From Eurostar to Glacier Express, travel advisors can find the majority of European rail options on the global platform Rail Europe. Founded in the United States in the 1930s, Rail Europe has been helping consumers and advisors navigate Europe's myriad rail options for decades. In the US alone, Rail Europe serves over 10,000 of his B2B partners.
Given the incredible influx of travel to Europe post-pandemic, we are gathering insights on market trends and how our platform is supporting advisors to cope with increased demand on the continent. We reached out to Björn Bender, CEO and Executive Chairman of Rail Europe, to find out.
Credit: 2024 Rail Europe
What should advisors who have not yet worked with Rail Europe know?
We are a one-stop shop servicing all European railway companies. Our role is to provide an agnostic platform where people can compare routes, especially when traveling across borders. Traveling abroad by train can be a bit difficult in Europe due to the different currencies, languages and systems. Rail Europe collects all this information within his one platform using B2B and B2C channels, so users can compare itineraries, compare fares and find out what they need if they are traveling with a family or alone. You can check which is best.
Our complete portfolio includes over 200 European railway companies, which is our advantage. No other company in the B2B world does this at this level. We provide advisors with complete content and a complete inventory of what Europe has to offer. In competitive markets like Italy and Spain, this becomes even more difficult as the railway companies are different. [to navigate]even Europeans.
How does Rail Europe support advisors and their clients?
We want to be part of the packages our advisors create, from point-to-point tickets to rail passes. We see the market and travelers becoming more and more mature. They are on their fifth or tenth trip to Europe and want to put the pieces of the puzzle together themselves. This is a huge opportunity for point-to-point compared to pass products.
We want to be part of the packages our advisors create, from point-to-point tickets to rail passes.
So we talk about working with local teams to create global products with a local footprint. We have an American team, spread across the United States, specifically from Florida to the West Coast. Our team also receives central support from our headquarters in Paris.
Advisors who have worked with Rail Europe for decades knew the company was fragmenting, but no longer. We are concentrated in Paris, but Marketing and other members are in the markets they serve. This allows for different levels of quality. Also, customer service is centralized in English and available 24/7. We've invested heavily in technology, but we haven't forgotten about the human side.
Travel to Europe has increased so much recently, what patterns and responses does Rail Europe see to that demand?
Comparing our numbers for 2022-2023, we expect 60% year-on-year growth. Of course, the 2022 numbers were affected by the pandemic, but this is a high growth rate. Additionally, as tourists from the U.S. and abroad demand faster cross-border service, the European industry is placing more demand on less frequent routes, departure times, and even into off-season periods. I'm trying to do this. There are a lot of balancing changes, and of course this year it's not just the Olympics, but sporting events such as the European Football Championships in Germany that are impacting Europe. Therefore, many Europeans also come to travel and we advise all travel agents to offer this. [information] to their customers.
Credit: 2024 Rail Europe
Certain railways in Europe are well known for their spectacular scenery. What routes and trips should advisors know about, especially those that will take clients out of the crowd?
I say I pretty much live on the train. We travel almost 80,000 kilometers a year by train. And Switzerland is also great in terms of train travel. Even though I live here, I still love traveling here. It's hard to concentrate on work when the scenery passes by. I love going from Bern to Montreux near Lake Geneva. And it's not a high demand route.
Related: An insider's guide to Geneva, Switzerland
In Scotland, you might combine whiskey tasting with a train trip. Southern Italy has some great railways. The coastal rail route from Naples to Syracuse is truly amazing. I also love the Nordic countries. If you take the train to Stockholm, you might even see the Northern Lights outside your window.
Especially in the American market, we find that people are looking for: [these types of routes]. They have seen London, Paris and Rome. All the boxes are ticked and now I want to see Eastern Europe, Prague, Budapest, Stockholm and Copenhagen. They go further to Amsterdam and also to northern Germany.And it's our job to make it [these choices] It's easier to see.
Is the sustainability of rail travel driving demand?
Sustainability means a lot to us. Regarding the US market, he makes two points. First, we still have a lot to educate ourselves, and so do our advisors, even as their numbers and demand from outside the United States increases. Since it is not possible to compare Amtrak's service with that of European trains, it is necessary to explain what rail travel in Europe means. I have to explain what it means to travel fast from London to Paris and from Brussels to Paris. Many of these travelers were used to taking buses during their European travels, finding it more cost-effective and not thinking much about their carbon footprint.
Related: How to better understand and book sustainable travel
Although rail travel is the cleanest and most sustainable form of transport, we know that sustainability is not in the top three when it comes to choosing a particular mode of transport. The top three criteria are price, safety, and convenience. Therefore, we primarily focus on convenience. We are a logistics platform and do not influence prices. Also, since trains are not operated, safety is not affected. It has a significant impact on convenience by reducing barriers to entry and improving access to all fares. And if we focus on this, we can certainly have an impact on sustainability.
after that, [we can teach clients] Train travel in Europe is fast and reliable, for example from London to Paris in 2 hours and 15 minutes, and from Brussels to Amsterdam in 1 hour and 30 minutes. The distance and travel time by train cannot be compared to airplanes or buses. Americans may think that it would be faster to take a plane. But in Europe this is not the case. In Europe, airports are far from city centers and take a total of 4 to 6 hours to arrive.
Additionally, Rail Europe offers seat reservations for pass holders, making it even more convenient.
This was one of the biggest problems and was what kept people from buying passes. For example, if you have a Eurail pass, you are free, but you need to understand that Europe has a different system. The pass can be purchased in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and allows you to board any train without having to occupy a seat. However, there are also closed systems that function similarly to the airline industry, such as in Spain and France. You can't even get on the platform without a reservation. If the train is full and all seats are occupied, you will not be able to board the train.
That's why we built this feature into our booking environment for B2B and B2C users to avoid lining up for hours to get a seat reservation. This greatly contributes to improving convenience.
Additionally, we are looking to include all European railway operators in our system. Added Austrian Railways. Austria is an important connection point to Eastern European destinations such as Hungary and Prague. Introducing full OBB (Austrian Railways) into our system is a big step.
What kind of rail system are you considering?
There are still some spots needed in Eastern Europe. We don't yet have point-to-point coverage for Croatia, Portugal, and Finland, but we're working on it. We are seeing demand change and we want to respond to it. That's why we incorporate customer feedback directly into our product roadmap.
