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RUSSIA: Aeroexpress has placed into operations the first of the new Stadler built double-deckers trains on the Vnukovo airport route. From next month the new double-decker trains will also run on the Domodedovo Airport line, the company has announced.

Stadler has specifically designed the double decker trains for Aeroexpress as part of their rolling stock renewal programme in preparations for the 2018 World Cup. Aeroexpress has already completed the construction of a new platform for Domodedovo airport and is currently building a second one, as well as executing reconstruction works on the platform in Paveletsky railway station. As part of the preparations for the major sporting event next year, Aeroexpress has modernised the wifi network.

“This is one of the most important events for the company in recent years,” Aeroexpress CEO Alexei Krivoruchko said. “We are confident that our passengers will appreciate all the technological innovations implemented in the new double-decker trains.”

“Vnukovo Airport serves more than 60 thousand passengers daily and for we strive to create the best customer experience for each one of them. The launch of the new double-decker trains to our airport is a very important step towards the improvement of airport access infrastructure,” Vnukovo International Airport General Manger Vasily Alexandrov said.

In total four double-decker trains are planned to be put in operation by the end of November on the Vnukovo Airport line and seven trains will run to Domodedovo airport before the end of the year.

MALAYSIA: Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL) was named the Best Operator (Railway) at the recent Land Public Transport (LPT) Gala Dinner & Industry Award 2017 organised by Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD) in conjunction with its annual LPT Symposium themed Reimagining Transportation: Sustainable Mobility. ERL received the awards for Best Customer Service and Best Safety Practices at the awards ceremony last year.

“We are truly honoured to receive this award and we would like to thank SPAD for this recognition. It will certainly inspire us to work even harder and to continue our commitment to provide the highest level of service to our passengers. They can look forward to improved services, better travel experience and more value-for-money deals in the near future,” Executive Chairman of ERL, YBhg Tan Sri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh.

ERL purchased six new trains manufactured by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Company Limited; two for KLIA Ekspres and four for KLIA Transit. The new trains are currently undergoing intensive testing and commissioning.

ERL also received the Outstanding Green Air-Rail Transport Award at the Malaysia Canada Business Council 25th Anniversary Business Excellence Awards Gala Dinner in May this year.

UK: Strategic railway consultancy, North Star has released its 5th Annual Global Air-Rail Market Intelligence Report, looking into global trends in airport rail link services. The report is based on a study of nine leading air-rail operators across Europe, Australia, Asia and South Africa. 

“The findings again clearly indicate that air-rail services continued to be a vital component of global aviation, in fact, across our sample of nine operators, more than 44 million train passenger movements were experienced during 2016," North Star’s Managing Director, Richard Brown said.

However, the report concludes that the combined market share index for the nine operators show a slight decrease in people choosing rail when travelling to and from airports around the world. More specifically, three operators within the study showed some market share growth, whilst six experienced a decrease.

North Star’s findings indicate that operators all face growing competition from new transport providers, such as Uber and similar car-sharing companies. “This has been the main driver for the slight decrease”, explains Brown, “and this disruption trend, let’s call it the ‘Uber-effect’, will only continue”. In response, the operators report an increasing need to enhance marketing and service delivery to address the challenge.

The findings also reveal that marketing spend varies greatly amongst the air-rail operators, with many continuing to focus their marketing on reliability, price and the perception of value. 

Other outcomes of the study indicate that higher market share is experienced by air-rail operators who have the greatest price advantage over the standard taxi or car-sharing services. Trends also indicate that car-sharing services into capital city inner suburbs is on the increase. 

“North Star has been pleased to conduct this fifth annual report”, concludes Richard Brown. “It provides an excellent snap-shot of the challenges and opportunities of the global air-rail industry. And like many industries, technological disruption is also raising its head in air-rail.”

Chris Basche, CEO, Brisbane Airtrain commented: “The report is extremely useful and serves as a guide for how air-rail operators are adopting to the challenges of a changing competitive market environment.”   

Richard Brown will present the study’s findings at the Global Air Rail Association’s conference in Brussels on the 13th & 14th November 2017.

MALAYSIA: Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL) is collaborating with Visa International (Asia Pacific) to encourage the use of Visa payWave directly at its KLIA Ekspres gates. Getting onboard KLIA Ekspres is faster with contactless transactions, and now all Visa payWave credit and debit cardholders will get to enjoy 15% off their KLIA Ekspres fare when they travel between Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA & KLIA2) and KL Sentral Station.

“We are committed to working with partners that can provide value-added services for the benefit of our passengers. With Visa payWave, they can quickly board the KLIA Ekspres just by tapping their card at the gate without the hassle of queuing to purchase tickets,” said Noormah Mohd Noor, Chief Executive Officer of ERL.

“As the fastest airport transfer in town, this partnership with Visa fits ERL’s mission to provide a seamless travel experience that is fast, reliable, convenient, and now even more affordable,” she added.

Visa payWave is a payment feature that lets customers use their enabled Visa cards or mobile device at the gate or point of sale (POS). The customer simply waves his card or mobile device in front of the secure reader, instead of swiping it or handing it to a cashier.

Said Ng Kong Boon, Visa Country Manager for Malaysia, “Visa payWave is now embraced by Malaysians and we are seeing double digit month-on-month growth for the number of transactions. By enabling contactless acceptance at KLIA Ekspres gates, international Visa payWave cardholders are also able to use their Visa payWave cards when they travel on the trains. We believe more people will embrace the use of their Visa payWave cards with this attractive offer provided by ERL.”

The 15% discount promotion is now running until 31st March 2018, and is only applicable to transactions using Visa payWave cards at the KLIA Ekspres gates. This offer is not valid for ticket purchases at the counter, kiosk and online or for travel on KLIA Transit.