National Express keeps tabs on its money

Revenue management system to improve visibility of service demand

Revenue management systems can help trains to balance service supply and demand

Transport group National Express has closed multi-million pound deals to deliver revenue management systems for two of its biggest rail franchise operations.

With the systems, the two subsidiaries of the group expect to minimise the risk of service interruptions. Functionality provided by the system can also provide accurate demand forecasts for any given routes and help operators to fill trains at times when capacity would otherwise exceed demand.

Integrator Thales is implementing the systems, supplied in partnership with JDA Software. The projects are already underway, with National Express East Anglia due to go live with a revenue optimisation tool in the fourth quarter of 2008, while National Express East Coast is expected to go live with price sensitive revenue management software in the second quarter of 2009.

Thales will also provide maintenance, support and secure hosting for the duration of both franchises. The systems, which are operated independently for both franchise operators, will be co-sited at two Thales-owned datacentres based in Yorkshire.