Virgin unveils phone train ticket plan

Oct 9 2006 By Ben Hurst, Birmingham Mail

BIRMINGHAM passengers will soon be able to use their mobile phones as train tickets, it emerged today.

Virgin Trains are set to bring in new technology which will allow ticket inspectors to swipe" phones.

Sir Richard Branson's company is aiming to use the service first on the West Coast Main Line Pendolino services, which operate from Birmingham New Street Station to London and the NorthWest.

The technology would also be used at automatic station gates, and is considered superior to print-at-home tickets, which have just been introduced, because it can be used for all fares, including walk-up open tickets.

Virgin Trains distribution manager Jason Webb said the trials on the West Coast route were part of an industry-wide movement to use technology to make ticketing easier.

He said: "The one thing that people always carry is their mobile phone, so having that as a ticket makes it a lot easier for the customer."

Virgin has scheduled trials of the system, which works by sending a two-dimensional bar code to the phone, for later this year.

The bar codes will initially be read by inspectors, but Virgin plans to install equipment at barrier gates that will allow passengers to swipe their phones as they walk through to the platform.

Virgin believes the technology is compatible with more than 90 per cent of mobile phones.

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