National Express East Coast
Atos Consulting, 2007
Changing the face of rail ticket retail
Summary
The vision of National Express is to make travel simpler – and with a team from Atos Consulting, it is doing just that.
Atos Consulting helped National Express to create the first-ever directly controlled online sales channel between a UK rail operator and passengers.
As a result, National Express has lowered the cost of ticket sales, increased revenue and can now respond quickly to changing operational requirements and market needs.
With massive growth in rail travel predicted over the next decade, this puts National Express at a strategic advantage in the market.
Passenger groups have welcomed the site as a major step forward. It makes it easier than ever before to make comparisons and buy tickets – anywhere on the UK rail network.
Using one of the most complex data sets in the world, working within tight constraints, and with the East Coast franchise changing in the middle of the project, Atos Consulting successfully led the delivery team.
Atos Consulting helped National Express and its predecessor GNER (Great North Eastern Railway) to innovate at every stage of the buying process, with more innovation to come.
The team is now helping National Express to exploit emerging technologies while making life easier for passengers. These include self-print tickets and integration with mobile phones.
Atos Consulting is also advising the company on how this leading-edge technology can be exploited in other segments of the travel market.
Problem/opportunity faced by client
For rail operators, effective revenue management is not just about filling seats or selling the cheapest tickets. The objective is to give passengers informed choices, including options to ‘trade up’ their tickets where appropriate.
For rail operators, effective revenue management is not just about filling seats or selling the cheapest tickets. The objective is to give passengers informed choices, including options to ‘trade up’ their tickets where appropriate.
The retail strategy at GNER is to move away from selling tickets on the phone or at ticket-offices and towards more efficient online and self-service channels. This is imperative to increase yield and support growth as the volumes of rail passengers continue to rise.
Rail has lagged behind other parts of the travel industry in the proportion of ticket sales online. As a high-frequency ‘walk-on’ service, it has millions of different fare types and detailed terms and conditions. The sheer range of options is a complex proposition for online selling.
GNER (like all rail operators) was reliant on the only supplier in the market, the Trainline.com, which ran a number of differently branded retail sites.
Developing solutions via the Trainline was costly, slow and not in line with GNER’s brand values.
- With limited functionality, the site was not supporting GNER’s vision for customer service.
- There was little potential for GNER to modify its products and no possibilities to market them differently.
- For users it could be a confusing experience, with little flexibility or information on cost options and journeys available.
This situation was threatening GNER’s commercial strategy, failing users, and putting the rail industry at a disadvantage
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