rail

KDS European Rail Offering Continues to Grow with Swedish Rail

sberteloot — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:35:53 +0200

03/10/2008

European corporations are turning to KDS solutions for exhaustive rail inventory in order to meet green travel policy requirements

October 2, 2008 – Stockholm – KDS, an international leader in SaaS travel & expense management, announced the availability of Swedish Rail within its product suite. KDS clients of all sizes using KDS solutions either directly or via a travel agency portal can now book all main Swedish rail suppliers, directly from within the system.

With the recent addition of Swedish Rail including SJ and other main rail operators in the Swedish market, KDS users can now book rail tickets for even more European rail trips; a move in line with corporations' travel behaviour.

Being able to compare timetables and fares not only between traditional airlines and low cost carriers but also with rail on a multimodal display gives users added freedom. Studies show that with the extension of the European high speed rail network business travellers now select rail over air for most trips under 4 hours.

KDS allows travellers to choose the best offers while ensuring compliancy with their organisation’s travel policy, guidelines on carbon emissions and negotiated vendor contracts. This is in line with an increasing number of organisations' travel policies which take into account Corporate Social Responsibility items and which prefer rail to air on selected routes.

"SJ AB welcomes KDS's incorporation of rail into its intuitive user interface. The multimodal display of rail and air is an essential feature for our corporate costumers and gives users a better product experience," said Thomas Mann, Head of Distribution for SJ AB.

In Sweden, SJ AB the government owned rail provider operates 90 percent of rail journeys which distance exceeds 100 km. With roughly 1,450 daily departures, travellers are quickly and easily connected to the region’s prime business hubs and airports, including Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. KDS also supports SJ Prio and other business travel concepts offered by SJ.

The Swedish rail integration was made possible by a collaboration between Swedish integrator Linkon, SJ and KDS.

“KDS has been the first online travel management solution to offer rail access in Europe. We are proud to add Swedish rail to our portfolio of rail content especially since rail is becoming an essential mode of transport for business travellers, particularly in the Nordic region, which was among the earliest green adopters,” said Annicka Lofstrand, Business Development Director EMEA for KDS.

A recent global survey of business travellers carried out by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives and KDS revealed there is now a real desire among corporations to reduce the frequency of travel and select ‘greener’ options, with 45% of respondents citing concern about how global warming directly impacts individuals’ decisions about business travel.

ACTE Global Conference Breakout Session to Focus on Rail

sberteloot — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 11:30:58 +0200

Description:

On Tuesday, 23 October from 12.00 - 13.15 Stanislas Berteloot, Marketing Director of KDS, will moderate a session entitled ’Managing Rail Spend’.

With increasing demand for time-efficient business travel in Europe, together with a growing concern about the environment, rail companies have seen a sharp increase in their passenger numbers in the past years.

Various moves, such as this summer’s launch of the Railteam alliance, are being made to simplify and streamline the booking of European rail travel. However, the issue remains a challenge for many businesses and obstacles such as national borders still need to be addressed before the train can become a viable alternative for most journeys.

Hear these issues discussed by an expert panel including corporate buyers, rail companies and even an airline representative in what is sure to be a lively and informative session.
More information on the ACTE web site (http://www.acte.org/events/Munich07/education.php)

Publication Date Auto:

1192527058

KDS leads in Online Rail booking functionality

vgalibert@kds.com — Wed, 11 Aug 2004 14:10:27 +0200

11/08/2004

KDS, the leading provider of online business travel management solutions, demonstrates the most extensive train booking services in Europe.

With 10 years experience in travel technology and over 300 customers, KDS is well placed to understand how important an integrated SBT solution, including train options, is becoming to European corporate travelers. KDS first processed rail bookings in 2002 with SNCF, and such bookings are now an everyday activity for thousands of KDS users across the world.

“As other booking tools are struggling for visibility in Europe, the ability to book train is once again being used as a marketing differentiator. Some US tools have recently been promoting their future rail deliverables,” explains Jean-François Vergnangeal. “At KDS we have been quietly making progress in this area without fanfare.”

