, Asia, Oceania,
the Middle East, and Africa, Rail Europe makes discovering Europe by
train easy, seamless, and memorable. Its unique, user-friendly online
booking engine makes it easy for travellers to book in their preferred
language and currency. Plus, it provides award-winning localized customer
care and assistance. It also offer support before, during, and after the
journey.

4
Review of literature
Roger Vickerman, Klaus Spiekermann& Michael Wegener.(1999)1
“Accessibility and Economic Development in Europe”The paper was
published in the year 1995 and revised during the year 1997 , the paper
focused on rail accessibility and economic development of Europe, the
paper further demonstrate about the historical background of rail
development in Europe and contribution of European union in linking
different countries of Europe.
The paper major emphasis on transport infrastructure and regional
development in Europe, investment in European transport infrastructure &
about trans-European network and accessibility.
GUTIEÂ RREZ and URBANO, (1995)although based on a different
indicator, the work of GUTIEÂ RREZ and URBANO Confirms a similar
affect for road trans-European network, a larger proportion of the area of
the EU is served better bythe proposed road network, and the biggest
absolutechanges in accessibility are gained in some peripheral regions
which start with very poor levels of provision, the relative gap between the
best and the worst of the main centre increases.
JanicMilan(1997)2 “Comparison of the quality of rail and air networks in
West, Central and Eastern Europe” published by Institute of Traffic and
Transport, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia .The paper deals with an analysis of
the rail and air passenger transport network spreading over West, Central
and Eastern Europe. The rail network consists of the railway stations
located in the particular places (cities) assumed to be the network nodes and
the trains moving along the single/ double tracks (being a portion of railway
infrastructure) connecting them (the network links). The air transport
network consists of the airports located close to the particular places (cities)
assumed to be the network’s nodes, and the flights scheduled between them
(the links of the air transport network). The number and type of rail and air
connections between particular places (nodes), their surrogates defined as
the passenger schedule delays (e.g. defer times), and schedule travel times
between particular origins and destinations have been estimated for both
networks. The analysis could be useful for the following purposes-various
comparisons of the quality of services offered by different transport
networks serving the passenger flows in Europe; synthesizing the
generalized travel cost functions determining the conditions for choice of
transport mode under given circumstances; design of specific monitoring
tool being convenient for registrating the significant changes in the supply
of transport capacities that may occur due to the variations of transport
demand, overall and specific improvements in the transport infrastructure,
operations and services, and general consolidation of the processes of
European economic, social and political integrations.

5
VICKERMAN, 1995, in his paperreveal very different accessibility
landscapes depending on the specific connectivityneeds of particular
industries. Equally important
for the development of rail transport and its accessibility.

Regina R. Clewlowa ,n, Joseph M.Sussmanb, Hamsa Balakrishnanc

(2011)3“The impact of high-speed rail and low-cost carriers on European
air passenger traffic” The paper focused on the impact of high speed rail in
comparison to low cost carrier and how it is effective for the European
environment.
In this study, an empirical econometric analysis was conducted to examine
the impacts of high-speed rail and low-cost carriers on European passenger
air traffic between 1995 and 2009, based on data from over 35 airports and
90 airport pairs. Consistent with previous studies of specific airport pairs,
the improvement of rail travel times was found to be a significant factor in
reducing short haul air traffic in Europe. Furthermore, analysis of demand
at the airport level revealed that the presence of high-speed rail contributed
to lower domestic air passenger traffic.

Philippe Domergue And Emile Quinet,“Situation And Problems Of

Railway Industry In Europe”(2001)4 the article has been divided into three
sections the first section deals with the path of European reforms and
outline the main features of the directive defining the path by European
union towards Rail Europe. The second section showshow definitely each
country has responded to the directives and how far are they from the goal.
The third section examine the outcomes in terms of traffic and quality of
service.

Roelof-Jan Molemaker& Andreas Pauer(2014)5.“The economic footprint of

railway transport in Europe” the paper has been divided on three basic
aspects i.e the economic pillar,social and employment pillar and
environmental pillar.The economic pillarelobarate about the size of
railways transport sector , economic benefits of selected railways
infrastructural project and impact of railway transport on competitiveness
and innovation ,the social and employment pillar focused on social
inclusion and percentage of jobs offered and the environmental pillar
elaborate the effect of railways on environment and security and safety of
passengers.

6
John Harcus & Leonardo Dongiovanni , A driver for EU competitiveness
and sustainable mobility worldwide”7The article focused on rail supply
industry, its impact on Europe and foreign countries in terms of investment,
its also analysis the European Rail Traffic Management System and its
infrastructure development , the article also compare some of the popular
roots of Europe i.e Paris to Frankfurt in terms of air and by road the article
further demonstrate about the environmental impact , high speed
comparison, cost competitiveness and cross border cooperation through all
these three medium Air, Road &Rail industry.
Spiekerman, K., Wegener, M.: Trans-European networks and unequal
accessibility in Europe. (1996)8 The paper mainly focused on the treaty of
maastricht and its outcome for the development of European central and
peripheral region , The Maastricht Treaty claims that the trans-European
networks are to improve the economic and social cohesion of the union
through increased accessibility of the less favored regions. However, all
features of this enormous investment program indicate that, in contrast to
the claims of the Treaty, its major purpose is to efficiently connect the main
economic centres and so enhance the global competiveness of Europe. lt is
therefore likely that the trans-European networks will not reduce but widen
the differences in accessibility, and consequently also in economic
opportunity, between central and peripheral regions in Europe. The
hypothesis of growing disparities in Europe due to the trans-European
networks is discussed ln the paper in theoretical terms and by presenting
new ways of analyzing the impacts of trans-European networks on the
spatial structure and the distribution of accessibility in Europe.

