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Thalys

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Thalys
File:Thalys Logo.svg
Franchise(s)International joint operation
service began 1996
Main stations(s)Paris Nord,
Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid,
Amsterdam Centraal
Köln Hbf
Other stations(s)Antwerpen-Centraal, Bruges, Chaleroi-Sud, Ghent-Sint-Pieters, Liège-Guillemins, Mons, Namur, Ostend, Aachen Hauptbahnhof, Albertville, Bourg-St-Maurice, Moûtiers, Chambéry-Challes-les-Eaux, Schiphol, Rotterdam Centraal
Fleet size9[1] Thalys PBA sets
17 Thalys PBKA sets
Stations called at26
Parent companySNCF, NMBS/SNCB, Deutsche Bahn
Other
Websitewww.thalys.com
Thalys route map
Legend
 Amsterdam Centraal Deutsche Bahn Eurostar w:Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Schiphol Airport Amsterdam Airport Schiphol w:Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Rotterdam Centraal Eurostar w:Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Dortmund Hbf Deutsche Bahn Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn Dortmund Stadtbahn
Essen Hbf Deutsche Bahn Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn Essen Stadtbahn
Duisburg Hbf Deutsche Bahn Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn Duisburg Stadtbahn
Düsseldorf Airport Düsseldorf Airport Deutsche Bahn Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn
Düsseldorf Hbf Deutsche Bahn Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn Düsseldorf Stadtbahn
Köln Hbf Deutsche Bahn Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn Cologne Stadtbahn
Aachen Hbf Deutsche Bahn
Netherlands
Belgium
Germany
Belgium
 Antwerpen-Centraal w:Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Liège-Guillemins Deutsche Bahn
Brussels-South Eurostar TGV Deutsche Bahn w:Nederlandse Spoorwegen Brussels Metro
Belgium
France
Paris-Nord TGV Eurostar TER Hauts-de-France Transilien RER Paris Métro
Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV enlarge… Charles de Gaulle Airport TGV Ouigo RER
Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy enlarge… TGV Ouigo RER
Thalys Neige (winter)
Chambéry–Challes-les-Eaux TGV TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Albertville TGV Ouigo TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Moûtiers–Salins–Brides-les-Bains TGV Ouigo TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Aime–La Plagne TGV Ouigo TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Landry TGV TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Bourg-Saint-Maurice TGV Ouigo TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
 Thalys Soleil (summer)
Valence TGV TGV Ouigo Renfe TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Avignon TGV TGV Ouigo Renfe Deutsche Bahn TER PACA
Aix-en-Provence TGV TGV Ouigo Renfe Deutsche Bahn
Marseille-Saint-Charles TGV Ouigo Renfe Deutsche Bahn Intercités TER PACA TER Occitanie

Thalys is an international high-speed train operator originally built around the high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris or Brussels to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. Thalys reaches Amsterdam and Cologne, and its system is operated by Thalys International. Its capital is divided up between SNCF (62%), NMBS/SNCB (28%)[2] and Deutsche Bahn (10%).

History

The decision to build a high-speed railway between Paris, Brussels, Cologne and Amsterdam was made in 1987. On 28 January 1993,[3] SNCF, SNCB[4], Nederlandse Spoorwegen and Deutsche Bahn signed an agreement to jointly operate the axis through the brand Thalys, and in 1995 Westrail International was created by the French and Belgium national railways to operate the services. On 4 June 1996 the first train left Paris, taking 2:07 hours to Brussels and 4:47 hours to Amsterdam.[5]

On 14 December 1997 the LGV Nord and HSL 1 lines opened, allowing the travel time from Paris to Brussels to be reduced to 1:25 hours. At the same time service commenced to Cologne and Aachen in Germany, and Bruges, Charleroi, Ghent, Mons, Namur and Ostend in Belgium. On 19 December 1998 the Thalys Neige service started to the ski resorts of Tarentaise Valley and Bourg St. Maurice. In May 1999, the new high-speed line serving Charles de Gaulle Airport opened, and Thalys started direct services from the Airport to Brussels, including code sharing agreements with Air France, American Airlines and Northwest Airlines. On 28 November 1999, the company changed its name to Thalys International. In 2000, the Thalys Soleil started services to the summer resort Valence—this service was extended in 2002 to Marseille and Avignon. In 2003, services started to Brussels International Airport and the Thalys Nuits d’Eté service to Marne-la-Vallée. Deutsche Bahn purchased 10% of the company in 2007.[5] From 14 June 2009 the journey between Brussels and Cologne was shortened by 19 minutes when a new high speed line (HSL 3) between Liège and Aachen opened. The new high-speed line was initially only used by Deutsche Bahn's thrice-daily ICE trains running between Brussels and Frankfurt. Although HSL 3 was completed in 2007, Thalys trains had at this time not yet been equipped with the ETCS signalling equipment necessary to use the new line. As a result, Thalys did not operate on the new link until 13 December 2009. For this same reason, Thalys did not start operating on the HSL 4/HSL-Zuid high-speed line between Antwerp and Amsterdam until 13 December 2009.

