Ascom B8050 Quickfare
Encyclopedia
Ascom B8050, usually known by the name Quickfare, is an early example of a passenger-operated railway ticket issuing system, consisting of a series of broadly identical machines installed at British railway stations from 1989 onwards. The machines allow passengers to buy the most popular types of ticket themselves, without having to go to a booking office, and are therefore useful at unstaffed, partly staffed or busy stations. Almost all Quickfare machines have now been replaced by more modern technology.
in the early and mid-1980s, both by Ascom Autelca and by other companies. These were classified by British Rail under the general acronym POTIS (Passenger Operated Ticket Issuing System).
Illustrations of these early tickets
The tickets were printed on simple card stock with no magnetic stripe
on the reverse - so data was merely printed on the front, not separately encoded as well.
Autelca AG developed the B8011 and B8020 machines from the Agiticket. A wider range of tickets could be purchased from these: a row of 32 buttons was programmed with various combinations of destination and ticket type (for example, "Child Single to Gatwick Airport" or "Adult Cheap Day Return to Brighton"). Coins were inserted by the passenger after the appropriate button was pressed, and tickets and change were collected from a hatch at the bottom. A separate button could be pressed to cancel the transaction at any stage. Many of these features were carried forward to the B8050 machine.
A B8011 ticket
A B8011 machine, showing many similarities to the B8050
The B100 machine was the intermediate stage between the B8011/B8020 (which were essentially identical) and the B8050. Although most were found in the former Network SouthEast
(NSE) area, a few persisted in urban areas elsewhere in England until around 2000. Such machines are believed to have been moved from NSE stations when they were supplanted by B8050s, being reprogrammed with different destination and fare information accordingly.
A B100 ticket
sector of British Rail
as the standard self-service ticket issuing system. It was decided that a large number of machines should be provided, with almost every station having at least one and major commuter and terminal stations having many. The following stations, for example, had at least eight separate machines at some point - in some cases, for many years:
Existing B100 machines at NSE stations were replaced on a rolling basis between 1990 and 1994. In some cases, usually for a short time only, both types of machine would be in place simultaneously at a given station.
The tickets have orange bands at the top and bottom, in common with the stock used for travel tickets in other British railway ticket issuing systems. In British Rail days, they were identified by batch reference BR 3595/3; this changed to RSP 3595/3 after privatisation, following the creation of Rail Settlement Plan Ltd
to administer the ticketing and revenue allocation systems of the post-privatisation rail network. Machines on the South West Trains
network sometimes use stock with reference RSP 3595/30; a VAT
number is printed on the reverse of these, above the batch reference.
machines; and those issued remotely). It is believed that these statistics were used in conjunction with a more long-term forecast of the most likely destinations passengers would choose, in order to establish a set of destinations to be programmed into the machine. It was not straightforward to delete, add or change destinations once they had been set: as well as the manual reprogramming required, the station names were displayed to the passenger in the form of sheets of paper pre-printed with the relevant names and aligned (behind clear plastic panels) with the buttons. These had to be reprinted whenever any details changed. As a result, it was relatively rare for the range of destinations to change.
At most stations, the range provided was largely appropriate, with all nearby stations and more distant larger places being available. There was usually a reasonable balance between places served by regular direct train services and more "unusual" locations. However, this was not always the case: a notable example was Portslade
, near Brighton, which offered Wimbledon, more than 50 miles and at least one change of train away, but not Fishersgate
- the next stop.
At many Thameslink
(now First Capital Connect
) stations north of London (West Hampstead Thameslink to Bedford), the machines were installed with many destinations in the Catford/Bromley South/Orpington areas of south-east London, because at the time these places were served by direct Thameslink services running via the Catford Loop Line
. Soon afterwards, in the early 1990s, the Thameslink service pattern was considerably altered, with services south of London being concentrated on south-west London and Surrey in addition to the Brighton Main Line
. Machines at affected stations were not updated with more appropriate destinations (such as Sutton), and retained the incongruous south-east London destinations until the removal of the machines in late 2006.