Jay Saw, “Major challenges facing rail operators, maintainers & owners
and the role of ict” (2015)9 the article was published by nomad digital.com
article is generally based on the survey conducted by nomad digital.com
among rail operators and are based on problems and challenges faced by
rail operators. The summary of the article is rail operators are expected to
operate more efficiently, maintain safety and service quality, meet ever-
demanding passenger needs and achieve more with shrinking budgets. there
is no sign of this trend diminishing. While many of these challenges are
not new, the industry itself is rapidly changing, with increasing economic,
regulatory, competitive and environmental pressures, thus creating new
challenges and complexity.

7
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
Objective of the study are as under

 To study the European rail system, its working and management.

 To go through the online platform ofEurope Rail and its booking
process.
 To understand the nature of business activities of rail Europe
 To study the popular rail roots.
 To understand rail Europe market and its segmentation

Research methodology
 Based on the objective of the study, the exploratory research method
is used. exploratory study is taken up when the researcher collected
data through the secondary sources.

Secondary data
 Previous works in the topics related with European railways like
dissertations, books, journals, online sources etc have been used.
..

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

 Shortage of time was main constraint for the study
 The analysis and study was ################
 The limited period of study may not be detailed and full- fledged in
all aspects.
 Non-availability of finance is also a major problem
 Problem of data availability related to the topic.

PRESENTATION OF THE STUDY

The entire study is divided into five chapters.The first chapter deals the
“Introduction”. The second chapter is devoted to “Rail Europe – a brief
profile” .The third chapter deals with “Working and Management set up of
Rail Europe”. The chapter four deals with “Issues and challenges to Rail
Europe” and the fifth chapter deals with “Conclusion and Suggestions”The

8
study focused on exploring rail Europe working model, and how it target its
customer and detailed about its product and services .

9
References
1. Roger Vickerman, Klaus Spiekermann& Michael Wegener.
“Accessibility and Economic Development in Europe”.(1999)
2. Janic Milan “Comparison of the quality of rail and air networks in
West, Central and Eastern Europe” (1997)
3. DamianoScordamaglia “High-speed rail in the EU” European
Parliamentary Research Service (September 2015)
4. Regina R. Clewlowa, n, Joseph M. Sussmanb, HamsaBalakrishnanc
“The impact of high-speed rail and low-cost carriers on European air
passenger traffic”(2011)
5. Philippe Domergue And Emile Quinet , Situation And Problems Of
Railway Industry In Europe(2001)
6. Roelof-Jan Molemaker & Andreas Pauer. “The economic footprint
of railway transport in Europe” (2014)
7. John Harcus&LeonardoDongiovanni ,” A driver for EU
competitiveness and sustainable mobility worldwide
8. Spiekerman, K., Wegener, M.: Trans-European networks and
unequal accessibility in Europe. European Journal of Regional
Development (1996)
9. Jay Saw, “Major challenges facing rail operators, maintainers &
owners and the role of ict” (2015)

10
 CHAPTER -2
RAILEUROPE- A BRIEF
PROFILE
\

RAIL EUROPE AN OVERVIEW

Rail Europe, Inc. is a North American distributor of European rail products,

representing over 50 rail roads throughout Europe. Rail Europe's history of
doing business in North America dates to 1930s. In 1959, the company
introduced the Eurail Pass to the North American market.The company is
headquartered in White Plains, New York, and has a contact Center located
in Rosemont, Illinois, ISO 9001:2008 certifiedRail Europe provides
assistance to travelers in English, French and Spanish both on the Web and
in their contact center. Rail Europe serves over one million travelers per
year.The company's core products include European rail passes and train
tickets, Rail Europe offers a wide range of high-speed train tickets
including Eurostar, TGV, Italo, and Le Frecce. Tickets for local and
regional trains in Europe are also available. Additionally, offered are
sightseeing passes, public transport cards, and hotel/rail packages.As the

11
leading worldwide distributor of European rail products, Rail Europe is the
only one-stop-shop for planning and booking European train travel and
sightseeing products.From rail passes to train tickets and reservations, its
provide unparalleled access to an extensive array of rail products from over
50 European train companies.

Catering to travelers and travel agents from the Americas, Asia, Oceania,
the Middle East, and Africa, Rail Europe makes discovering Europe by
train easy, seamless, and memorable. Its unique, user-friendly online
booking engine makes it easy for travelers to book in their preferred
language and currency, it’s alsoprovide award-winning localized customer
care and assistance. they offer support before, during, and after the
journey.1

PRODUCT AND SERVICES

Source: Rail Europe

Rail Europe offers the widest selection of European rail products, from rail
passes to train tickets, as well as reservations and travel packages.Passes
are the ideal choice to explore Europe at one’s own pace. Simple and
flexible, passes offer more freedom and extensive travel in the countries
selected. Rail Europe offers everything from the iconic Eurail Global Pass
that lets travelers discover up to 28 different countries, to a large choice of
rail passes covering a single country or 2,3,4 adjoining countries for those
wishing to focus on specific countries.

