Redspottedhanky encourages travellers to hop on trains for advice

To mark the launch of redspottedhanky - a new online train ticket retailer that offers loyalty points on every rail journey - the company has released new research that reveals one in four train travellers has received rewarding advice from fellow train passengers on issues ranging from jobs to romance. One in five said that they had shunned traditional British reserve to offer advice to another passenger.

Of those who had received rewarding advice, the top topics were holidays, relationships, tips on food and drink, money and jobs.

The research shows strong generational differences and the results challenge the stereotype of younger people ignoring their fellow train passengers in favour of MP3s or handheld games.

40 percent of 16 to 24 year-olds had shared advice with other train passengers. This was almost double the percentage seen among 35 to 44 year-olds and more than a third higher than the average across all age groups.

When it comes to the most personal subjects, such as relationships, 16 to 24 year-olds were also more open than any other age group. They are four times more likely to talk about relationships and three times more likely to talk about family issues than the average across all age ranges.

Commenting on the findings, Ursula Morgenstern of redspottedhanky said: "Many people talk about the problems they associate with social media and fears that the next generation may be more comfortable communicating through a computer than they would be talking to a real person. I think that these results imply the opposite; that sharing your views with friends online is encouraging 16 to 24 year-olds to do the same in the real world.

"As a consequence, we may be seeing the beginning of the end for the traditional British reserve as this and future generations bring the habits of the internet into their everyday lives."

Commenting on the launch of redspottedhanky.com, Ursula Morgenstern said: "Train travel should be convenient and easy to use but at redspottedhanky.com, we think it should also be rewarding. That's why a redspottedhanky.com customer receives loyalty points on every purchase that can be spent on future rail journeys, as well as saving potentially hundreds of pounds."

In terms of the best train journey for rewarding advice, London bound travel came out on top with 36 percent of respondents saying they received valuable advice.

Challenging another stereotype, the research also showed that for people travelling to Yorkshire, relationships was the number one topic of conversation. This subject came joint first for travellers heading for London too, alongside jobs.

For train passengers heading for the North East, relationships did not come up as a topic.

Notes to editors:
The research was calculated through a survey commissioned by redspottedhanky and undertaken by Opinion Matters. It was carried out between 29th July - 2nd August 2010 amongst 1003 adults in UK

About Atos Origin
Atos Origin, a leading international IT services provider specialising in hi-tech transactional services, has radically developed its strategy to grow its revenue by venturing into the B2C arena with the launch of redspottedhanky.com, the first consumer service from the IT B2B player.

About Red Spotted Hanky
redspottedhanky is an online travel retailer, providing an easy way for leisure and business travellers to compare and book cheap rail tickets online. It also offers loyalty points that can be redeemed against future train travel for any journey in Great Britain. Those wishing to keep up to date with Redspottedhanky's latest news and offers can follow the company on Twitter and Facebook.

For more information, contact:
Caroline Crouch
Atos Origin
4 Triton Square
Regents Place
London
NW1 3HG
020 7830 4233
www.redspottedhanky.com