Rail Europe, Inc.

Rail Europe, Inc. is a North American distributor of European rail products, representing over 50 railways throughout Europe. Rail Europe's history of doing business in North America dates back to the 1930s. In 1959, the company introduced the Eurail Pass to the North American market.[1]

Rail Europe, Inc.
IndustryTravel
Rail Transport
Founded1932 (1932)
HeadquartersWhite Plains, New York, U.S.
Key people
Zine Belhonchet President & (CEO)
Nadia Khris (CCO)
Neil Sinha (SVP Accounting & Finance )
Websitewww.raileurope.com
For the European agency that traded in the United Kingdom as Rail Europe until December 2013, see Oui.sncf.

The company is headquartered in White Plains, New York, and has a contact Center located in Rosemont, Illinois, ISO 9001:2008 certified,.[2] Rail Europe provides assistance to travelers in English, French and Spanish both on the Web and in their contact center. Rail Europe serves over one million travelers per year.

The company's core products include European rail passes and train tickets. Rail Europe offers a wide range of high-speed train tickets including Eurostar, TGV, Italo, and Le Frecce. Tickets for local and regional trains in Europe are also available. Additionally offered are sightseeing passes, public transport cards, and hotel/rail packages.

Markets and channels

Rail Europe, Inc. serves travelers directly, as well as travel agencies.[3]

Residents of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central American countries north of the Panama Canal can book directly through Rail Europe's websites (B2C), mobile site, IPhone app, and contact center.

Rail Europe, Inc. has a trade (B2B) website for travel agents to book for clients. Travel agents can also book through the company's contact center. The company has created a travel agent training program called TRAC, The Rail Agent Course. Agents can become European Rail Experts by completing five modules. Agents can become European Rail Experts by completing a comprehensive self-study course and exam.[4]

Rail Europe, Inc. has developed a European Rail app for the iPhone and iPod touch through the iTunes store.[5] This app allows travelers to choose a route or download train timetables, and allows travelers holding European rail passes to make a seat reservation from their iPhone and iPod touch. The company also has a mobile version of its website.

Products and services

European travel products offered by Rail Europe, Inc. include:

  • Rail Passes - allow travel on European trains in a specific geographic area (defined at time of purchase) for a specific number of days. These days can be "consecutive" (i.e., 5 days in a row) or not (i.e., travel any day within a longer period of time for up to 2 months). Eurail Select and Global passes can include rail travel in 3 to 23 European countries on a single pass. And national and regional rail passes offer extensive travel within specific countries or regions.
  • Train Tickets - allow for one-way or round-trip train journeys from city-center to city-center.
  • E-tickets - offer travelers the ability to print at home or at the station.
  • Seat Reservations - mandatory for high-speed trains and are available to rail pass holders at discounted "passholder" rates.
  • Sleeping Accommodation - available on some overnight trains.
  • High-speed trains - transport passengers from city center to city center at speeds of up to 200 mph.
  • City Sightseeing Tours - such as museum passes, wine-and-cheese tasting and hop-on hop-off bus tours.
  • Group Travel - Designed for groups of 10 or more travelers.

References
  1. Michael Taylor (August 11, 2005). "Pierre Le Bris -- travel industry executive invented Eurailpass". San Francisco Gate. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  2. James Ruggia (November 1, 2011). "Behind the Scenes at Rail Europe". TravelPulse. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  3. Transporting Tourist All Over Europe – In Real Time
  4. Laura Del Rosso (February 23, 2014). "Rail Europe revamps training course with home-based agents in mind". TravelWeekly. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  5. JetSetCD (May 12, 2011). "Rail Europe's New App Puts 35 Rail Lines in 32 Countries on Your iPhone". jaunted. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.