Ticket price constitution of high speed train
a. France
The ticket price of France TGV is composed of basic price and added fare. The basic price is same to the ticket price of railway in operation, which is calculated by basic price rate and operating mileage with the changes of basic price index. The added fare has nothing to do with operating mileage. It is made according to the running time, service quality, passenger flow, competitive price (aviation, highway) and other factors.
b. Germany
The formulation of ticket price for passenger in Germany is also different from traditional way of pricing by operating mileage. It is comprehensive to be determined according to operation characteristics of various high speed trains, full consideration of saving travel time, comfort, competition with other transportation tools and other factors. The price mechanism of German railway will be also based on comments and suggestions of relevant units, passengers and media to modify, and then make necessary adjustment regularly.
c. Japan
The ticket price of the Shinkansen in Japan for passenger is composed of basic price and added fare. Among them, the basic price is calculated by operating mileage of railways in operation for ordinary passenger. The added fare is an extra charge for the Shinkansen, which mainly includes surcharge, booking fare and green cabin fare (first-class cabin surcharge), etc.
Pricing system
a. France
The pricing system in France is mainly divided into social welfare price and business preferential price. The social welfare price is mainly targeted for students, the disabled, soldiers, multi-member family travel, which the government will provide them with the social welfare some transport subsidies.
b. Germany
The pricing system for ICE high speed train in Germany adopts pricing model of train numbers and railway lines established on the basis of competition, that is, the different lines and speed grades of trains have at different fixed prices. The price difference is determined by different competitive environments. Using this pricing model, German railway hopes ICE to achieve value addition and improvement of full strength rate to compensate the costs.
c. Japan
The pricing system for the Shinkansen high speed train in Japan is that ticket price can be adjusted with the changes of passenger daily wage. The Shinkansen operators also adjust the Shinkansen price according to change of market and income levels of passenger.
China
For a long time, the ticket price of the high speed train in China for passenger is determined by the government, which has been subject to government pricing system with single form and can’t make flexible changes in response to passenger transportation market. This makes the railway operators be in a disadvantageous position in the competition. China Railway has a nature of certain social welfare, so the ticket price also reflects the social welfare function.
At present, China's overall economic level is not very high, so the price of high speed train is still kept within economic capacity of middle-income people. And with the increase of economic income of people, the price will be reasonably adjusted.
The ticket price of high speed train in most of the countries can be changed and adjustable with per capita daily income. The price system is rich and flexible with marketing strategy, so people can take high speed trains and enjoy multiple discount and preferential policy. This urges China to develop a reasonable pricing model as soon as possible. How to give the operators the right that can adjust the price according to market demand and others will become an important and crucial point. To improve market share of high speed train to achieve the maximum economic and social benefits, changes must appear in the future.
