Rail Europe launches mobile app for passengers

By Prachee Kulkarni, ET Bureau | 24 Sep, 2013,

Kunal Kothari, Executive Director of Rail Europe India pointed out that travel is becoming increasingly smooth and user-friendly these days and this is what has prompted them to launch a mobile app.

ET SPECIAL:

PUNE: With the festive and holiday season just around the corner, Rail Europe India has switched gears to woo travellers who are planning to holiday in the European continent.

Kunal Kothari, Executive Director of Rail Europe India pointed out that travel is becoming increasingly smooth and user-friendly these days and this is what has prompted them to launch a mobile app. "This mobile app has been in the making for some time now. It has a lot of interesting features and isn't meant only for those who book through our website. For instance the tickets that you book through an agent can also be imported into this. Passengers can also keep track of train timings. So when you land into Europe, this app becomes like your travel guide if you're travelling by Rail." Rail Europe's website has also been upgraded for a better user experience.

"Maharashtra is a really strong market for us and a lot of our revenue has come from here. This is a really encouraging trend and we are positive that it will only strengthen going forward. West is our biggest market followed by North, South and then East. After Mumbai, Pune is a very important sector for us. Pune comprises a cosmopolitan population that is well-educated, well-traveled and is cultured. These are some of the reasons why people from here are always looking for various experiences through travel," said Kothari.

"Even though India is still a maturing market for rail tourism, Rail Europe 4A has registered a consistent 18 per cent growth here. More and more travel within Europe is moving towards high-speed trains and newer routes are bringing the travel time between most cities down drastically. These trains are yield managed and have a wide range of fares. A travel planned/booked in advance can get you fares almost 1/6th of the full fare. So it is natural that we will see increasing preference for these trains as against passes as holidays are evolving to cover limited destinations over 10-17 days period," he added. "The trend mirrors the overall growth of India. Increase in Non-European products as well as High-Speed Trains and point to point tickets. Drop in Eurail Pass sales and increase in National Passes, especially to Switzerland," he added.

Throwing light on the popularity of destinations in Europe, Kothari remarked, "Thanks to Bollywood movies, Switzerland continues to be our number one destination. Besides, Paris is very popular, Nice to an extent, Cannes for festivals, Germany is visited because of trade events, Italy is also popular and now Spain has picked up. In the UK, VFR continues. East Europe has picked up, but only in parts. Eurostar is by far the most popular train; two to three large coach tour operators have it on their itinerary. It's popular even for business travel. Trains connecting France with Switzerland, the TGVs, are popular too."

Kothari also lauded the General Sales Agents (GSAs) appointed by the company and said that they were instrumental in their journey. "We have a robust network of GSAs in Pune too and they are our biggest strength. Rail Europe has been in India through its GSAs since 1995. Rail Europe's approach to its business was with the support of its GSAs world-wide and it continues to be our most preferred mode of distribution, especially in India. We do get bookings on our website as well but that number is far too small as compared to what our GSAs churn annually. The numbers though are increasing every year but the growth rate is not rapid. Online travel booking has its own challenges right from reservations against using credit-cards - which is the only form of payment we offer currently on the website - to preferring a travel consultant's guidance to plan the holiday. We have recently upgraded our website. It is more interactive now, travelers can interact with each other about their holiday experiences and also seek advice from us," he said.