How the train can win back the business traveler

Business travel, in one form or another, has existed since the appearance of commerce, that is, since the beginning of time. Los business trips can be divided into two categories: individual business trips, which include regular travel needed to perform work-related tasks, and business tourism, which includes a variety of business meetings and events such as meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.

Travel facilities did not appear immediately after the war. For example, in 1957 the railways introduced the Trans-Europ-Express (TEE) concept, a first-class express train network with a supplement. At that time, many lines were not yet electrified and traveling abroad was still a habit reserved for a certain elite and business executives. The TEE was comforted to the point of offering a secretarial service on board the trains and, later, the possibility of making telephone calls.

If businessmen wanted to go further, they had to take a night train and reserve a compartment for them, which meant paying for a first-class ticket with a bed car supplement called “Single”.

In the 1960s, with the arrival of many flights, business travel became more common across Europe. From then on, many businessmen could make a round trip from Madrid to Barcelona, Paris or London in one day, making the train increasingly obsolete.

Nowadays, people fly to attend two hours of meetings or a half-day seminar. This has allowed companies to have decentralized locations depending on their structure.

As a result, trains have increasingly lost their demanding clientele, which had the advantage of providing generous revenues to railways. The democratization of travel to a wider audience led to a weakening of the use of TEE and a rethinking of the model. TEE disappeared in 1987, thirty years after their birth. What's left for businessmen?

The answer was high-speed trains, and also copying the airline model by introducing reservations and catering. Thus, the railroad was able to recover a previously lost clientele, but at the cost of investing billions in investment. Because these high-speed lines, despite their similarities to a railway, differ greatly in certain technical aspects, especially a greater number of engineering structures and tunnels.

But as soon as they arrived, high-speed trains were already facing two major changes:

• Starting in the 2000s, aviation found a new low-cost business model that put prices under pressure.
• This new business model attracted a different business audience, which is no longer the TEE elite. But rather business managers and executives who no longer intend to pay astronomical sums to travel.

That's why, despite the rise of videoconferencing, the pace of travel has never been more intense, especially in the business travel segment, which used to be the bread and butter of aviation. The railway then had to once again offer advantages that aviation could not: quick access to trains without multiple security doors, being able to arrive without as much time in advance as at airports, and, above all, Wi-Fi, which at first was somewhat difficult, but which over the years has improved to convert travel time into working time... for those who wanted it.

The travel time considered “acceptable” by business customers has been gradually extended to four hours, according to some surveys. At the same time, the aviation market share on routes such as Paris-Marseille, Madrid-Barcelona, Milan-Rome and even Berlin-Munich declined considerably.

The Covid-19 crisis and the green wave of sustainability and environmentalism that drives Europe, have recently called into question not only the aviation model, but above all this unrestrained consumption of routes in Europe. This crisis has this time caused a strong increase in teleworking and video conferencing. In June 2020, train traffic was half as large, although it was gradually recovering.

The night train solution?

An important market in the business world is that of hospitality. When a conference or seminar takes place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., flying is usually not an option, especially when these events are held in small cities with poor transport connections. An overnight stay in a hotel is then unavoidable for many participants.

However, there is a solution that could meet certain time requirements: the night train. In fact, the night is still a night for everyone. For 8 hours you sleep and cover 600 or 1,200 kilometers. The length of the trip is not important here, as the train becomes your hotel. The goal is to arrive at your destination around 7.30 am for the 9.00 am conference. At the end of the day, you return to your “mobile hotel” in the evening to return home the next day. The advantage: two fewer hotel nights at the expense of your company.

But beware: to achieve the highest quality, more night trains are needed than the current ones. All of them must have a sleeping car with private cabin and Wi-Fi. Rates must be flexible right up to the last minute. The service on board must be impeccable. Business customers should not sit outside on a platform, but rather sit comfortably in a station lounge while waiting for the afternoon train. This is the only way to attract business customers to the railway.

Finally, you can add two segments for business travel:

• the high-speed train for distances of 300 to 500 kilometers
• the night train for longer distances.

With this network, we can be sure to serve almost every major city in Europe, thus avoiding costly air travel.

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