Björn Bender is the CEO of Rail Europe, which gives access to tickets from all the major rail operators in Europe in one place, in one language and at the same price as the operators
The boss of one of Europe’s biggest and oldest rail companies has explained a little-known trick he uses to make sure he always gets the cheapest tickets whenever he is travelling.
Björn Bender, the CEO of Rail Europe, is no stranger to a train carriage. The rail expert is on track to have travelled 100,000km this year come the end of December, meaning he will have averaged at least 273km a day.
The firm is directed at customers looking to travel in European countries other than their own, such as Brits planning an Interrailing holiday on the Continent. It gives access to tickets from all the major rail operators in Europe in one place, in one language and at the same price as the operators – making it a Europe wide version of Trainline.
Björn, who is determined to convince more travellers to swap polluting planes for trains, spoke with the Mirror about how best to get cheap train tickets – including one trick he employs to guarantees he always gets the best bargains.
Do you have any tricks for getting cheap train tickets? Email webtravel@reachplc.com
Let the apps do the work
“You will often spend less with us. If you book exactly the same ticket through a carrier’s website and us, we always have the same price. There is no price mark-up,” the Rail Europe CEO said.
“We charge a service fee because otherwise, we couldn’t sustain our business model. You should find cheaper options with us because we compare everything that is available. For example, Spain and Italy have different providers. We offer better deals than the Spanish provider because we show all the offers.
“Even for train routes where there is no competition, like Paris to Frankfurt with the TGV, you have the same train, but you can buy through SNCF in France or DB. If you go to SNCF, you might not get the best price because that fare may be sold out. With Rail Europe, you get to see all options.”
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Plan ahead
According to Björn, the best time to book a ticket is as much as three months ahead of your journey. However, events change and so can demand – such has been the case with the Paris Olympics, which looks to be less popular than first thought, and the associated travel therefore less expensive.
“It is best to book eight to 12 weeks in advance, from our experience. However, things are changing this summer. For the Olympics, everyone thought there would be no hotel spaces available in Paris, but now you can stay for less than 200 euros in Paris, and the TGV is cheaper as well,” Björn added.
Consider the true cost of a flight
Björn argues that while flights may seem cheaper at first, often jumping on a plane comes with associated costs that may make the whole journey more expensive. He advises customers to consider the whole cost of a journey and to invest in rail passes to bring your longer term expenses down.
“For families on holidays, it is definitely worth looking for passes and booking two to three months in advance. It is not necessarily cheaper to travel by air. If you go from Stansted, you have to pay for the Stansted Express or a cab.”
Use flexible tickets and cancellations to guarantee the best price
Björn’s arguably hottest tip is to buy either a flexible ticket or one which can be cancelled early, and then cancel it closer to the departure date if another cheaper fare crops up. Sometimes tickets can become cheaper closer to the day of travel if demand is unexpectedly low, and this technique means you can take advantage if they do.
“Have a flexible ticket or a protection plan so you can cancel if needed. You can cancel a flexible ticket if, two weeks in advance, you find a cheaper fixed-price ticket. This is what I do,” Björn said.
“What is happening in Europe is that prices are increasing at the rate of inflation, more or less 2-5% a year. However, there are now many more saver tickets on the market. If you’re smart and avoid peak times like Monday mornings or afternoons, you can find much more affordable tickets than before COVID.”
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