Rail journeys are playing a bigger role in Australian travel itineraries than ever before, says Rail Online CEO James Dunne. But booking rail can be a complex task. Here’s how Rail Online is making it easier.
It was about this time last year that rail specialist Rail Online launched. And let’s face it, the world had changed. From lockdown, we’d seen images of animals taking back the world. There were elephants partying in China and dolphins in the Grand Canal in Venice. The images were fake, but the message was clear: we need to travel better.
The European Commission recently gave France the green light to abolish domestic flights between Paris Orly airport and Lyon, Bordeaux and Nantes. Other European countries are looking to follow suit. Which means… it’s rail’s time to shine.
According to Dunne, Australian travellers are “becoming increasingly aware that rail travel generates just a fraction of the carbon emissions of air travel”.
And if you add to this the comparative convenience and cost savings of train travel over air travel, it’s little wonder Dunne is forecasting “bullish growth” in the industry and for his company.
How agents helped build Rail Online
The former CEO of Rail Europe Australasia (formerly known as Rail Plus Australasia), Dunne has spent a lot of time talking to travel agents.
“I love getting their feedback,” he said.
“It’s very frank, very direct.”
There were three things he was “consistently” being told about booking rail travel:
1. The pricing wasn’t competitive with mark ups higher than what you could get off the rail carrier website.
2. Booking fees were quite high.
3. The exchange and refunds process was quite clunky. You could sometimes be waiting several weeks or even months for a refund.
Rail Online was built with an understanding of these issues. So “Rule Number 1” was to only sell products that are electronically ticketed.
Then the goal was to keep things as price competitive as possible in a way that afforded agents the opportunity to mark up as they see fit.
And importantly, Dunne wanted to service the company properly and refers to “the after sales process” which enables an agent to manage exchanges or refunds themselves.
“These were the pillars we set the business up with.”
Keeping the tracks clear
Rail Online has gone from strength to strength. A AU$2,500,000 investment from venture capitalist Dale Wood of Dale Ventures, has enabled the rail specialist to speed up development. And Rail Online has now added Amtrak, Via Rail Canada, Eurostar and high-speed European TGV and Thalys services to its existing offerings.
But that doesn’t mean the company has forgotten its foundations.
“We make sure we constantly get feedback and input from travel agents,” Dunne said.
“We know very well that rail is one part of a very big itinerary. That it’s usually one of the last things that’s booked and probably has one of the least amount of margin. So we want to make sure that if you’re going to use us, it’s very quick, very seamless.”
“And we’re just making sure we keep that very good dialogue with the travel agents, because they’re the core of our business here,” he said.
“We’re making sure we provide a product that’s relevant for them, that actually saves them precious time and that we’re here when they’ve got some of those more complicated questions.”
Agents can register for Rail Online here.