Since 29 August 2011, one return journey to Cologne has been extended to Essen Hauptbahnhof.[6], and since 30 October 2011, one return journey to Brussels had been extended to Brussels National Airport[7].

Two daily trains will operate a new service between Lille and Amsterdam from winter 2013 service[8].

Routes

See also: List of TGV services

Beyond Brussels, the main cities Thalys trains reach are Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Liège, Bruges, Ghent, Charleroi, Aachen and Cologne. Trains to these destinations run partly on dedicated high-speed tracks, and partly on conventional tracks shared with normal-speed trains. The high-speed lines used by Thalys are HSL 1 between Paris and Brussels, HSL 4/HSL-Zuid between Antwerp and Amsterdam, and the HSL 2 and HSL 3 between Brussels and Aachen. For its seasonal operations within France, other high-speed lines are used.

Plans to continue the line past Cologne to Frankfurt had to be abandoned because the power Germany's 15 kV electric system provides is insufficient for the Thalys train sets to operate at full speed on the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line.[9][10]

Journeys from Brussels (Brussels-South) to Paris (Gare du Nord) are normally 1 hour, 22 minutes, for a distance of approximately 300 kilometres (190 mi). Peak speed is 300 km/h (186 mph) on a dedicated high-speed railway track.

The LGV (ligne à grande vitesse) link with Charles de Gaulle Airport allowed Air France to withdraw its air service between Paris and Brussels; instead, Air France books seats on Thalys trains.[11] Thalys has been given the IATA designator 2H. This is used in conjunction with American Airlines and Northwest Airlines. American Airlines has a code sharing agreement with Thalys for rail service from Charles de Gaulle airport to Brussels-South. The airline alliance SkyTeam also has a code sharing agreement with Thalys for rail service connecting its hub Amsterdam Schiphol Airport with Antwerp-Centraal and Bruxelles Midi/Brussel Zuid. Indian carrier Jet Airways has formed a codeshare agreement with the Thalys rail service between Brussels and Paris.[12]

Market

Thalys targets a passenger market in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

The percentage of income coming from different routes[13] demonstrates on which routes the company is most used:

  • Paris-Brussels: 55.6%
  • Paris-Belgium (outside Brussels): 8.9%
  • Paris-Belgium-Netherlands: 21.3%
  • Paris-Belgium-Germany: 11.8%
  • Others: 2.4%

52% of customers are from the leisure market; 48% from the business market.

A large segment of Thalys's total sales and income comes from the connection between Paris and Brussels. A comparison is made below between different modes of transport on this route in order to demonstrate the service offered by Thalys and alternative competitors in this particular market.

The comparison has been made for a single trip from Brussels to Paris, for a ticket bought within 24 hours of departure. Despite the European Directive on Competition in Rail Transport (EU Directive 91/440), active since 1 January 2010, there is no alternative provision of high speed train connections on this route (last checked in March 2010). Potential competitors are Deutsche Bahn, Trenitalia and Veolia, as this is regularly stated in the specialized reference newspaper “Ville, Rail et Transport”.

Comparison by transport and purchase mode (June 2009)[14]
Transport and purchase mode Description and comments Duration Single fare (without reduction, at a peak hour)
Thalys train Standard ticket purchased at railway station 1h22 €88
Other direct high speed trains No offer as of 25 September 2010
Thalys train through ads Online resale of Smoove tickets 1h22 Easier access to cheapest tickets (Smoove)
Other high speed trains 1. Brussels - Lille by TGV or Eurostar;

2. Lille - Paris by TGV

1h30, plus transfer time at Lille. If Eurostar, add advance boarding time (30 mn) €64.90 - €80
Regional trains 1. Brussels – Lille via Ghent or Mouscron (Belgium) by regional trains;[15]

2. Lille - Paris by TGV

3h, plus transfer time Brussels – Lille: €26 - €44.90;

Lille – Paris: €38.90 - €54; Total: €64.90 - €98.90

Bus Eurolines bus 3h45, plus 30 mn boarding time €21 - €23
Car Many car pooling websites allow to connect car drivers and those looking for a ride on a car trip. 3h €12 - €20 as passenger, depending on agreements with the driver.