For the first time, KDS can release its train deployment timeline

UK Rail

Dec 4th 2002 – KDS Chosen by ByRail (Eurostar)

By Rail, the Eurostar online booking company chooses KDS as its First Business Travel Online Reservation Partner to deliver UK rail. Byrail subsequently closed its operation in spring 2003. However, due to it’s excellent relationship with EuroStar and others in the sector, KDS was able to bring online a replacement solution through collaborations with SNCF and TheTrainline. UK rail is currently bookable from Europe using the KDS link to AccesRail.

Dec 2002 Onward - KDS operational with Eurostar

KDS has an operational link to Eurostar. Intercontinental trains are fully integrated and available to book through the KDS Corporate interface. Customer uptake is swift and enthusiastic.

February 3rd 2004 - KDS Partners with The Trainline.com

The Trainline and KDS team-up to give Corporate users UK rail access. KDS and TheTrainline are now working together to deliver an initial link during Q3, 2004 - based on current access technology available from TheTrainline. Subsequently, KDS has contracted to implement improved services, exploiting the next generation XML technology - currently scheduled to be delivered by TheTrainline for 2005.

Other European Rail Access

Sept ’02 – KDS becomes the first distribution partner of SNCF

KDS was the first travel management solution company to partner SNCF and to work hand-in-hand with the SNCF teams to enhance the online booking experience for corporate users. Several KDS Corporate and KDS Portal customers have been operational since 2003 and more are coming online all the time. Currently KDS is working on the SNCF next version of the RIVA access link for deliverables in the 2nd half of 2004 and 1st half 2005.

March 10 2003 - KDS Provides German Rail with Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn available through KDS Solutions for online train reservations. KDS announced at ITB 2003 the access version to the BIBE system of DB.

end 2003 - KDS Provides AccesRail access

KDS implements AccesRail capabilities, giving our customers access to Scandinavian trains bookings as well as other countries in Europe.

March 15th 2004 - KDS Provides Full Deutsche Bahn Integration

KDS & Deutsche Bahn have extended their partnership to increase online services to German corporate travelers. KDS is providing full access to DB bookings through XML access to DB’s NVS system. KDS is currently working with DB to give access to trains outside Germany.

About KDS
KDS is a leading provider of online business travel management solutions. The company's award-winning applications and services enable organizations to reduce costs and increase productivity by automating business travel processes. Leading companies and business travel service providers use KDS's innovative software to efficiently plan and book travel via the Internet. KDS Solutions are based upon time-tested technology and provide direct access to global GDSs and travel suppliers. KDS customers include Accenture, Autodesk, BP, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Galileo, Gray Dawes, Henkel, IPG, Novartis, and Shell. Founded in 1994, KDS maintains offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Additional information about KDS can be found on the Web at www.kds.com.

ByRail, the online booking tool from Eurostar chooses KDS as its First Business Travel Online Reservation Partner

vgalibert@kds.com — Wed, 04 Dec 2002 14:09:23 +0100

04/12/2002

London, UK, Paris, France – December 4, 2002 – Byrail, the online booking tool developed by Eurostar for business travellers, and KDS, a leading provider of global business travel management solutions, announce that Byrail has chosen KDS as its first business travel online reservation partner. By selecting KDS, Byrail has now put in place the first direct link to its travel information sources and databases for booking both Eurostar trains and National UK Rail trains.

ByRail and KDS Sign a Strategic Sales, Marketing and Technology Agreement to provide enhanced Online Booking Solutions for Corporations

The major benefits for customers of this collaboration is KDS’s ability to display and book both train and flight schedules, availabilities and fares on the same screen in its online reservation systems.

Thus, this strategic partnership guarantees the following unique capacities:

They can book train tickets online as easily as flights, hotel rooms and cars.
Corporations manage their travel bookings online more efficiently.
Business travellers have a real choice between train and plane.

