Scotland says no to Oyster- style smartcard tickets


by Arthur Allan


A ‘Scottish Oyster card’ has been ruled out for the foreseeable future – partly because transport operators fear the effects on their businesses. A study commissioned by Transport Scotland


has concluded that ‘the time is not currently right’ for a wholesale implementation of smart and integrated ticketing. However, the agency wants to keep up the momentum of existing initiatives, such as First


‘Customers who try smartcards rarely return to paper tickets’


EU rules to harmonise ticketing and timetabling


Moves to streamline rail ticket and timetabling systems across Europe have been announced by the European Commission. Proposals to standardise rail


passenger fares and timetable data will be followed next year by plans for rules, which force rail operators to align their technology. EU Transport Commissioner Siim Callas said this would result in easier long-distance cross-border journey booking. ‘We need to offer rail


passengers the seamless planning and ticketing offers that match the airlines. ‘We want to make it as easy,


in the future, to book a rail ticket from Barcelona to Brussels, or Berlin to Bratislava, as it is to book a corresponding flight.’ Travelling across national


boundaries can require passengers to tackle a variety of different ticketing systems, sometimes in different languages. Conservative MEP


Jacqueline Foster, who has campaigned for a unified rail booking system similar to the airlines’ Computerised Reservation System, said: ‘This is a good example of a simple measure the EU can take.’


PAGE 10 JUNE 2011


ScotRail’s current smartcard pilot. The capital costs of a nationwide smart scheme for rail, estimated at £5.5m, are likely to be factored in to the re-tendering of the Scottish rail franchise. The report discovered ‘a series of challenges’ to integrated rail, bus and ferry travel in Scotland, including doubts over the capability of the ITSO technology. ‘In particular, operators are sceptical of the benefits of integrated ticketing, and have expressed concerns that it could harm their market share by eroding the brand loyalty built up when customers purchase operator-specific tickets,’ it added. Transport campaign group Transform Scotland voiced disappointment. The group’s Calum McCallum said: ‘We believe that an all-


Scotland smartcard ticket is one single measure which has the potential to significantly increase public transport use.’ First ScotRail declined to confirm its views on integrated ticketing. However, it said it was pleased with progress on its smartcard pilot – a Transport Scotland ‘option’ that was triggered as part of the current franchise extension. More then 700 weekly or monthly season


ticket users on the Edinburgh to Glasgow route have signed up for smartcards. ‘We have found that customers who try smartcards rarely return to paper tickets,’ said Kenny McPhail, deputy managing director.


n arthur.allan@railpro.co.uk


Last Mile Diesel locomotive launched in Germany


n


Bombardier has launched an AC locomotive with a


supplementary diesel motor, aimed at the freight market, which would allow a train to continue running beyond the end of an electrified line to reach a depot. Known as the Last Mile


Diesel, it is primarily aimed at the European market, where the freight market makes more use of electrified locos. In the UK, freight operators mainly use diesel traction. Until now, shunting


locomotives have had to be attached to take freight trains beyond the end of the wires.


Part of the Bombardier TRAXX


family, the new loco went on show at Germany’s Transport Logistic trade fair in May.


A UK spokeswomen for Bombardier said: ‘Currently the UK does not operate any TRAXX locos, however in the future we are hopeful that they will be running here.’ Five of the new TRAXX


locomotives have been ordered by a rail leasing firm, for use in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Bombardier already has a


successful dual-power locomotive in the North American market.


Real-time updates ‘vital’


n


The way the industry manages delays is the biggest single


driver of dissatisfaction among passengers, Passenger Focus CEO Anthony Smith told an industry conference.


‘The provision of real-time


information on delays is key to improving this perception,’ he added. The Future of Station Design


conference, held at the German Gymnasium, King’s Cross, also heard heated views expressed about the potential for technology to reduce staffing at stations, versus the need for staff to improve security.


Sheep are being used to control vegetation growth alongside the Great Stukeley railway cutting in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Funding for the project has come from the Natural England Environmental Stewardship scheme, thanks to a partnership between Network Rail and Huntingonshire District Council, because the area has SSSI status. The four-legged gardeners will save Network Rail £50,000 a year in helping to control invading species, giving rare native plants a chance to thrive.


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