All stations in the Network SouthEast area offered the London "station group
" and the One Day Travelcard
. Many also featured Gatwick Airport - an important destination throughout the year, with a larger proportion of journeys than usual happening at times such as very early morning or late evening, when booking offices are more likely to be shut.
Machines are time-sensitive. Thus, all Day Return buttons issue a Cheap Day Return (reduced-fare off-peak ticket) at the appropriate times of day; and tickets with Railcard discounts do not become available until the time from which the Railcard is valid. Messages concerning the validity or otherwise of tickets appear in a green LCD panel below the "Amount to pay" display.
In addition, some machines have buttons (usually in the "destinations" section) for one or more of the following:
Receipts are not issued in any format.
, at Ryde Pier Head
, Ryde Esplanade
and Shanklin
. One at the back entrance to Birmingham New Street station
, that had been out-of-use for at least a year, was eventually removed February 2009.
Origins
The system had its origins in various rudimentary computer-based systems developed for British RailBritish Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
in the early and mid-1980s, both by Ascom Autelca and by other companies. These were classified by British Rail under the general acronym POTIS (Passenger Operated Ticket Issuing System).
- Ascom Autelca developed the Agiticket in 1983; this was used for a short time at London Charing CrossCharing Cross railway stationCharing Cross railway station, also known as London Charing Cross, is a central London railway terminus in the City of Westminster, England. It is one of 18 stations managed by Network Rail, and trains serving it are operated by Southeastern...
- Crouzet (manufacturers of the ticket machines on the Tyne and Wear MetroTyne and Wear MetroThe Tyne and Wear Metro, also known as the Metro, is a light rail system in North East England, serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland. It opened in 1980 and in 2007–2008 provided 40 million public journeys on its network of nearly...
, and the system used until recently on the Glasgow SubwayGlasgow SubwayThe Glasgow Subway is an underground metro line in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. Formerly a cable railway, the Subway was later electrified, but its twin circular lines...
) supplied some machines for trial in 1987 - Westinghouse did the same in 1987
- Thorn EMIThorn EMIThorn EMI was a major British company involved in consumer electronics, music, defence and retail. Created in October 1979 when Thorn Electrical Industries merged with EMI, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it demerged again in...
, makers of the APTISAPTISAPTIS was the Accountancy and Passenger Ticket Issuing System used on Rail transport in Great Britain until 2007.It was widely known as the All-Purpose Ticket-Issuing System, a description which was used during the development of the...
and PORTIS/SPORTISPORTIS/SPORTISPORTIS and latterly SPORTIS were portable ticket issuing systems used on Rail transport in Great Britain until 2006...
systems, tried out a passenger-operated equivalent in 1989
Illustrations of these early tickets
The tickets were printed on simple card stock with no magnetic stripe
Magnetic stripe card
A magnetic stripe card is a type of card capable of storing data by modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic particles on a band of magnetic material on the card...
on the reverse - so data was merely printed on the front, not separately encoded as well.
Autelca AG developed the B8011 and B8020 machines from the Agiticket. A wider range of tickets could be purchased from these: a row of 32 buttons was programmed with various combinations of destination and ticket type (for example, "Child Single to Gatwick Airport" or "Adult Cheap Day Return to Brighton"). Coins were inserted by the passenger after the appropriate button was pressed, and tickets and change were collected from a hatch at the bottom. A separate button could be pressed to cancel the transaction at any stage. Many of these features were carried forward to the B8050 machine.
A B8011 ticket
A B8011 machine, showing many similarities to the B8050
The B100 machine was the intermediate stage between the B8011/B8020 (which were essentially identical) and the B8050. Although most were found in the former Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast was one of three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE principally operated commuter trains in the London area and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network reached as far west as Exeter...
(NSE) area, a few persisted in urban areas elsewhere in England until around 2000. Such machines are believed to have been moved from NSE stations when they were supplanted by B8050s, being reprogrammed with different destination and fare information accordingly.
