Europe in your sights
One company's setback is another's gain. That is how Trainline, the leading app for booking train or bus travel across Europe, managed to outpace its continental rivals and expand well beyond its original UK home base.
Trainline began as a British company launched in 1997 in the United Kingdom by the Virgin Group. At the time, the business sold train tickets only via a telephone hotline, which is where the name comes from. The company gained significant traction in Europe in 2016 when it acquired the French startup Captain Train.
That acquisition was not the only factor in Trainline reaching its current European scale. The chaotic January 2021 launch of the SNCF Connect app by the French national rail operator served as a massive commercial springboard for Trainline. Today, its mobile app sells tickets for more than 270 rail operators (including SNCF, Thalys, Eurostar, Deutsche Bahn, and Renfe) and bus companies across 45 countries.
From telephone lines to mobile apps
With more than 30 million downloads, the Trainline app is highly regarded for its practical features.
It starts with simplicity. You enter your departure city, your destination, and any discount cards you might hold. The app searches for available trains or buses, displaying the travel time, route, and ticket price. You simply book your seat. You can skip the frustrating intermediate steps found on many competitor sites. There are no pages pushing travel insurance or rental cars here. The Trainline app is straightforward, fast, and direct.
The same goes for their customer service, which you can reach by phone, email, or via social media for quick responses.
Finally, the app offers personalized tracking for your trip by sending notifications throughout your journey regarding your train departure platform, any changes to your route, or potential delays and cancellations.
Keep in mind that Trainline is a free app. The company generates revenue through the commissions paid by the individual transport operators.
After booking a ticket on Trainline, the ticket was refused at the station on the day of the trip. They claimed it had been requested for a refund, but that was never the case and the money is still not in my bank account!
I had to buy an emergency ticket from SNCF to travel, and after more than 2 weeks of trying to get someone to find a solution for me, I still haven't recovered the 169 euros that are owed to me! And worse, I don't know how to reach someone who understands this problem because everyone just passes the buck.