12
For travel between several European cities, train tickets are ideal and a
great value for the money. A reservation (compulsory and included on
some trains) will guarantee a seat onboard in your selected class of
service.Money-saving fares (youth, senior, groups) are offered by Rail
Europe, when available, for trains including TGV, Eurostar, Thalys, and
ICE.2

Rail Europe strives to offer the best service to its customers, from journey
planning with useful information and innovative tools, to unparalleled after-
sales support. Rail Europe offers the comfort and ability to book in local
languages, and to use local currency to buy rail passes, tickets, and more.
Booking ahead ensures delivery before departing to Europe, all to avoid
long waiting times at European stations, and confusion over currency and
language differences.

Rail Europe products are generally divided on the basis of their services
such as high speed train and regional trains and according to their speed
these are divided into different categorizations which are

 Rail Passes - allow travel on European trains in a specific geographic

area (defined at time of purchase) for a specific number of days.
These days can be "consecutive" (i.e., 5 days in a row) or not (i.e.,
travel any day within a longer period of time for up to 2 months).
Eurail Select and Global passes can include rail travel in 3 to 23
European countries on a single pass. And national and regional rail
passes offer extensive travel within specific countries or regions.
 Train Tickets - allow for one-way or round-trip train journeys from
city-center to discover Europe.
 E-tickets - offer travelers the ability to print at home or at the station.
 Seat Reservations - mandatory for high-speed trains and are
available to rail pass holders at discounted "passholder" rates.
 Sleeping Accommodation - available on some overnight trains.
 High-speed trains - transport passengers from city center to city
center at speeds of up to 200 mph.
 City Sightseeing Tours - such as museum passes, wine-and-cheese
tasting and hop-on hop-off bus tours.
 Group Travel - Designed for groups of 10 or more travelers.

13
Rail passes.3

 Single country passes

Enjoy extensive train travel across the national rail network of one
country, with the freedom to explore its numerous cities and towns
 Multi- country passes
Travel across the national rail networks of neighboring countries
with a single rail pass. It’s a perfect way to explore Europe’s rich
diversity.

 Swiss travel passes

Extensive travel on trains, buses and boats, plus free entry to over
490 museums. There isn't a better or more budget-friendly way to
discover Switzerland.
 Eurail Select Pass 3 countries
a) Unlimited travel in 3 bordering countries.
b) 2 children up to age 11 travel for free with each adult
c) Youth (12 - 27) discounts available
 Eurail Germany - Poland Pass
a) Unlimited travel in Germany and Poland.
b) 2 children up to age 11 travel for free with each adult
c) Youth (12 - 27) discounts available

 Eurail Scandinavia Pass

a) Unlimited travel in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
b) 2 children up to age 11 travel for free with each adult
c) Youth (12 - 27) discounts available

TRAIN TICKETS

 Finnish trains
a) Finnish trains are the best way to travel in Finland.
b) Book up to 60 days in advance
c) Regional trains
 French trains: Intercités
a) Intercités trains serve more than 300 destinations in France
both day and night.
b) Book up to 90 days in advance

14
 c) E-ticket
d) Regional trains
 UK Trains
a) UK trains link all Britain from London to Oxford, Glasgow to
Edinburg and Cardiff to Birmingham etc.
b) London - Edinburgh: 04:19
c) Book early, save up to 60%
d) Book up to 60 days in advance
e) E-ticket
f) High Speed trains
 Thello Night trains
a) Thello night trains. Ideal to travel from Paris to Milan, Venice
and Florence.
b) Paris - Venice: 13:24
c) Book up to 120 days in advance
d) Night trains
e) Secure cabins with cozy berths
 Italian trains: Frecciabianca
a) Frecciabianca, long-distance trains serving all main cities like
Rome, Milan, Venice, Genoa and more.
b) Book up to 120 days in advance
c) E-ticket
d) High Speed trains
 German trains: Intercity (IC)
a) Intercity and Euro city trains connect all major cities in
Germany.
b) Book up to 180 days in advance
c) Regional trains
 Swedish Day trains
a) Swedish day trains, high speed link between Stockholm,
Copenhagen, Göteborg, Malmö and Oslo.
b) Copenhagen - Stockholm: 05:03
c) Book early, save up to 30%
d) Book up to 90 days in advance
e) High Speed trains

15
Most popular roots

Source:https://www.google.co.in/search

 MADRID - BARCELONA

Source: https://www.google.com/maps

The average travel time between Barcelona and Madrid is 2h56 minutes.
The quickest route is 2h30 minutes. The first train leaving Barcelona is at
06:05, the last at 20:00. There is an average of 18 trains a day between
Barcelona and Madrid, leaving approximately every 1h03 minutes.4

Departure station: Barcelona sants (Plaça dels Països Catalans

Barcelona)

Arrival station: Madrid atocha (Avenida de Barcelona Madrid)

LONDON – PARIS-AMSTERDAM

16
 Source: https://www.google.com/maps

The average travel time between London and Paris is 2h20 minutes. The
quickest route is 2h16 minutes. The first train leaving London is at 05:40,
the last at 20:31. There is an average of 16 trains a day between London
and Paris, leaving approximately every 57 minutes.

