TMCs must be the drivers of solutions to the problems of ticketing for international rail trips.
Both Nick Mercer, commercial director for Eurostar, and Tony Berry, industry and fare distribution director for HRG, said the solutions to the problems of international tickets won't come through the EU or the industry.
Currently, Berry told a session on high speed rail at the Business travel Market in London today (June 22), agents had to use up to six different rail networks to book tickets on the continent.
But even after accessing the networks, Berry said TMCs had problems getting the best fares and corporate rates. Domestically, it worked well but once it was across borders the situation “got a little touchy.”
Berry told about 150 delegates that TMCs needed a single rail booking tool. “It is something that we can’t wait for Europe or the TOCs (train operating companies) to provide. We will have to do it ourselves which means going through third party technology,” he said.
Clients were increasingly looking not only for rail/air comparisons but also rail/air combinations. “But how do we tie in ticketing for domestic rail and an international flight. How do you get the right ticket to go through the rail barriers and the airline check-in? Berry said.
Berry said that despite the growth in rail travel over the past five or six years, there were still no ticketing standards nor common access to the full range of fares and this was set to continue.
Mercer said part of the problem was that the rail network in each country was often state-owned and operated on its own standards which differed from country to country.
But de-regulation of the rail industry in the EU on January 1 2010 offered an opportunity for anyone company to run a passenger service anywhere in the EU. But he warned it would be very different from air de-regulation which saw the rise of the low cost carriers like Ryanair.
He said there would be some new entrants, probably in Italy and Austria and the expansion of existing TOCs into other countries like DB and abellio in the UK.
But he also predicted there could be alliances and code-sharing between train operators.
There are major barriers, liked the infrastructure of the rail industry where networks are monopolies but things will change. The industry and the TOICs will be forced to change,” he said.