TheTrainLine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
TheTrainLine is an online and telephone service selling tickets for travel on British train services. It was created in 1997 and online ticket sales started in 1999. TheTrainLine.com Ltd was formerly part of the Virgin Group and is now owned by private equity investors and management. The business has expanded significantly in the last eight years, acquiring its main online competitor Qjump from National Express Group in February 2004.
Trainline is now the largest retailer of UK rail tickets, selling nearly 20 per cent of all tickets by value. TheTrainLine offers all published UK rail travel fares (other than some temporary promotional fares) and train journey times for rail travel in the UK.
The TrainLine service is licenced by the Association of Train Operating Companies and its systems are accredited by the rail industry, but it is both independent of any train operating company and impartial in that its systems search the full range of possible journeys based on customer preference (such as price or time).
In addition to the online service provided direct to customers operated under its own brands TheTrainLine and Qjump, it provides the website services for 16 of the 20 UK train operating companies (plus one 'open access' operator) operating under their own brands, as well as providing a rail business travel service direct to a number of large blue chip corporations, travel management companies and travel agents. Trainline also provides a call centre service to a number of the customers referred to above.
TheTrainLine employs over 100 people at its offices in London and Edinburgh and approximately 450 people through its outsource arrangements with IT and call centre service providers.
In July 2006, Exponent Private Equity acquired TheTrainLine, for £168 million. TheTrainLine was bought from a consortium of shareholders that included the Virgin, Stagecoach and National Express transport groups.
In July 2007, Trainline acquired Advanced Smartcard Technologies and ECEBS Ltd, signalling a new strategy to enter the smartcard market.