Departure station: London st-pancras (Pancras Road NW1 2QP London)

Arrival station: Paris nord (112, rue de Maubeuge 75010 Paris)

PARIS- AMSTERDAM
The average travel time between Paris and Amsterdam is 4h09 minutes.
The quickest route is 3h17 minutes. The first train leaving Paris is at 06:01,
the last at 19:25. There is an average of 27 trains a day between Paris and
Amsterdam, leaving approximately every 28 minutes.

Departure station: Paris nord (112, rue de Maubeuge 75010 Paris)

Arrival station: Amsterdam cs (Stationsplein 15 1012 AB Amsterdam)

THE ECONOMIC FOOTPRINT OF RAILWAY

TRANSPORT IN EUROPE
The European railway transport sector plays an important role in fostering
social inclusion. In addition, the sector is a crucial element in the delivery
of ‘mobility for all’, as has been acknowledged by the European
Commission. The Commission’s strategies were outlined in a 2003
report84, and in the Common Transport Policy85, which includes the
commitment to “place users at the heart of transport policy”. In this regard,
the Commission promotes a coherent approach, where transport planning is
properly integrated into social policy.5

Source: Unife (European rail industry association)

PROVIDING JOBS

17
The railway sector and the many activities linked to the sector are an
important source of employment for European citizens. In the past decade,
the sector has not only continued to provide secure jobs for existing
employees but has also initiated an ongoing revitalization process that will
offer opportunities for younger generations. This
isparticularlyrelevantatatimewhentheEuropeanUnion is facing a
significant challenge in the area of youth unemployment.

Source: Unife (European rail industry association).

Social inclusion in railway transport as a facilitator for equity and economic

development Fostering social inclusion contributes to achieving two
transport planning goals namely equity of transport and economic
development

 In terms of equity railway transport can be considered as ‘most

equitable’ if it provides the greatest benefit at comparable cost
relative to alternative means of transportation. It is important, in this
context, to keep in mind the strong positive external effects of
railway transport on other transport users, especially when entering
cities;
 Social inclusion contributes indirectly to economic development.
Physical constraints that prevent individuals from obtaining an
optimal education or employment may hamper overall economic
performance.Inthiscontext,byreachingouttoawiderpartofsociety,railw
aytransport(asopposed to car or air travel) can help to enhance the
competitive positions and economic performance of underdeveloped
regions and communities

Source: Unife (European rail industry association).

Source: Unife (European rail industry association)

A LEADER IN ECO FRIENDLY TRANSPORT

18
Rail transport is commonly recognized as a clean mode of transport that has
an important role in the creation of a sustainable transport system.89 With
growing demand for freight and passenger transport, a shift towards the
least polluting and most energy efficient modes of transport especially in
the case of long distance and urban travel will contribute to more
sustainable mobility. A study conducted by Austrian Federal Railways
(ÖBB)in 201090 also shows that limited space in cities plays a crucial role
in assessing the environmental benefits of railways. The study estimates
that the savings in terms of congestion associated with one person
switching from car to rail amount to € 3,000 per year.
Furthermore, railway transport has strong safety advantages in comparison
to other modes of transport. In this section we provide first an overview on
the environmental effects and then provide some key safety data.

Source: UNIFE, the European Rail Industry Association.

COMPARISION

Source: UNIFE, the European Rail Industry Association

References
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_Europe,_Inc.
2. R Lewis, U Olofsson “Wheel Rail interface hand book”(2009)
3. http://www.raileurope.co.in/
4. https://www.google.com/maps
5. John Harcus&LeonardoDongiovanni ,” A driver for EU competitiveness and
sustainable mobility worldwide”
6. European Commission,'High Speed Europe–A sustainable link
between citizens'(2010)
7. TRANSFORUM thematic workshop paper'High speed rail'–Rome
(2014)

19
Chapter 3

20
 WORKING AND
MANAGEMENT SET UP OF
RAIL EUROPE.

21
Working Model of Rail Europe
Rail Europe working model is generally based on customer experiences that
y categorized into different stages based on customer journey they are

 Research and planning

 Shopping
 Booking
 Post-Booking, Pre-Travel
 Travel&Post travel

These points are further sub categorized on the basis of human psychology,
what they think about the rail Europe its working and services and based on
the services their views are revied.1

Research, planning& Shopping

The first stage under which company focused is on research and based on
that research further planning is made, this planning process are basically
divided on the uses of services which are

a) Rail Europe research

Initially research was generally based on the destination, routes to be
covered and products to be offered.
b) Doing
Research planning &Shopping
Under this head focused on what can be the customer query or
exactly what he will do, it’s basically a continuous process of
comparison and shopping on the basis of result drawn.

Model showing working of customer review with different opinion

Source: file:///E:/rail%20europe/pdf%20rail%20europe%20working%20mgmt.pdf

c) THINKING
Traveler, what thinks about rail Europe product or services this is the
time when traveler make decision that what to do, purchase the product
or travel through rail Europe while travelling to Europe.

