Smart ticketing to overtake paper tickets by 2024, CILT reports

The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) has predicted that paper train tickets are set to become a thing of the past within eight years, as plans continue to set in motion a system where rail passengers use their smartphone or bank card to travel instead.

Rail bosses are also considering the use of smart cards, which could be topped-up online, in a bid to cut queues and costs. The orange tickets which are currently used have long been deemed an expensive and flawed system, due to the small print which is easily smudged and harder to read.

The news comes after rail minister Claire Perry claimed the tickets were likely to be on their way out, with the use of bar codes set to become more mainstream. However, Perry maintained that the Department for Transport (DfT) would never introduce a ticketing option that wasn’t right for all passengers.

Some critics have opposed the plans.

Bruce Williamson, of Railfuture, argued: “Batteries die, phones die, people don’t have them - these are all problems that need to be looked at. There are a number of people who aren’t in the 21st century and I think it is important that the rail industry keeps those options open.”