Pan-European rail alliance to compete with low-cost airlines

“RailTeam” is a European high-speed rail network which seven European railway companies hope will enable them to compete particularly with low-cost airlines.

Europe’s railways mobilizing against low-cost airlines

According to a recent report in “Handelsblatt”, seven railway companies have so far joined forces in the new RailTeam alliance. They are Austrian Railways ÖBB, Switzerland’s SBB, German Railways DB, France’s SNCF, Dutch Railways, Britain’s Eurostar and the Thalys company, whose shareholders include the French SNCF and the Belgian SNCB. However, SNCB will not operate its own trains on RailTeam routes.

The alliance has so far been using the working title of "RailTeam". It is designed to offer customers throughout Europe a uniform standard of quality and service as well as price benefits. The RailTeam offensive is scheduled to begin in December 2007, the date on which the French intend to start operating their TGV and the Germans their ICE on a fast line to and from Paris.

Bonus miles for frequent travellers – benefit by travelling by rail more

This system is modelled on the bonus miles for frequent flyers that airlines have already been offering for many years now. This move is intended to mobilize Europe's railways together against low-cost airlines. As with their competitors in the air, frequent travellers will also be able to collect bonus miles on the high-speed “RailTeam” routes. The details of the scheme are still being worked out. At all events, this will give railway customers the possibility of collecting train miles on high-speed routes in much the same way as air miles with airlines. German Railways has already started offering this benefit to its RailCard customers on domestic rail routes.

Improved rail network for high-speed trains

According to "Handelsblatt", the precondition for the new RailTeam alliance's attractive pan-European bonus miles scheme is that priority will have to be given to high-speed trains. There are therefore plans to adapt national train timetables to the European high-speed network. This will improve connections between trains, further enhancing the attractiveness of this mode of travel.

Vienna rail hub for central Europe

The network will have to be systematically improved for this purpose. The new rail alliance will concentrate initially on the routes Marseilles - Hamburg and London - Paris – Berlin. This corresponds to existing ICE and TGV connections. The new TGV Paris - Strasbourg route will be added in June this year, and the ICE will also operated between Frankfurt and Paris. Vienna is destined to become the rail hub for central and eastern Europe, and there are currently also plans for a high-speed train service from Vienna to Budapest.

Austrian Railways intend to operate their Railjets on the Budapest – Vienna – Munich route from 2008 onwards. The routes are designed for speeds of up to 230 km/h. This will necessitate suitable high-speed tracks, which are still under construction.


Further information: Vienna as Traffic Hub

Link-Tip

Handelsblatt Austrian Railways German Railways: Swiss Railways