22
 Traveler think of these three basic questions
• What is the easiest way to get around Europe?
• Where does he want to go?
• How much time should I/we spend in each place for site seeing
and activities
Shopping
under this head traveler decided that how much is to paid while
purchasing the tickets ,what is the cost of whole trip as well as any
other cost to be paid while travelling such as station charges.

Common questions while shopping

• I want to get the best price, but I’m willing to pay a little more for first
class.
• How much will my whole trip cost me? What are my trade-offs?
• Are there other activities I can add to my plan?
d) FEELINGS
common feeling of traveler while travelling to Europe which is
•Excitement: while travelling what will be challenges as well a what
will be the experiences.
•Will traveler be able to see everything?
•What if I can’t afford this?
•I don’t want to make the wrong choice.

From shopping part

• It’s hard to trust Trip Advisor. Everyone is so negative.

• Keeping track of all the different products is confusing.

• Am I sure this is the trip I want to take?

e) EXPERIENCE
From research part

•Enjoyability: under this head traveler research about the product and it
is enjoyabile to him as Europe is one of the hot destinations among
tourist.

23
 •Helpfulness of Rail Europe: Rail Europe is helpful to traveler as the
traveler can get passes of different countries and can board any train
while travelling to Europe.

•Relevance of rail Europe: under this head researcher found that while
travelling to Europe rail Europe is relevance to the traveler such as
while making decision that what product should be purchased and what
kind of pasees should be chose etc.

Booking & Post-Booking, Pre-Travel

The second most important step booking and reviewing post booking
options and pre- travel requirements which are generally based on
confirming the itinerary i.e what root to be selected while travelling to
Europe and what kind of passes or train tickets to be selected the next
step is to select the delivery option such as where the ticket should be
delivered ,now after selecting the delivery options payment mode to be
selected such as cash on delivery or credit card payments option now
wait for review and confirm option of booking and the last wait for
paper tickets to be arrived.

DOING

Source:
file:///E:/rail%20europe/pdf%20rail%20europe%20working%20mgmt.pdf

THINKING
From booking part

•Do I have all the tickets, passes and reservations I need in this booking,
so I don’t pay more shipping?

•Rail Europe is not answering the phone. How else can I get my
question answered

These are the common question which were generally asked by the
traveler.

24
 From Post Booking, Pre-Travel

•after booking the tickets Do I have everything I need?

•Rail Europe website was easy and friendly, but when an issue came up,
I couldn’t get help.

•What will I do if my tickets don’t arrive in time?

FEELING

From booking part

•Website experience is easy and friendly!

•Frustrated to not know sooner about which tickets are eTickets and
which are paper tickets. Not sure my tickets will arrive in time.

From post booking, pre-travel

•Stressed that I’m about to leave the country and Rail Europe won’t
answer the phone.

•Frustrated that Rail Europe won’t ship tickets to Europe.

•Happy to receive my tickets in the mail!

TRAVEL & POST TRAVEL

The third important step in customer experience

 Activities, unexpected changes: after post travel the experiences

as well as destination covered what are the changes which were
made by the company and by the customer
 Share experience: What were the experiences after travel positive
or negative the reason behind negative experiences as well as
feedback to the company.
 Follow-up on refunds for booking changes: If any changes by the
customer refund to be generated and booking changes charges to
be made.

DOING

25
Source:file:///E:/rail%20europe/pdf%20rail%20europe%20working%20mg
mt.pdf

THINKING

From travel part

•I just figured we could grab a train but there are not more trains. What can
we do now?

•Am I on the right train? If not, what next?

•I want to make more travel plans. How do I do that

From post travel part

•Trying to return ticket I was not able to use. Not sure if I’ll get a refund or
not.

•People are going to love these photos!

•Next time, we will explore routes and availability more carefully

FEELING

From travel part

• I am feeling vulnerable to be in an unknown place in the middle of the

night.

• Stressed that the train won’t arrive on time for my connection.

• Meeting people who want to show us around is fun, serendipitous, and

special

From post travel part

•Excited to share my vacation story with my friends.

•A bit annoyed to be dealing with ticket refund issues when I just got
home.

26
OPPORTUNITIES TO RAIL EUROPE
ON GLOBAL LEVEL

STAGES EXPERIENCES
GLOBAL Communicate a clear value proposition.
Initial visit Help people get the help they need.
Global Support people in creating their own solutions.

Global Make your customers into better, more savvy

travelers
Global Engage in social media with explicit purposes.

27
OPPORTUNITIES WHILE PLANNING, SHOPPING&
BOOKING

STAGES EXPERIENCE
Planning, Enable people to plan over time.
Shopping
Planning, Visualize the trip for planning and booking
Shopping
Shopping, Arm customers with information for making
Booking. decisions.
Shopping, Connect planning, shopping and booking on the
Booking web.
POST-BOOK, TRAVEL, POST-TRAVEL

STAGES EXPERIENCES
Post-Booking, Improve the paper ticket experience.
Travel,Post-
Travel
Traveling Accommodate planning and booking in Europe
too.
Post-Booking, Proactively help people deal with change.
Traveling
Post-Booking, Communicate status clearly at all times
Traveling
ORGANISATIONAL SET UP OF RAIL EUROPE

Management team
Management team of rail Europe is divided on the basis of the work flow
and levels of management and its follow the functional organistaional set
up such as “policy to be implemented flow from top to bottom and
feedback if any or any changes in the services flow from bottom to top.