A B100 ticket
Introduction of the B8050
After the B8050 was developed, it was chosen by the Network SouthEastNetwork SouthEast
Network SouthEast was one of three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE principally operated commuter trains in the London area and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network reached as far west as Exeter...
sector of British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
as the standard self-service ticket issuing system. It was decided that a large number of machines should be provided, with almost every station having at least one and major commuter and terminal stations having many. The following stations, for example, had at least eight separate machines at some point - in some cases, for many years:
| Machines | Station |
|---|---|
| 16 | London Victoria |
| 10 | London Liverpool Street Liverpool Street station Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England... |
| 10 | London Waterloo Waterloo station Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1.... |
| 10 | Wimbledon Wimbledon station Wimbledon station is a National Rail, London Underground, and Tramlink station located in Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton, and is the only London station that provides an interchange between rail, Underground, and Tramlink services... |
| 9 | Reading Reading railway station Reading railway station is a major rail transport hub in the English town of Reading. It is situated on the northern edge of the town centre, close to the main retail and commercial areas, and also the River Thames... |
| 8 | London Cannon Street Cannon Street station Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the City of London, England. It is built on the site of the medieval Steelyard, the trading base in England of the Hanseatic League... |
| 8 | London Paddington Paddington station Paddington railway station, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex.The site is a historic one, having served as the London terminus of the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the current mainline station dates... |
| 8 | Walthamstow Central Walthamstow Central station Walthamstow Central is a London Underground and commuter rail station. It is the terminus of the Victoria line, and is on the branch of the London commuter rail network operated by National Express East Anglia... |
Existing B100 machines at NSE stations were replaced on a rolling basis between 1990 and 1994. In some cases, usually for a short time only, both types of machine would be in place simultaneously at a given station.
Details of the machine
B8050 machines offer a wider range of journey combinations than their predecessors, as they have separate sets of buttons for destinations and ticket types. A set of machines was produced with 92 destination buttons, arranged in four columns of 23, and 18 ticket type buttons in a single column. Another set of machines was manufactured with a restricted set of destination buttons (40, in four columns of ten) but the same 18 ticket type buttons. In all cases, a "Cancel" button is available as well. Destination buttons are green, while those for the ticket type are yellow and the "Cancel" button is red.Ticket Stock
Tickets are credit card sized with square corners. They are printed on a continuous roll of ticket stock, which is aligned within the machine by way of a rectangular notch a quarter of the way down each ticket on the left-hand side. The machine cuts off each individual ticket from the roll after the printing process finishes, after which they drop into a large plastic-fronted hatch at the bottom (along with any change).The tickets have orange bands at the top and bottom, in common with the stock used for travel tickets in other British railway ticket issuing systems. In British Rail days, they were identified by batch reference BR 3595/3; this changed to RSP 3595/3 after privatisation, following the creation of Rail Settlement Plan Ltd
Rail Settlement Plan
Rail Settlement Plan is a division of the Association of Train Operating Companies in the United Kingdom. It provides a wide range of common services to the UK's franchised passenger rail operators and third party providers of information and retail services.The company was established on the...
to administer the ticketing and revenue allocation systems of the post-privatisation rail network. Machines on the South West Trains
South West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
network sometimes use stock with reference RSP 3595/30; a VAT
Value added tax
A value added tax or value-added tax is a form of consumption tax. From the perspective of the buyer, it is a tax on the purchase price. From that of the seller, it is a tax only on the "value added" to a product, material or service, from an accounting point of view, by this stage of its...
number is printed on the reverse of these, above the batch reference.
