Smart ticketing has been introduced for passengers using major railway stations in the UK.
The move sees travellers at all major stations across Britain, including London Waterloo, Brighton, Gatwick Airport, Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central, able to store tickets securely on their mobile phone, on a smart card or in a printable email[1].
The tickets can be read automatically at upgraded barriers and ticket readers at 890 stations.
The system makes buying tickets faster and more secure, allows rail companies to move away from existing paper-based tickets and sets the scene for the introduction of a variety of innovative new types of rail fare.
Following installation of more readers at stations and software updates due at the end of this month, rail industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG)[2], expects nine in 10 tickets to be available for sale to customers as smart tickets.
“Together, rail companies are going full steam ahead with smart ticketing, with passengers increasingly able to use their phones or smartcards thanks to station upgrades across the network,” says RDG regional director Robert Nisbet.
Rail tickets can be bought online or via an app. Travellers have the choice of loading them onto their mobile phone, onto a smart card or printing them out from an email. This removes the need to queue at a ticket office or kiosk at a station.
Up to five tickets can be stored on a smart card at any time with the contactless card read when tapped on a reader at the station.
If the tickets are bought via a mobile travel app, the mTicket containing a barcode can be scanned at the ticket gate or barrier directly from the phone.
Alternatively, an eTicket can be purchased online with a PDF of the ticket emailed
