On 18 December 2021 Frecciarossa from Trenitalia to conquer the French rail market. On Wednesday, the Italian carrier's management was keen to celebrate this first anniversary, and to take stock of these twelve months of operation. " A year later, it's a winning bet for travellers, and for all those involved "assures Roberto Rinaudothe Chairman of Trenitalia France. As a symbol, the company had sold its millionth ticket a few days earlier, confirming the positive message sent out by the carrier. " This has exceeded our expectations: we didn't expect to sell a million tickets in a year. "underlines Roberto Rinaudo, referring to the " incredible results ". Trenitalia ended its first year of operation with an average load factor of 70%. And while the Paris-Lyon route still has room for improvement (50%), Trenitalia has exceeded 80% on its Paris-Milan route, with the Paris-Turin and Lyon-Milan routes also finding their audience.
The recipe for success? According to the railway company's managers, it has understood the expectations of French customers, their specific characteristics compared to Italian passengers, and has responded to them without denying its "Italian soul". Among the examples given by Roberto Rinaudo, the French fleet has twice as many carriages equipped with the "Silenzio" atmosphere as on the other side of the Alps. Or - more anecdotally - the much greater success of tiramisu among French customers... Trenitalia France has not acquired this knowledge of the market in 2022 alone. The management of Trenitalia recalled in particular the role played by its predecessor Thello in France, to understand the profile of French customers. The experience also served to demonstrate the operational complexity of the night train model: " Thello stopped it because there were too many infrastructure constraints "says Roberto Rinaudo. " I'm aware that night trains are making a comeback, there's a fashion, which I understand. But for the moment we are focused on two products: high-speed and regional trains. ".
This regional offer could be the next step in the development of the Trenitalia France network. The company plans to take part in calls for tenders in this direction, where there are synergies will be identified. As for high-speed rail, " we analyse the market at 360 degrees, we exclude nothing "warned the Chairman of Trenitalia France. He confirmed the interest shown in the Paris-Madrid route. " Yes, this is part of the development plan. There are several routes on which we are currently evaluating the development of our services. Paris-Barcelona-Madrid is on that list. ". However, Trenitalia has not announced any timetable.
Trenitalia France targets business travellers
Conversely, we now know that 2023 will mark the railway company's first real offensive in the business travel. What form will this take? We'll have to wait until the first few months of next year to find out. " We will soon be offering our business travellers a richer range of products and services, tailored more closely to their needs. "warns Roberto Rinaudo. " There are a number of issues to be addressed: pricing, distribution channels, the use of digital platforms used by companies, services that meet specific requirements, etc. We need to optimise the proposition we want to give to these customers, who are very demanding. "continued the Chairman of Trenitalia France. When asked about the possibility of setting up Trenitalia lounges in stations - as is the case in Italy - or in neighbouring hotels - as is the case in Italy - the Chairman of Trenitalia France replied: "It's not a question of setting up Trenitalia lounges in stations. Iryo does it in SpainRoberto Rinaudo remains cautious. "The model is different in France when it comes to access to stations, so it wasn't immediately possible to transpose it from Italy to France. But everything is possible. Trenitalia currently counts 20% customers travelling for business reasons. To which we can potentially add the 20% of passengers who say they travel for mixed reasons - personal and professional. These figures could well increase with a dedicated offer, as the company gains greater visibility on the French market.