About €37 for a driver (€12 highway toll, €25 for 400 km petrol/diesel)

Flights Brussels Airlines 1h00 flight time, plus at least 1h boarding time €188.06 (one way) and €335.55 (return fare )

Other information concerning the transport offer:

Before Thalys, in 1996, the train called Etoile du Nord (Northern Star), a Trans Europe Express, was connecting Paris and Brussels in 2h20.[16]

The prices of Thalys tickets vary widely, even for the same journey and same level of comfort. Here is an example of prices for Paris to Brussels, Comfort 2 (equivalent to 2nd class), maximum price, by ticket category:

Prices Thalys, Paris-Brussels, 14 June to 12 December 2009, comfort 2
Tariff name Description and comments Price
Hi-Life Peak hour €88
Optiway Non-peak hour €71
Smoove Ticket purchased in advance
(from 3 months to 15 days)		 Up to €35 if booked 15 days in advance
(limited seats)
Youth Until 25 years old €44 (limited seats)
Senior From 60 years old €62 (limited seats)
Kid Child Up to €29
Kid & Co Child accompanier Up to €43

About Smoove:

Until the 1990s, regular travelers remember that it was easy to find reduced price tickets at usual departure times (as 8 AM or 6 PM), through the promotional pages of Thalys website. In December 2009, tests effectuated on this site have evidenced that these reduced price tickets have become quite rare, and essentially for unusual departure times (between 6 and 8 AM or after 9 PM (statistics to be found for this).

About Kid and Kid & Co:

Unlike many national train companies, Thalys does not allow children below 12 years old to travel alone. This has been interpreted as a way to rise profits, according categories of users impacted by this measure.[17]

Since 24 August 2010, there is a supplement of €7 to Thalys (as well as other international high speed tickets) tickets bought at NMBS/SNCB ticket offices at train stations. This is due to a reduction of a sales fee paid by Thalys and Eurostar to the Belgian rail company.[18]

Thalys yearly passengers and revenue
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Passengers 4,72[19] 4,98[20] 5,5[21] 5,8[22] 6,0[23] 5,8[24] 5,95[25] 6,15[26] 6,5[27] 6,2[28] 6,5[29] 6,07[30] 6,45[31] 6,65[32]
Revenue 60[33] 115[34] 190 220 266 294 310 301 318 335 363 364 392 382 432 470

All figures in millions. Revenue in euro.


Accessibility

Thalys trains are wheelchair-accessible, with assistance of the train staff. Bicycles are not allowed on Thalys, unless disassembled or packed in special wrap. Folding bikes are allowed.[35]

Rolling stock

Thalys uses two models of trains, both of which are part of the TGV (train à grande vitesse) family of high-speed trains built by Alstom in France.

 Class  Image  Type   Top speed   Number   Built   Notes 
 mph   km/h 
PBA Electric multiple unit 186 300[36] 9[1] 1996 Tri-current; Operates only on the Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam route.
PBKA Electric multiple unit 186 300 17 1997 Quadri-current; Operates on Paris-Brussels-Köln-Amsterdam route.

Accidents and Incidents

Thalys PBA near Dordrecht Zuid with a Paris-bound train
Further information: TGV accidents
  • On 9 May 1998 a truck was struck by a Thalys PBKA on an unprotected level crossing; it had attempted to cross the tracks at the crossing when the train arrived. The truck driver was killed in the impact and the train's power unit and first two trailers derailed; the trainset was left heavily damaged. Six passengers were injured and tracks and catenary were broken in the incident. Trailers R1 and R2 had to be scrapped. The trainset was later repaired with the R1 and R2 trailers from a regular TGV trainset.
  • On 11 October 2008 a Thalys PBA set bound for Amsterdam collided with a local ICM train set at Gouda railway station in The Netherlands. The Thalys train set had been diverted via Gouda due to engineering work on its usual route. None of the passengers were seriously injured, but both trains incurred serious damage. An investigation concluded that staff of the local ICM was partly to blame as they left the platform whilst still under a red signal.[37][38]