Destinations
Before the machine or machines at a given station were installed, an analysis was undertaken of the most popular destinations for tickets bought from that station (or, strictly speaking, tickets issued with that station as an origin point - encompassing tickets bought at the station's ticket office, if applicable; those issued on trains by conductors using SPORTISPORTIS/SPORTIS
PORTIS and latterly SPORTIS were portable ticket issuing systems used on Rail transport in Great Britain until 2006...
machines; and those issued remotely). It is believed that these statistics were used in conjunction with a more long-term forecast of the most likely destinations passengers would choose, in order to establish a set of destinations to be programmed into the machine. It was not straightforward to delete, add or change destinations once they had been set: as well as the manual reprogramming required, the station names were displayed to the passenger in the form of sheets of paper pre-printed with the relevant names and aligned (behind clear plastic panels) with the buttons. These had to be reprinted whenever any details changed. As a result, it was relatively rare for the range of destinations to change.
At most stations, the range provided was largely appropriate, with all nearby stations and more distant larger places being available. There was usually a reasonable balance between places served by regular direct train services and more "unusual" locations. However, this was not always the case: a notable example was Portslade
Portslade railway station
Portslade railway station is a railway station serving the town of Portslade-by-Sea in East Sussex, but located on the western fringes of the village of Aldrington ....
, near Brighton, which offered Wimbledon, more than 50 miles and at least one change of train away, but not Fishersgate
Fishersgate railway station
Fishersgate railway station is a railway station in Sussex, serving the Southern Cross area between Portslade and Southwick at the western edge of the Brighton and Hove conurbation.-History:...
- the next stop.
At many Thameslink
Thameslink
Thameslink is a fifty-station main-line route in the British railway system running north to south through London from Bedford to Brighton, serving both London Gatwick Airport and London Luton Airport. It opened as a through service in 1988 and by 1998 was severely overcrowded, carrying more than...
(now First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...
) stations north of London (West Hampstead Thameslink to Bedford), the machines were installed with many destinations in the Catford/Bromley South/Orpington areas of south-east London, because at the time these places were served by direct Thameslink services running via the Catford Loop Line
Catford Loop Line
The Catford Loop Line is a railway line in southeast London. It carries a suburban stopping service from central London to Sevenoaks, and is also a relief route for the Chatham Main Line which conveys passenger trains from London Victoria to the Kent coast...
. Soon afterwards, in the early 1990s, the Thameslink service pattern was considerably altered, with services south of London being concentrated on south-west London and Surrey in addition to the Brighton Main Line
Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line is a British railway line from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton. It is about 50 miles long, and is electrified throughout. Trains are operated by Southern, First Capital Connect, and Gatwick Express, now part of Southern.-Original proposals:There were no fewer...
. Machines at affected stations were not updated with more appropriate destinations (such as Sutton), and retained the incongruous south-east London destinations until the removal of the machines in late 2006.
All stations in the Network SouthEast area offered the London "station group
Station groups
In the ticketing system of the British rail network, tickets are normally issued to and from individual stations. In some instances, when there is more than one station in a town or other locality—especially where these are on different routes—it may be desirable for passengers to be able to...
" and the One Day Travelcard
Travelcard
The Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink, London Buses and National Rail services in the Greater London area. Travelcards can be purchased for a period of time varying from one day to a year,...
. Many also featured Gatwick Airport - an important destination throughout the year, with a larger proportion of journeys than usual happening at times such as very early morning or late evening, when booking offices are more likely to be shut.
Ticket types
Eighteen "ticket type" buttons were provided on all machines at the time of manufacture, but in most cases a number of those have been left blank and non-functioning, albeit with the ability to be programmed with a "ticket type" if necessary. Typical combinations available are:- First Class Adult Day Single
- Standard Class Adult Day Single
- Standard Class Adult Day Return
- Standard Class Child Day Single
- Standard Class Child Day Return
- Young Persons Railcard holder Day Single
- Young Persons Railcard holder Day Return
- Senior RailcardSenior RailcardThe Senior Railcard is an annual card available to people aged 60 and over, which gives discounts on certain types of railway ticket in Britain. The Railcard has existed in various forms since 1975; the current version is priced at £26.00 and is valid for one year, with a 3-year card available for...
