The UK’s largest independent online rail ticket retailer,
TheTrainline, has taken its first step towards the introduction of
smartcards as an alternative to paper tickets with the announcement
of Trainline Smart. TheTrainline predicts that Trainline Smart,
which will be the subject of a pilot programme later this year,
will account for up to half of all rail ticket sales by 2012, the
year London is to host the Olympic Games.
Terming Trainline Smart “a massive step towards integrated
national smart ticketing”, TheTrainline’s director of sales and
distribution, Adrian Watts, said as train operating companies begin
to install smart-enabled readers, only one card will be needed when
travelling UK-wide by rail, bus and London Underground.
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According to TheTrainline, roll-out of smart-enabled readers at
stations is due to begin in 2009, prompted by a government
requirement that all new railway franchises adopt smartcard
technology based on the standards set by UK non-profit organisation
ITSO. The specification for interoperable contactless smartcards
developed by ITSO, formally the Integrated Transport Smartcards
Organisation, covers the entire system: smartcard, point of sale,
service, back office, data formats, data transfer and security
architecture.
Customers who use Trainline Smart will be able to purchase a
ticket via TheTrainline’s website, any of the websites TheTrainline
operates for 15 train operating companies or via a mobile phone.
The ticket is then downloaded onto the smartcard either by using an
inexpensive smartcard reader/writer or a similar device at a
station. The ticket is validated in the normal way by smart-enabled
ticket gates or by onboard train managers using a handheld
reader.
Mobile phone version
For its mobile phone-based version of Trainline Smart, TheTrainline
has selected Authentisic Mobile, a platform developed by UK
identity authentication solutions specialist First Ondemand in
collaboration with US technology systems vendor Oracle.
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By GlobalDataAccording to TheTrainline, Authentisic Mobile enables customers
to log on to their online account from most mobile phones and see
what tickets are on their smartcard. Customers can also manage
their account, buy and pay for tickets and renew season tickets
using their mobile.
