News
09/11/06 - Now Commuters Can Beat The Queues With Rail Tickets Sent To Mobile Phones
YourRail, based in Barnsley, has developed technology which allows train companies to send electronic tickets direct to a mobile phone by text message, offering a speedier service to busy passengers.
Chiltern Railways, which runs trains between London and Birmingham, will be trialling the new service towards the end of the year. It is the first time such technology has been used by the railway industry in the UK.
Director Martin Hathaway said: "The service is simple to use. You buy a ticket online in the normal way, but then a barcode is sent to your mobile phone via a text message. When you arrive at the station, a machine scans the barcode which then lets you through the ticket gates.
"There are many advantages with using mobile ticketing, but the biggest for the customer is convenience - passengers no longer have to wait in long queues to pick up their tickets. In the future, the technology could be developed further to purchase the tickets and change destinations via mobile phone."
The company is already working on a service which will send information about train journeys directly to mobile phones, keeping passengers up-to-date with arrival and departure times.
YourRail has been supported by Business Link South Yorkshire through the High Growth Start Up and the Invest for Growth programmes, funded by Yorkshire Forward and Objective 1.
Steve Bradley, from Business Link South Yorkshire, said: "YourRail is a really exciting new company.
"The potential of the mobile phone is growing all the time, and YourRail identified that at an early stage.
"As a result, they are heading the field when it comes to this technology, and in future will be looking to work on an international scale and with industries outside the rail sector."
Source: Yorkshire Post
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