holder Day Single - Senior RailcardSenior RailcardThe Senior Railcard is an annual card available to people aged 60 and over, which gives discounts on certain types of railway ticket in Britain. The Railcard has existed in various forms since 1975; the current version is priced at £26.00 and is valid for one year, with a 3-year card available for...
holder Day Return - Network RailcardNetwork Railcardthumb|The earliest version of the NetworkCard, issued manually rather than through an [[APTIS]] machine.The Network Railcard is a discount card introduced in 1986 by British Rail, upon the creation of their Network SouthEast area around London, England....
holder Day Single - Network RailcardNetwork Railcardthumb|The earliest version of the NetworkCard, issued manually rather than through an [[APTIS]] machine.The Network Railcard is a discount card introduced in 1986 by British Rail, upon the creation of their Network SouthEast area around London, England....
holder Day Return - Seven Day Season Ticket (as mentioned below)
Machines are time-sensitive. Thus, all Day Return buttons issue a Cheap Day Return (reduced-fare off-peak ticket) at the appropriate times of day; and tickets with Railcard discounts do not become available until the time from which the Railcard is valid. Messages concerning the validity or otherwise of tickets appear in a green LCD panel below the "Amount to pay" display.
Other tickets
All machines offer Seven Day Season Tickets, printed on separate dedicated ticket stock (batch reference BR 3595/4, and later RSP 3595/4) with dark green upper and lower bands, a white box in which "SEASON" or "TRAVELCARD" would be printed by the machine, and an area for the passenger's Photocard number to be entered manually. Because the machines take cash only and Season Tickets are expensive compared to ordinary travel tickets, it is relatively unusual to see an issued Season Ticket.In addition, some machines have buttons (usually in the "destinations" section) for one or more of the following:
- Daily and/or Weekly Car Park tickets
- Platform ticketPlatform ticketA platform ticket is a type of rail ticket issued by some railway systems, permitting the bearer to access the platforms of a railway station, but not to board and use any train services. It allows people to walk with their friends and loved ones all the way to the passenger car at stations where...
s (rare, and mostly in the early years) - The Greater Manchester Rail Ranger, a one-day multi-journey ticket for use in the GMPTEGreater Manchester Passenger Transport ExecutiveTransport for Greater Manchester is the public body responsible for co-ordinating public transport services throughout Greater Manchester, in North West England. The organisation traces its origins to the Transport Act 1968, when the SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive was established to...
area (at Manchester area machines) http://railticketsillustrated.digimig.co.uk/p8264231.html
Receipts are not issued in any format.
Remaining Machines
There are very few Ascom B8050 Quickfare machines left on the National Rail network. There are at least three machines still in use by Island Line Trains, on the Isle of WightIsle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, at Ryde Pier Head
Ryde Pier Head railway station
Ryde Pier Head railway station is one of three stations in the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Situated at the end of the town's pier, it is adjacent to the terminal for the Wightlink fast catamaran service connecting the island with Portsmouth on the UK mainland...
, Ryde Esplanade
Ryde Esplanade railway station
Ryde Transport Interchange or Gateway serves the town of Ryde, Isle of Wight, England.The interchange consists of Ryde Esplanade railway station on the Island Line, the connected bus station and taxi ranks, and the nearby Hoverport. The existing facilities were due to be rebuilt from October 2007...
and Shanklin
Shanklin railway station
Shanklin railway station is a railway station serving Shanklin on the Isle of Wight. It is the present terminus of the Island Line from Ryde, although the line used to run to Ventnor. The station now has one platform with a ticket office and a small shop with the second platform now in use as a...
. One at the back entrance to Birmingham New Street station
Birmingham New Street Station
Birmingham New Street is the main railway station serving Birmingham, England, located in the city centre. It is an important hub for the British railway system, being served by a number of important long-distance and cross-country lines, including the Birmingham loop of the West Coast Main Line,...
, that had been out-of-use for at least a year, was eventually removed February 2009.