Boosting rail ticket sales to better compete against low-cost travel providers

• Application Infrastructure & Middleware - API Integration & Management
• Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
• Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Middleware, SDKs & Libraries
• Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
• Networks & Connectivity - Network Management & Analysis Software

• Railway & Metro

• Sales & Marketing
• Business Operation

• Public Transportation Management
• Real-Time Location System (RTLS)
• Transportation Simulation

• System Integration
• Software Design & Engineering Services

The European railway operator was facing stiff competition from low-cost airlines and coach operators. The company realized that its existing service offerings were out-of-touch with the way that its customers wanted to travel. More and more travellers were turning to the web and mobile channels to book tickets, find information and plan journeys. The operator recognized that the key to regaining ground from its rivals lay in offering customers more attractive prices and promotions, as well as an easier way to book and plan journeys. By developing service offerings that truly stand out and giving travelers greater flexibility, the company hoped to boost ticket sales and steal a march on its competitors. The company wanted to better engage with its customers by launching more desirable travel options at attractive prices, and to ensure that its offerings are always up-to-date.

The customer in this case study is a European railway operator that manages a very large railway system, which includes several high-speed routes. The operator was facing stiff competition from low-cost airlines and coach operators, and was looking for ways to boost ticket sales and compete more effectively. The operator recognized that the key to regaining ground from its rivals lay in offering customers more attractive prices and promotions, as well as an easier way to book and plan journeys. The operator wanted to better engage with its customers by launching more desirable travel options at attractive prices, and to ensure that its offerings are always up-to-date. The operator also wanted to ensure that its ticketing application could withstand increased demand and stay available even when tens of thousands of users were connected at once.

The operator enhanced its web and mobile experience by streamlining processing of customer queries, enabling real-time service updates for travelers, and creating flexible journey-planner solutions. The company has built a robust IT landscape to support top performance and round-the-clock availability for its ticketing application, which runs on IBM® WebSphere® Application Server for z/OS® on an IBM zEnterprise® EC12 mainframe server. At the core of the solution, the company stores its business-critical information, including ticket sales data, on IBM DB2® databases on the same zEC12 server. All transactions for ticket sales – from online and mobile to sales points at stations and travel agencies – are managed on the EC12 mainframe using IBM WebSphere Application Server for z/OS. Once the tickets have been booked and created within the z/OS environment, payment transactions are pushed to WebSphere Application Server on Linux for System z®, still on the same physical EC12 mainframe, which handles all the necessary security checks and brokers the transactions with external payment processor companies.

• Sleek, modern customer interfaces that offer a wider range of travel options.
• The ability to process an ever-increasing number of transactions is achieved through WebSphere front-end servers and IBM WebSphere Application Server for z/OS, which are key in enabling the operator to scale up to meet increased demand.
• The company’s new strategy revolves around creating enticing travel solutions with real-time pricing and promotions, and round-the-clock availability for mobile apps and online access.

• Boosted ticket sales by a double-digit percentage.