The company President and Ceo is Mr Frederic Langlois he is responsible

for smoothly functioning of rail Europe as well policy to be made, any
changes in policy as well as proper implementation of policy as well as
search for possible investment for growth and development.

28
Mr. Zine Belhonchet, Chief Financial Officer of the company responsible
for proper implementation of policy and functioning of rail Europe , he
passes the information from top level to middle level as well as any
feedback, any changes in policy or any suggestion to top level is
communicated by chief financial officer.

Mr. Duncan Still, Chief Commercial Officer he is responsible for all sales
and revenue generation as well as cost to be incurred on any product as well
as he is also responsible for franchise distribution and travel agent
registration.

Mr. Fred Buhr Vice President of E-Business he is responsible for the

development of E-Business as well as maintenance of information and
technological sector in order to increase the presence of company
worldwide.

Ms. Jean Heger Vice President of Business Development, Ms jean heger is

responsible for marketing and advertisement of rail Europe products and
services to worldwide in order to increase the sales and for brand creation
the product should be marketed world wide specially to developing
countries.

Source: http://www.raileurope.co.in/about-rail-europe/article/about-us/management
team

29
 Chapter 4
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
OF TOURISM RELATED TO
EUROPE RAIL SYSTEM

30
Issues and challenges
Rail Europe issues and challenges are divided on two level first one global
level and the second company level.

Global level issues

Climate Change.

Rail networks have been designed and built using historical records of
climate and weather events. Now with the ‘Inconvenient truth’ of climate
change, these projections are no longer a reliable predictor. Even what
sound like modest changes in the average temperature can translate to large
and potentially dangerous shifts in climate and weather. Flooding on the
tracks north of MNRs Garrison Station, New York High temperatures can
cause rail tracks to expand and buckle, and may lead to more regular
repairs, speed restrictions, delays and disruption. Storms can damage or
deposit debris on lines and at stations and floods or high-tides can
submerge them as well. This is particularly true in underground tunnels as
seen in New York after Hurricane Sandy.The rail industry now has to plan
for a different weather future, and build accordingly with a 'predict and
prevent' ethos looking forward rather than back. Our networks, standards
and systems now have to be built for the world of the 2050s and beyond, a
world which could be very difficult and challenging.1

Source: https://www.google.co.in/search

31
1.https://www.smartrailworld.com/9-major-factors-shaping-the-future-of-the-rail-
industry

Urban growth.

Today, 54 per cent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a

proportion that is expected, according to United Nations figures to increase
to 66 per cent by 2050. Projections show that urbanization combined with
the overall growth of the world’s population could add another 2.5 billion

people to urban populations by 2050, with close to 90 percent of the

increase concentrated in Asia and Africa.The rapid pace of urbanisation
puts added pressure on already strained infrastructure – anyone who travels
at peak-time in a major city will attest to this. As a result infrastructure
needs to be designed to be able to be able to absorb such growth, and be as
efficient and rapid is possible. Along with the pressures, though come
opportunities – the increased size of cities widens their power and tax base
and enables a greater investment in public transport, an example being the
Crossrail project currently underway in London .

Source: https://www.google.co.in/search

Rise of the start-ups

At the recent SmartRail Europe Congress in Amsterdam, the pace of

change was a regular point of discussion across all the streams. Same as
always right,Well it’s always a key point in any project, but what is shifting
the parameters of the discussion is the entry of small, lean start-ups into the
industry. Without the baggage and legacy of larger traditional firms, they
don’t play the conventional rules of the business. Digital rather than
physical solutions can be rolled out in days or weeks, not months or years.
And the perennial issues of ticketing, overcrowding and train organisation
are some of the issues in the sights of start-ups aided by a recent blooming
in hackathons and a first rail accelerator opening in London

Digitization takes over.

Closely connected to the development of the start-up community within rail

is a widening digitalisation of the processes behind many of the key

32
systems behind rail operations. The digital revolution arrived in rail later
than in other industries,but is quickly becoming the establishment. Any
commercially focussed railway is now able to utilise a host of digital
initiatives. Amongst many areas is the Internet of Things (IoT) enabling on-
board sensors to deliver real time analysis and monitoring, identify
problems before they cause delays, facilitate automated and preventive
maintenance and` ensure dispatchers have an entirely accurate view of the
train’s location.

New players offering integrated travel solutions.

A recent study prepared for the American Public Transportation

Association (APTA) through the Transit Cooperative Research Program
has revealed that the people using services like Uber and Lyft are actually
more and not less likely to travel on public transport. The survey taken by
4,500 people in seven different US cities showed that 50% of people
travelled by train and 45% used buses frequently. The study can be viewed
as insight into the impact of ride-sourcing on public transport.There are
some who view the likes of Uber and Lyft as the solution to the first-mile /
last-mile challenge and to help overcome the concern that potential riders
avoid public transport because of difficulties getting to or from the train or
metro. And instead they end up driving. Ride-sourcers can help solve this
by offering the optimal combination of walking, transit and their own
transport.

