2012: Thalys maintains its dynamic development

Press Release
Brussels, 21st February 2013
2012: Thalys maintains its dynamic development
despite crisis (turnover up by 2.1%)
Despite the stagnant economic environment, Thalys recorded an overall growth of 2.1% with combined
turnover of 479 million euros for 2012.
Thalys carried almost 6,600,000 passengers in 2012, against a slight decline in traffic (-1% overall) and in a context of a
2.4% decrease in capacity as a result of the maintenance plan and a streamlining of the transport plan.
Thalys has therefore maintained its dynamics due to two strong trends:
- its’ range of on-board services, which explains in particular the good results of Comfort 1 (+3.8%),
- its’ attractiveness on the Belgium-Netherlands route (+5.5%)
Between Brussels and Paris, a dynamic commercial policy has enabled the company to maintain traffic thanks to:
- the launch of “1st minutes”, in April 300 tickets put on sale every day at €22 between Brussels and Paris,
the launch of the “Unmissable Offers”, in May -60% for journeys from D-14 to D-10 (available in both Comfort 2
and Comfort 1 from Brussels or Antwerp to Paris),
the launch of the “Day Trip” offer in October (€50 for same day round trips between Brussels and Paris).
“Despite an uncertain environment, Thalys is continuing its growth. In this period of crisis with a downturn in
trade, against a backdrop of environmental concerns, it is for us to make Thalys even more relevant in 2013
compared to other means of transport, cars in particular for Belgium. More energy- and time-efficient, Thalys
satisfies all mobility requirements, whether in terms of a strong demand for services or affordable prices”,
notes Franck Gervais, CEO of Thalys International.
Regularity, satisfaction and carbon footprint: objectives achieved
In 2012, the “Welcome to our World” trademark of Thalys contributed to all the brands’ “customer commitments”.
Punctuality commitment: in 2012, Thalys achieved a combined regularity rate for all its routes of 89.9% (international
standards, 15-minutes regularity), which represents an improvement of almost 3 percentage points versus 2011.
Accessibility commitment: in 2012, 15% of all Thalys tickets in Comfort 2 were sold at less than €40.
Information commitment: as part of a wide-ranging plan to improve passenger information, Thalys has optimised all
its information channels to ensure that it is effectively connected to all its customers  new mobile app (downloadable
and customizable from App Store and Google Play), optimisation of the mobile site, restructuring of the website,
improvement of the sms alert system and updated procedures for keeping train staff informed.
Satisfaction commitment: with a satisfaction rate of 86.5% in 2012 for the four countries covered (+1.6 percentage
points versus 2011), the service quality provided by Thalys is clearly appreciated by customers. Passengers in each
country expressed particular appreciation of the availability and friendliness of staff.
Sustainable development commitment: the carbon footprint for 2012 shows that Thalys has succeeded in providing
its customers with faster train services without increasing the pollution of the environment. The switch to high-speed
trains on the majority of its network (in December 2009) has been achieved without any additional emissions. The study
reveals that the carbon footprint has even decreased by 14% since 2008 (157,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2008,
versus 135,000 in 2011). This reduction is the result of combined efforts in several areas: traction energy, on-board
services (in particular catering with a more local content), the gradual dematerialisation of tickets, etc. More generally,
the development of intermodality (air-rail partnership with Jet Airways, Brussels Airlines, Hainan Airlines and KLM) as
well as incentives to encourage the modal shift from air travel to Thalys are areas of development for the future: the
2012 carbon footprint reveals that each ton of CO2 equivalent emitted by Thalys’ activity makes it possible to avoid
emissions of 3.4 to 4.6 tons via other means of transport.
Commitment to broaden the network: 2012 was marked by the strengthening of Thalys connections to Germany with
the launch of 2 new outward journeys to Düsseldorf, Duisburg and Essen. With 33 partnership agreements signed with
cultural institutions in the 4 countries, Thalys International is pursuing its approach based on cultural and tourism
partnerships in order to offer all passengers an increasingly comprehensive and rich range of services.
About Thalys
Thalys est le train rouge à grande vitesse qui relie Bruxelles à Paris
en 1h22, mais aussi à Cologne et à Amsterdam en 1h47 et 1h53
seulement. Depuis le 29 août 2011, la desserte allemande de
Thalys est renforcée avec trois nouvelles destinations : Düsseldorf,
Duisburg et Essen. Brussels Airport est également desservi depuis
le 30 octobre 2011.
Thalys est membre de Railteam, coopération entre les principaux
opérateurs ferroviaires à grande vitesse européens, de la CER
(Community of European Railway and Infrastucture Companies) et
de l’UIC (Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer).
La signature « Bienvenue chez nous » est le mot d’ordre de la
marque et de l’entreprise qui fait de la qualité de l’accueil et du
service ses valeurs clé. Toutes les voitures Thalys proposent une
connexion WiFi à bord (service fourni par 21Net et activé par Nokia
Siemens Networks) et ont bénéficié d’une rénovation complète qui
combine nouveau design et confort. Une offre de restauration
repensée est également servie à la place en Comfort 1, et
accessible au bar pour la clientèle de Comfort 2.
Le programme de fidélité Thalys TheCard permet de cumuler des
Miles et offre accès à une palette de services. Il est accessible à
tous les voyageurs sur thalys.com.
Press contacts
Thalys International
Patricia Baars
02 504 05 99
[email protected]