'Smart' tickets on the cards

‘Smartcard’ rail tickets are coming to Scotland - signalling a new era of customer service and convenience.

ScotRail is to begin trialling the new tickets among staff members later this month.

Customer testing will follow in the autumn with Season Ticket holders who travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow being first in line to try out the new state-of-the-art tickets.      

ScotRail is among a vanguard of transport companies who see smartcards as the smart way forward for public transport.

It plans to test up to 10,000 tickets and the technology over the next two years before any extension of use on other services.

Unlike traditional magnetic-stripe tickets, smartcard tickets do not need to be put through a reader at station gates.   Customers simply pass the card over a sensor as they walk through.

The intention is that smartcards will be available for purchase online, via telesales and from ticket vending machines at staffed stations. 

Alasdair McNicoll, project director at ScotRail, said smartcard tickets offer a number of advantages.

”They are convenient and timesaving for customers.  If the pilot is successful, we are keen to extend the use of smartcards to include other ticket types in future.  Ultimately, extra features could even include train, bus and ferry tickets in one purchase, and special promotional deals.”

Subject to the trials, ScotRail believes smartcards could eventually replace most paper tickets due to their flexibility and ease of use.


Media Enquiries:
Clare Meikle
Communications Manager, ScotRail
T 0141 335 5152

Iain Wilson
Head of Media Relations, ScotRail
T 0141 335 4565

Notes to Editors
Transport Scotland gave the green light to smartcards after ScotRail included the initiative in its franchise extension proposals.

ScotRail’s smartcard tickets will be based on the UK industry standard – ITSO.   ITSO originally stood for ‘Integrated Smart Card Organisation’.