Thomas Cook European Timetable to cease publication?

[bikkuri bahn]

http://railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1492482

[bill937ca]

Seems this will shortly be an online world.  Younger generations are largely turned off by paper products which is killing many commercial opearations.

[bikkuri bahn]

Apparently the compilers of the current timetable may publish independently of Thomas Cook.  One other possibility is a Japanese publisher coming in the buy the rights.  The timetable is available in many general Japanese bookstores, not just travel bookstores (as in the U.S.), and in Japan, people still tend to value tangible things over the virtual  (e.g. Japan is the largest world market for CD's, and Tower Records is still in business here).

[miyakoji]

Apparently the compilers of the current timetable may publish independently of Thomas Cook.  One other possibility is a Japanese publisher coming in the buy the rights.  The timetable is available in many general Japanese bookstores, not just travel bookstores (as in the U.S.), and in Japan, people still tend to value tangible things over the virtual  (e.g. Japan is the largest world market for CD's, and Tower Records is still in business here).

I've been meaning to ask someone about this for a while.  I've been out of Japan for several years now and I was wondering how smartphones have impacted bookstores and such.  I always thought the Japanese loved printed matter, but when I was there it was a still a flip phone world (and my NEC-built flip phone beat the hell out of the allegedly smart phone I have now ).  I hope Mapples are still in print when I get back.

[bikkuri bahn]

Yes, the bookstore market is a bit healthier in Japan, than say the U.S.  One thing is that book prices are regulated in Japan, with no discounting, so there is no advantage (other than selection) to ordering online.  Also, browsing at a bookstore (tachiyomi) is a part of culture here, something taken for granted.  There may be erosion somewhat caused by e-books, but there is still an appreciation of texture and feeling of a real book in the hand (as well as book covers), much like the accessorization of bento boxes and the bags they fit in, an extension of "mochimono".

[bikkuri bahn]

Looks like the timetable will be saved, thanks to a new owner:

 

Thomas Cook’s historic timetable, which ran its final edition this August following a 140-year run, will be re-launched in February.

It will drop the Thomas Cook name and be published under a new company called European Rail Timetable Limited, which is owned by John Potter, a former member of the book’s editorial team.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10424698/European-Rail-Timetable-saved.html

 

http://www.europeanrailtimetable.co.uk/

[Kitayama]

The new publisher's web site is: http://www.europeanrailtimetable.eu/

[miyakoji]

Some more on this courtesy of the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26475256

[bikkuri bahn]

This rings true:
 

As he points out, you can go online, enter "Madrid" and "Moscow" and get train information in seconds. But some people simply find it more satisfying to work things out for themselves, with all the different options at their fingertips.

 

Anyone who has had to change their journey plans en route will also know that without a timetable to hand, hunting for viable connections on a tiny smart-phone screen on a moving train can be a nightmare.

 

 

Give me a full size jikokuhyou, and I can beat any computer or smart phone/tablet user in planning a complicated multi-train, multi-service level rail journey- no batteries required.

*I do find the online timetable ekikara pretty good though.

Edited March 8, 2014 by bikkuri bahn

[bikkuri bahn]

I'm happy to report that the timetable under the new publishing company is also available at Japanese bookstores. Just checked it out at the local store to see what sleeper service runs between Munich and Rome.