In 2015, Thalys International will be celebrating its twentieth anniversary. What has changed in two decades?
Franck Gervais - For a long time, we were identified with our initial core business, which was to offer a link between Paris and Brussels in 1 hour 22 minutes, compared with 2 hours 40 minutes previously. But this is no longer the case. In recent years, we have opened up new destinations, reduced journey times and increased frequencies. Today, from Paris, in addition to our 25 daily trains to Brussels, we offer nine trains a day to Amsterdam and five to Cologne, including three that extend to Düsseldorf, Duisburg and Essen. In 2013, for the first time, the combined traffic of our "Dutch route" and our "German route" exceeded that of our Paris-Brussels line. Thalys is extending its reach.
Do you plan to push back the boundaries?
F. G. - We remain focused on our geographical area and have no intention of moving elsewhere. But we do want to strengthen our presence in the region by creating intelligent connections. That's why we opened a twice-daily service between Lille and Amsterdam in April. This paves the way for other possible links between the "Euro-metropolises" within our perimeter. This is also why we are strengthening our airport connections in partnership with airlines such as Jet Airways to Brussels Zaventem and Air France-KLM to Amsterdam Schiphol. Finally, it is the meaning of our partnership with Eurostar, with whom we offer a link between London and Amsterdam/Cologne.
You have almost no competition on the Paris-Brussels route. What's happening in Cologne and Amsterdam?
F. G. - On the Paris/Netherlands route, we have a market share of 78% compared with air travel. On the Paris/Germany route, we have 69%, despite a lower frequency than to Amsterdam. What's interesting is to see the response of our business customers. With Thalys, they have a product that gets them to their destination in less than 3.5 hours, with the added bonus of comfort, a paperless ticket, WiFi, a meal and access to the lounge in Cologne and Brussels. When you compare the added value and price of a Thalys journey with those of a plane journey, the choice is quickly made. Not to mention the carbon footprint...
Does this allow you to postpone the "switchover time" between train and plane?
F. G. - Until now, this changeover time was estimated at three hours. I think that with the flexibility and the Thalys service, we are in the process of increasing it to four hours. We are giving time back to our passengers, who can turn their journey into useful working time. I am very much in favour of air-rail complementarity, but there are routes where there is no longer any real match. The proof: in April, Air France is going to end its Paris-Cologne route...
What areas are you working on?
F. G. - When we ask our business travellers, the first thing they come back to is the basics. You can have the most beautiful train in the world and the best service; if you don't arrive on time, there's no point. We ended 2013 with a punctuality rate of over 90 %, and we intend to gain at least three more points over the next three years. Another imperative is flexibility. If their meeting finishes earlier than planned, our passengers don't want to have to worry about changing their ticket to catch the earlier train. So we offer them this possibility. Then there's our whole service policy. For example, we are currently testing the 'e-press&more' service, which allows passengers to choose the newspaper of their choice before their departure and pre-book a sweet or savoury breakfast, or even a vegetarian meal... This sums up our approach, which is to always create added value and know how to anticipate. You don't come to us, we have to come to you.
Interview by Julien Hirsinger
Key dates :
2001: director of studies and works at Nice airport
2004: technical adviser in charge of transport at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport
2005: Chief of Staff to the Chairman of SNCF
2007: Director of suburban lines departing from Gare du Nord (Transilien)
2011: Chief Executive Officer of Thalys International
