Compagnie des Alpes: Acceleration of our rail strategy to the French Alps

CDA and its tour operator Travelski accelerate the international deployment of their rail strategy to the french alpine resorts

In line with Commitment No. 2 of the Raison d'Etre of the Compagnie des Alpes Group and building on the successful innovation of the launch of a "ski train" service under the Travelski express brand, with the chartering of trains from London and Paris to the French Alps, Travelski - a subsidiary of Compagnie des Alpes - is today launching a European request for bids to offer its customers a recurring low-carbon transport service by train from France, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium (from Paris, London, Amsterdam and Brussels) to the French Alps over the three-year period 2024 - 2027. Other routes from Spain are also envisaged.

The invitation to tender is open to all European rail operators able to provide trains, complete or otherwise, to carry passengers to Alpine resorts on one or two rotations per week between mid-December and mid-April. Compagnie des Alpes will guarantee the operator a committed volume over the long term.

The request for bids is open to several types of rail transport (high-speed, intercity, night trains), depending on availability and proposals from operators.

This decision is based on two years' experience with Travelski-express, as well as on a number of preliminary discussions with several rail service providers.

In addition, partnership discussions are underway with other tourism operators in the French Alps (beyond the areas in which CDA operates) wishing to develop low-carbon mobility offers. Compagnie des Alpes is open to aggregating volumes from other tour operators and/or accommodation providers, where appropriate, in order to deliver volumes and related guarantees.

The project aims to bring these new offers to market as early as the 2024-25 winter season, if the proposed solutions are swift and operationally realistic.

With this new step, Compagnie des Alpes is determined to take a pro-active position, both in its actions and in its search for new, concrete solutions to help decarbonize the transport options of holidaymakers in the mountains, and to contribute to changing their habits by enabling tens of thousands of customers to travel to the resorts by train every winter.

Good for the customer…

This exclusive, virtuous and comfortable door-to-door transport service has been widely acclaimed by customers (with an exceptional NPS of over 60*). It allows customers to travel directly by train to the French Alps and to be picked up at their accommodation thanks to integrated last-mile management.

This offer, which until now has been available exclusively in travelski packages, offers numerous experiential advantages for the consumer:

Simplicity of booking in a single basket, and price transparency,
Reduced stress around mountain access conditions (seamless, direct transport).
The serenity of a trip that lets you share family moments, have fun and relax on the journey
Possibility of enjoying an extra day's skiing during the week when arriving early in the morning or returning in the evening.
Easier transport of luggage and ski equipment, at no extra cost compared with air travel.
A positive contribution to improving your personal and family carbon footprint, and the satisfaction of doing your bit to combat global warming.

… and good for the climate

In line with the concrete deployment of initiatives that are now part of the Group's Raison d'Etre, this project also aims to contribute to:

Enhance the attractiveness of the French Alps in European markets served by rail,
Develop exclusive know-how that cannot be relocated, particularly through last-mile management,

On average, 80%** of greenhouse gas emissions come from transporting skiers between their homes and ski resorts.

As the pollution ratio between train and airplane or car is 1 to 90 and 1 to 20*** respectively, the impact of travel by train has a drastic impact on the carbon footprint of a week's skiing.