Travel Weekly Blog

THETRAINLINE.COM LAUNCHES NEW LOOK BUSINESS WEBSITE SUPPORTED BY MULTI-MILLION POUND ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

thetrainline.com, the leading independent UK rail retailer, has given its business website a new look, to improve functionality and help customers find the cheapest fares.

To coincide with this refresh, thetrainline.com has also invested in a multi-million pound TV and outdoor advertising campaign to highlight the average 39% saving that can be made by booking tickets in advance on thetrainline.com.

As part of the changes and in a first for the rail industry, thetrainline.com has launched Best Fare Finder, a unique booking tool that shines a spotlight on cheap rail tickets for travellers who can be more flexible with journey times and dates.

This tool builds on the success of Ticket Alert, which launched last month and enables customers to sign-up for email alerts when advance tickets for their pre-selected journeys are found.  Both tools can be found on thetrainline.com's corporate clients own websites. Journalists can review the functionality on the SME website - www.home.thetrainline.com/business.)

Adrian Watts, director of sales and distribution at thetrainline.com, explains: "Over the last 12 months we have undertaken in-depth customer research to understand how we can update the look of our website, whilst also enhancing both navigation and functionality. 

"Also key to the process was to look at how we can continue to help our business customers save money on the cost of their travel. We have developed Best Fare Finder as the ideal tool to help them do this and client feedback we have received to date on the new functionality has been very positive."

Other key site enhancements include:

• Enhanced Booking Matrix, so that the cheapest tickets now appear first in the fares matrix and advance fares are flagged
• Increased preferences for seat reservations. This includes the ability to book seats in quiet carriages, next to power sockets, and even near to luggage racks or toilets. Users can also book seat direction and specify if they want an aisle or window seat or one that has a table.
• Savings made by booking online, as opposed to on the day at the station are flagged at point of sale. This means business customers can see and track the savings they are making
• Customers can now receive an SMS after they have booked with a summary of their booking and journey details and, if applicable the self service ticket machine reference number. This is ideal for travel bookers who want to alert their clients/colleagues as to when their booking has been made and provide details of their journey
• Adrian Watts continues: "With the added functionality on the site it is much easier for business travellers to book the seats they want, whether this is one next to a power point so they can work or in a quiet carriage if they need to relax after a long meeting. These changes to the site mark the first in a series of updates that we have planned to improve navigation of the site and customer experience."