See also

Thalys PBA and Thalys PBKA in Paris

References

  1. ^ a b "Thalys: Key figures". Thalys. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  2. ^ Thalys: Thalys : corporate
  3. ^ Thalys. "1976–1995 The train: economic development drive". Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  4. ^ Thalys: Thalys : corporate
  5. ^ a b Thalys. "History". Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  6. ^ Hermsen, Stephan (22 December 2010). "Thalys verbindet das Ruhrgebiet mit Paris". DerWesten (in German). Essen. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Belga (14 September 2011). "Brussels Airport à 1h47 de Paris via Thalys". La Libre Belgique (in French). Brussels. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ A.T. (13 June 2012). "Bientôt deux Lille-Amsterdam directs par jour en Thalys". La voix du Nord (in French). Lille. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "railfaneurope.net". 2009-03-07. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  10. ^ Alain Jeunesse and Michel Rollin (2004-03). "La motorisation du TGV POS" (in French). Retrieved 2007-07-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ United States Government Accountability Office (1994). Intermodal Transportation. DIANE Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 1-4289-3337-9.
  12. ^ http://in.news.yahoo.com/jet-airways-forms-air-rail-code-share-thalys-124248337.html
  13. ^ Source: http://www.thalys.com/be/fr/a-propos-de-thalys/chiffres-cles, consulted 17 April 2010.
  14. ^ Sources of information: http://www.thalys.fr, http://www.covoiturage.fr, http://www.mitfahrzentrale.de, http://www.trocdestrains.com, http://www.zepass.com, consulted in June 2009, and by direct observation at the same period.
  15. ^ An alternative connexion, if needed, is the following: Mouscron – Tourcoing by taxi (5 km), then Tourcoing – Lille in subway
  16. ^ Paris-Bruxelles, ou les joies du monopole - Coulisses de Bruxelles, UE
  17. ^ Les enfants interdits de Thalys - Autonomie, indépendance des enfants - FORUM Famille
  18. ^ Lalibre.be - Thalys et Eurostar économisent sur le dos de la SNCB
  19. ^ Unknown (20 januari 1999). "Thalys trook 57 procent meer treinreizigers in 1998; NMBS: Internationaal treinverkeer zit duidelijk in de lift". De Financieel-Economische Tijd. p. 26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Unknown (8 februari 2000). "Thalys vervoert bijna 5 miljoen passagiers". NRC Handelsblad. p. 15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Unknown (10 january 2001). "Opnieuw goed jaar voor Thalys". De Financieel-Economische Tijd. p. 9. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Van der Heide, Lolke (27 July 2002). "Vliegen zonder vleugels ; Hogesnelheidstrein komt nog niet los van strijd om nationaal belang". NRC Handelsblad. p. 11.
  23. ^ Unknown (6 januari 2003). "Thalys: zes miljoen passagiers in 2002". Nieuws.nl. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Unknown (16 januari 2004). "Thalys vervoert minder passagiers". BN/De Stem. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ Unknown (20 januari 2005). "Recordjaar voor Thalys". Rotterdams Dagblad. Rotterdam. p. 716. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ Unknown (3 januari 2006). "Kort Nieuws". AD/Algemeen Dagblad. p. 15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Unknown (10 januari 2007). "6,5 miljoen reizigers voor Thalys". De Tijd. p. 4. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ Unknown (16 januari 2008). "Thalys verliest reizigers maar behoudt omzet". De Tijd. p. 6. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ Thalys.com 2008
  30. ^ Volkskrant (2011)
  31. ^ Volkskrant (2011)
  32. ^ Press release Thalys
  33. ^ Botman, Hans (27 maart 1999). "Thalys raast door". Algemeen Dagblad. p. 49. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ Van Gelder, Harry (26 maart 1999). "Belgen, Fransen, Duitsers en Nederlanders exploiteren hogesnelheidslijn liever samen ; Europese spoorbedrijven verwerpen concurrentie". De Volkskrant. Brussels. p. 2. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ Thalys Trains, European Trains | Rail Europe
  36. ^ "Railway Gazette: Manufacturers must share the risk". Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  37. ^ nu.nl. "Accident". Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  38. ^ IVW.nl. "Rapport". Retrieved 2009-05-18.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thalys.
  • Brunhouse, Jay (1999). Traveling Europe's Trains. Pelican Publishing Company. ISBN 1-56554-854-X.
  • Solomon, Brian (2001). Bullet trains. MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 0-7603-0768-7.
  • International railway journal (2003). A star is born: International railway journal. Simmons-Boardman Pub. Corp.
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