Source:https://www.google.co.in/search

Powered by different energy sources.

Environmental concerns, fears over energy security and the lowering costs
of implementation mean that rail is looking at new ways of powering itself.
On the train itself, options for possible replacements for diesel include
hydrogen and perhaps the most appealing, LNG, already being tested by
some railways and offering a competitive price, and lower carbon
emissions plus an established regulatory structure when compared to its
fossil and renewable fuel rivals. Whilst Alstom is currently developing
entirely new types of fuel cell trains which aim to be completely emission-
free.

33
The Station becoming a Destination.

St Pancras International, in LondonRail stations are changing. For a long-

time they appeared to be an after-thought for many train operators,
designed simply to get as many passengers in and out as quickly and safely
as possible, But no more. Stations are evolving and offering more to its
passengers, making them a place to stay in and enjoy, an amenity all to
itself, rather than a building to quickly head away from or arrive with little
time to spare before catching a train.The central position of stations, also
puts them at the heart of urban regeneration schemes and a crucial link
between commercial, leisure and residential spaces. Many stations at
aiming to take advantage of the huge footfall they experience (and help pay
for their investments) by developing a dazzling area of retail and catering
outlets to serve every taste. Whilst ergonomic design is becoming an
increasing factor in the planning of stations ensuring that large numbers of
travellers can move freely and efficiently to, through and from a station is
an essential to maintaining the operational effectiveness of the transport
system as a whole. Station developments now consider ergonomic and
human factors, in particular looking in a scientific way at people and their
needs, and then providing analytical evidence based on psychological,
behavioural and physical factors to improve experiences.

Source: https://www.google.co.in/search

Long distance travel makes a return.

Air travel hasn’t been kind to long-distance rail, with many classic lines
now redundant or operating on a limited, nostalgia focussed basis.
However, a number of factors are pushing its growth and are likely to over
future years. Improvements to booking and ticketing allied with high-speed
trains (see below) and on-board service are also widening the uptake of
trains to travel across continents. As one example cross-Channel high-speed
train operator Eurostar will be running a service between London and
Amsterdam in late 2017.Another trend helping support long distance rail
travel, is the growth of codesharing, long found in the aviation industry
where a marketing arrangement is created with an airline placing its
designator code on a flight operated by another airline and selling tickets

34
for that flight in order to strengthen or expand their market presence and
competitive ability. This is now being seen in an intermodal form in
partnerships with the rail industry. This kind of link-up between airlines
and rail lines, known formally as air-rail alliance or informally ‘Rail & Fly’
are increasingly popular.

High-Speed and Hyper-Speed Rail

The invention of hyperloop plans and hyper speed rail is addition of a mile
stone to railways system which is basically focused on eco friendly use of
energy , and mainly focus on reduction of time, the announcement by Elon
musk the founder of Tesla group increases the expectation of the traveler
which according to him it would “never crash, be immune to weather, go
twice as fast as an airplane, four times as fast as a bullet train, and – to top
it off – run completely on solar power.” It will reduce the cost as well as
time of travelling. hyper-loop train uses the same system as railways but
this train travel in a vacum in order to increase the speed, the main problem
of hyperloop plans is the cost of construction as well as maintenance which
is generally high in compare to normal rail system.

Company level challenges

 Operational and Maintenance Costs: the cost of operation and

maintenance are very high in order to cut the cost and make feasible
the rail with air transfer it’s a big challenge to promoter to maintain
the cost.
 Improving Information for Passengers ranked second equal,
highlighting the growing sentiment that more can be done to reduce
passenger anxiety when travelling and hence improve satisfaction
 The next tier of challenges are mostly related to Operations in terms
of rolling stock availability and how to improve traffic on the rail
system, but Energy Costs scores highly, undoubtedly driven by the
focus of regulators to see greener fleets in operation

Figure 1: Biggest challenges facing Rail operating companies.2

35
Figure 2. Problem faced by Rail operating companies
2. nomad digital.com
(file:///E:/rail%20europe/ISSUES%20AND%20CHALLENGES.pdf)

CHAPTER -5
CONCLUSION
&SUGGESTION

36
37
CONCLUSION & SUGGESTION
RailEurope as we know an online system to book online ticket for travel in
European countries it is one of the cheapest, eco-friendly, less time taken
and based on customer satisfaction, focusedon security and safety of
traveler. The study focused on exploring rail Europe working model, and
how it target its customer and detailed about its product and services. Rail
Europe is an important and one of emerging neo tourism product in Europe,
Rail Europe is also important because its connect all the European union
countries and those destination which are highly in demand by the tourism
and one of the important factors why tourist choose rail Europe is travelling
in railways in Europe are less costly then flights as well as time taken is
also less. Everybody agrees that European railways needed to be revitalized
and that reform was necessary. There are clear signs that reform has had
some positive effects but a lot of problems and questions have been raised

Suggestion to Rail Europe.