With this agreement, Byrail provides a wider choice of business solutions to corporations with its direct Internet booking solution specialized in trains, on one hand, and KDS Solutions for multi-segment bookings including trains, on the other.

With KDS, it is a potential volume of 100,000 business travellers throughout Europe who will be able to book their Eurostar and UK train tickets online directly.

This partnership also includes a marketing and sales agreement whereby Byrail and KDS will develop and generate new common business opportunities towards large companies.

“European corporations are increasingly relying on online reservation systems to manage their business travel, that’s why we, at Byrail, have chosen to team up with KDS, an industry-recognized leader, to provide our customers with this online added value,” said Charles Fenton , General Manager ByRail.

“Our new partnership with Byrail highlights KDS’s capacity to operate an international solution and confirms our willingness to bring our customers greater freedom of choice among travel suppliers with the best-of-breed technologies and solutions. With this new agreement, KDS remains a length ahead in the market of direct links to travel product suppliers,” explains Jean-François Vergnangeal, VP Marketing and Strategic Alliances KDS.

Market leader on London-Paris and London-Brussels routes, with 63% of the London-Paris market and around 45% of the London-Brussels route, Eurostar carries over seven million passengers a year.

KDS provides global online business travel management solutions. KDS Corporate, KDS’s solution dedicated to large international enterprises, automates business travel processes and enables travellers to plan and book trips online in order to ensure cost reductions. KDS Portal, KDS’s solution dedicated to business travel services providers, is built to facilitate time-to-market delivery of managed business travel solutions for SME market.

The first version of the direct link between Eurostar/ByRail and KDS will be available with the next major version of KDS Corporate delivered to market Q1 2003.

About Eurostar and Byrail
Eurostar is the high speed passenger train service linking the centre of London with the centre of Paris in three hours and the centre of Brussels in two hours and 40 minutes.

Byrail is an online booking tool developed by Eurostar for business travel users to allow booking of any UK rail journey, as well as Eurostar travel.

About KDS
KDS is a leading provider of global business travel management solutions. The company's award-winning applications and services enable organizations to reduce costs and increase productivity by automating business travel processes. Leading companies and business travel service providers use KDS's innovative software to efficiently plan and book travel via the Internet. KDS Solutions are based upon time-tested technology and provide direct access to global GDSs and travel suppliers. KDS customers include Accenture, Alstom, Altadis, BP, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Egencia, Galileo, Gialloviaggi.it, Henkel, Novartis, Shell. Founded in 1994, KDS maintains offices in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany. Additional information about KDS can be found on the Web at www.kds.com.

KDS, the First Distribution Partner of the French Railways, SNCF, for Business Travelers’ Railways Services

vgalibert@kds.com — Tue, 17 Sep 2002 15:04:34 +0200

17/09/2002

Paris, France - September 17, 2002 – KDS, a leading global provider of web-based business travel e-procurement solutions, announces that its customers will be able to book their train tickets online, just as they do for plane tickets, car rentals or hotel rooms, thanks to its close partnership with SNCF, the French railways company.

In March 2001, KDS signed its first partnership with SNCF to provide its users with a unique multi-modal feature: the display of airlines (schedule-availabilities-prices) and train information (schedule-availabilities) on the same screen.

With the present agreement, KDS is to provide companies with access to the SNCF fares as well as with an easy and friendly way to book both plane and train tickets, by the end of the year. Either travel agencies or SNCF departments will process train ticket fulfillment and delivery to travelers.

« Providing our customers with a greater independence towards their travel suppliers has continuously been a key strategic focus for KDS. We are now proud to be the first self-booking tool chosen by SNCF to provide our customers with a real comparison and a very homogenous service between train and air, » explains Moncef Khanfir, KDS President.

« SNCF is delighted to work with KDS in order to provide its business customers more and more simplicity and efficiency, » adds Cécile Queille, director of SNCF.