| Industry |
|
|---|---|
| Founded | (1999) |
| Headquarters | London, England |
Number of locations | London, Edinburgh |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | |
| Products | Train Tickets Best fare finder Ticket alert Mobile App Train & Hotel Car Hire How to save |
| Services | 0871 244 1545 |
| Website | thetrainline.com |
thetrainline.com is the UK market leader in online sales of train tickets for British train services.[1] It also sells tickets through it's Mobile App, which is available on iOS, Windows and Android platforms, and by telephone. It was created in 1997 and online ticket sales began in 1999. thetrainline.com ltd was formerly part of the Virgin Group and is now owned by private equity investors and management. The business has expanded significantly in the last eight years, acquiring its main online competitor Qjump from National Express Group in February 2004.[2] Due to it's independence from train operating companies, thetrainline.com's systems can impartially search for rail fares and journey options using tools such as a Best fare finder and a Ticket alert service.[3]
In addition to the online service provided direct to customers operated under its own brands thetrainline.com and QJump, it provides the website services for 14 of the 20 UK train operating companies operating under their own brands, as well as providing a rail business travel service direct to a number of large blue chip corporations, travel management companies and travel agents. thetrainline.com also provides a call centre service to a number of the customers referred to above.[4] Thetrainline.com's main competitor (in train booking software) is Atos's WebTIS product which is used by East Coast, Chiltern, Southern, Southeastern, London Midland and Atos's own site redspottedhanky.com. First Great Western moved from thetrainline based booking engine to Atos's WebTIS product in November 2012.[5]
Thetrainline's main offices are located in London and Edinburgh.[6]
Thetrainline.com's extensive national rail travel information service for mainland Britain is now available on Google Maps when requesting directions by public transport. Users of Google Maps now have train route and timetable information for more than 2,500 stations and 170,000 trips nationwide at their fingertips, in addition to 8,000 bus stops and over 250 London Underground stations. The partnership went live in January 2012[7]
As of January 2008, LateRooms.com is the exclusive provider of best value hotel rooms booked through thetrainline.com. Customers are able to link their journey destinations to hotel rates, and LateRooms.com offer discounts of up to 70% off hotels to complement savings delivered by booking train tickets online.[8]
In 2008, thetrainline started supplying Newbury Data ND4020 rail ticket printers and self-service kiosks to its corporate and travel management clients. It is now possible for customers to collect their tickets booked through thetrainline.com at over 1000 railway stations using a booking reference.
| Best Fare Finder | Ticket Alert | Mobile App |
|---|---|---|
| Best Fare Finder is a tool on thetrainline.com website, mobile site and free Mobile App that allows a user to find the cheapest possible fares on the most popular routes. The user enters their origin, destination, and a time period to generate the lowest fares on each date.[9] | Users sign up for a Ticket Alert email to be the first to know when advance tickets come on sale for a journey. Advance tickets typically go on sale 12 weeks in advance. This makes it possible to save up to 43% on the same ticket purchased at the station on the day of travel.[10] | The Mobile App from thetrainline.com was first launched for iPhone in 2009, and is available for free on iOS, Windows, BlackBerry, Ovi (Nokia), Android platforms as of September 2014. The app is designed to make train travel easier by searching for train times, viewing live departure boards and allowing users to see platform numbers. In addition, it gives users the ability to buy tickets on the go, and collect tickets from over 1000 railway stations. |
The campaign was devised by DLKW Lowe and directed by Tim Bullock of Hungryman films. It showcases how useful the app is by pointing out everything it isn’t capable of as a man tries to (unsuccessfully) use thetrainline.com app to save him from non-train-related situations. The first 30-second creative focused on how thetrainline.com customers can ‘save 43 per cent on average on train tickets’. Additional content was then released throughout the year highlighting benefits such as live departure information, to check if a train is on time. The TV Adverts are voiced by Simon Bird, famous for his role in The Inbetweeners.
The campaign, created by agency DLKW Lowe, shows a train carriage full of passengers being interrupted by a man bursting on board to tell them they could have saved money if they had booked with thetrainline.com. Chaos ensues, while one character who did use the portal sits calmly.[11]
The TV Advert featured a fully choreographed Conga line with a cross-section of the 'Great British train-travelling public', a gold lycra clad dance troupe, fireworks, a giant mobile phone and 1980's pop band Black Lace, performing a trainline mix of their 1984 hit 'Do The Conga'. The message centered around informing customers that the best place to save money on train tickets was thetrainline.com. The campaign was featured, on TV, radio and online, as well as a series of behind the scenes films on YouTube. Thetrainline.com developed this campaign alongside creative agency DLKW Lowe; media agency Vizeum and PR agency Seventy Seven PR.[12]
The TV ad featured a herd of sheep queuing to buy tickets at a station, running up and down escalators and bumping in to each other on a platform, while a man walks in to the station and straight onto the train. The campaign, created by DLKW Lowe, included a TV ad and outdoor activity across 800 sites in the UK, including all major rail stations in London, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. The ad highlighted the fact that the man has made a saving on his train ticket by buying it in advance through the website, and encourages customers to download thetrainline.com mobile app.[13]
Digital firm 'Creator' was awarded 'Best Data Strategy for Travel and Leisure sector' at Marketing Week's Data Strategy Awards 2013 for its work on the 'look to book' program for thetrainline.com.[14]
Thetrainline.com was awarded Marketing Magazine's CRM Excellence Award for Europe in 2009, after it was judged to have the most effective customer initiative.[15]
Thetrainline.com was recognized for the quality of its custom email subjects, which displayed how much each customer had saved in the previous year.[16]
Thetrainline.com was created in 1997 and online ticket sales began in 1999. thetrainline.com ltd was the first online rail ticket retailer in the UK, and was formerly part of the Virgin Group. It is now owned by private equity investors and management. In July 2006, Exponent Private Equity acquired TheTrainline.com for £168 million. Thetrainline.com was bought from a consortium of shareholders that included the Virgin, Stagecoach and National Express transport groups.
thetrainline.com operates a tiered booking fee system, where booking and card fees change depending on the method of booking, value of transaction and payment method. Customers are charged anywhere between £0.25 and £1.50. In some cases, a flat 2% fee is applied to a transaction.[17] It is possible to buy the same tickets from the websites of the train operating companies who in many cases do not charge a booking fee.[18]
The Process of changing or cancelling a ticket varies depending on the type of ticket that has been purchased. Across the rail industry a £10 cancellation charge is applied per ticket.[19][20]