 Technical problems: Rail Europe should focused on handling the

technical problems such as from review on trip advisor customer
were not satisfied by the company services such as while booking
ticket payment failure, only credit card mode of payment and
travelers were not getting the printed tickets if they choose for print
on mail option on the website.
 Customer handling query system: There are no proper channel where
customer can query about the problems they were facing while
booking the tickets
 Rail Europe should more focused on rail Europe distributor channels
world-wide in order to create connectivity and brand among the
people how were dealing in Europe tour packages.
 To negotiate on some products from supplier because sometimes
rates are generally higher in comparison to local service provider.
 Refundable policy: Rail Europe should redesign its refundable
policy as well as cancellation policy in order to create brand and
goodwill among customer.
 Rail Europe should also review the Shipping charges of tickets
which it is charging to its customer because it is generally paid in

38
 euros hence traveler from developing countries have to paid more
for there tickets.
 Online system not functioning while making changes in tickets.
 current information for timetables nor train service information are
with rail Europe.

Technical problem includes the technical services such as customers were

not getting their tickets and related information as well as necessary
services.Customer relation management (CRM) is not to update such as
customers were not getting related information about the product and
services which the company is offering.

Rail Europe should focus on management of all the technical problems as

indicated in trip advisor by the traveler to create brand in the market as well
as for the better experience of the traveler monthly feedback or after sales
service must be provided. The other important aspects is safety and security
of data collected or entered by the traveler Rail Europe should focus on
maintenance of privacy of data as well as other necessary ancillary services
to the traveler.

39
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
 Kothari, C. K. (2002). Research Methodology. Vishwaprakashana
 Philip Kotler's (14th addition) Marketing Management
 Beech, J., & Chadwick, S. (2006). The Business of Tourism Management.
Pearson Education
 A K. Bhatia International Tourism Management (2011)
 R.Davidson “Travel and tourism in Europe” (1998)
 Tourist satisfaction: A view from a mixed international guided package
tour David Bowie* and Jui Chi Chang Received (in revised form): January
2005
 PATA. (2010). Asia Outbound Tourism: A PATA Snapshot. Pacific Asia
Travel Association
 TRANSFORUM thematic workshop paper'High speed rail'–Rome (2014)

RESEARCH PAPERS

 Janic Milan “Comparison of the quality of rail and air networks in West,
Central and Eastern Europe” (1997)
 P O'BrienRailways and the Economic Development of Western Europe,
1830-1914(1983)
 UK Department for Transport' High Speed Two (HS2)-International case
studies review'(2014)
 Roger Vickerman, Klaus Spiekermann& Michael Wegener.
“Accessibility and Economic Development in Europe”.(1999)
 Damiano Scordamaglia “High-speed rail in the EU” European
Parliamentary Research Service (September 2015)
 Regina R. Clewlowa, n, Joseph M. Sussmanb, HamsaBalakrishnanc
“The impact of high-speed rail and low-cost carriers on European air
passenger traffic”(2011)
 Philippe Domergue And Emile Quinet , Situation And Problems Of
Railway Industry In Europe(2001)

40
  Roelof-Jan Molemaker & Andreas Pauer. “The economic footprint
of railway transport in Europe” (2014)
 John Harcus&LeonardoDongiovanni ,” A driver for EU
competitiveness and sustainable mobility worldwide
 Spiekerman, K., Wegener, M.: Trans-European networks and
unequal accessibility in Europe. European Journal of Regional
Development (1996)
 Jay Saw, “Major challenges facing rail operators, maintainers &
owners and the role of ict” (2015)

ARTICLE

 The economic footprint of railway transport in Europe.

 Prepared by: Community of European Railway and Infrastructure
Companies (CER) Brussels, October 2014.
 A driver for EU competitiveness and sustainable mobility worldwide
 Prepared by UNIFE, the European Rail Industry Association
 Customer Mood and Service Quality Evaluation of Tour Operations
University of Massachusetts – Amherst Scholar Works @UMass Amherst
 European Commission, 'High Speed Europe–A sustainable link between
citizens'(2010)

WEBSITES:

 www.raileurope.com

 www.indiatourismreview.com

 www.travelbizmonitor.com

 www.coxand kings.com

 www.europomoundo.com

 www.eurail.com

 www.tourismandmore.com

41
 Wikepedia.org
 http://www.indiatourismreview.com/interviews/long-haul-destinations-there-
are-lot-little-details-can-only-be-coordinated-travel-agents
 http://www.indiary.org/en/news/Indian-Outbound-Tourism-2-83-50
 http://www.tourism-master.nl/2011/12/22/customer-satisfaction-a-big-step-
towards-company-profitability/
 https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/eu-in-brief_en
 https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-
visas/schengen_en
 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-
explained/index.php/Population_and_population_change_statistics
 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-
explained/index.php/Population_structure_and_ageing
 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-
explained/index.php/The_EU_in_the_world_-_population
 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/product?mode=view&code=tec00001
http://hdr.undp.org/en/2016-report
 http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=tec00115
 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-
explained/index.php/Unemployment_statistics
 8 https://ec.europa.eu/info/about-european-commission/euro/history-euro_en
 www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/policy_and_exchange_rates/euro_reference_exchan
ge_rates/html/eurofxref-graph-usd.en.html
 https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/rail/market_en
 http://italy.hitachirail.com/en/organisation-model_480.html
 http://www.forumtraineurope.eu/organisation/forum-train-
europe/history/?L=1

42
43