Shere FASTticket
Encyclopedia
The Shere FASTticket system is a passenger-operated, self-service
railway ticket
issuing system, developed by the Guildford-based company Shere Ltd and first introduced on a trial basis in Britain
in 1996, shortly after privatisation
. It has been developed and upgraded consistently since then, and is now used by seven
Train Operating Companies (TOCs) as their primary self-service ticket issuing system. Other TOCs have FASTticket machines at some of their stations, sometimes supplementing other systems.
, developed in the late 1980s by Swiss company Ascom Autelca AG. These machines were geared towards high-volume, low-value transactions: they only accepted cash, offered a small and mostly unchanging range of destinations, and were a minor evolution from similar earlier machines whose computer technology was based in the early 1980s. Quickfares were widespread, especially in the erstwhile Network SouthEast
area, but their limitations were increasing as technology became more sophisticated.
Shere Ltd, founded in its present form in 1992, initially specialised in self-service ticket sales/collection and check-in systems for airlines (notably the former British Midland
and KLM UK
). In the first instance, the FASTticket system was developed directly from these, with early FASTticket terminals resembling their airport equivalents in many respects. Only a small range of tickets were available, for example - mostly higher-value tickets to important destinations such as London; only debit and credit cards
were accepted; touch-screen
functionality was offered, but there were limited options and sub-menus; and some of the early machines only printed ATB-style tickets (Automated Ticket and Boarding Pass - an international standard format used by airlines, coaches, railways, ferries and other transport undertakings), which are large and inconvenient for passengers to carry, in comparison with standard credit-card-sized tickets.
As more TOCs showed an interest in the system, the hardware and software were developed further, and machines were universally provided with printers able to vend credit-card-sized tickets (although receipts, card sales vouchers and seat reservations were sometimes still printed by a separate printer within the same machine, on glossy flexible paper cut from a roll - batch reference RSP 3598/3: Example).
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Before the now standard "Common Stock" layout and format was devised in 2003, credit-card-sized travel tickets were printed on either RSP 3598 or RSP 7599/SCT orange-banded, round-cornered, hopper-fed ticket stock with pre-printed headings. From September 2003, machines began to be converted to the Common Stock format, (printed by the Newbury Data ND4020 ticket printer) with the standard RSP 9599 stock (with no pre-printed headings) being used. The first machine to be converted in this way was at Didcot Parkway
. Newly installed machines used the Common Stock format as from 2004, and almost all machines have now been converted to do so (as of 2006).
Silverlink: In the autumn of 2007, Shere Fasticket machines were installed at stations on the Barking & Gospel Oak line
. These offer a typical National Rail
ticket selection, with no hint that Oyster
PAYG will be valid on the line from 11 November 2007 when TfL take it over. At the time of writing (October 2007) the home screen suggests that prepaid (ie TOD) tickets can be printed on these machines, though the on screen buttons to do so aren't presented. The machines are able to take cash, but are (at the time of writing) payment card only, pending cash collection (ie emptying) arrangements being put in place. Oystercard validators have been installed at B&GO (including on platforms) ready for 11 November, and the ticket machines have a circular blanking plate, perhaps for an Oyster reader/writer.
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Self-service
Self service is the practice of serving oneself, usually when purchasing items. Common examples include many gas stations, where the customer pumps their own gas rather than have an attendant do it...
railway ticket
Ticket (admission)
A ticket is a voucher that indicates that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has...
issuing system, developed by the Guildford-based company Shere Ltd and first introduced on a trial basis in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1996, shortly after privatisation
Privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
. It has been developed and upgraded consistently since then, and is now used by seven
Train Operating Companies (TOCs) as their primary self-service ticket issuing system. Other TOCs have FASTticket machines at some of their stations, sometimes supplementing other systems.
History and origins
In the last years of British Rail, before privatisation, the main passenger-operated ticket issuing system (POTIS) on the network was the "Quickfare" B8050Ascom B8050 Quickfare
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...
, developed in the late 1980s by Swiss company Ascom Autelca AG. These machines were geared towards high-volume, low-value transactions: they only accepted cash, offered a small and mostly unchanging range of destinations, and were a minor evolution from similar earlier machines whose computer technology was based in the early 1980s. Quickfares were widespread, especially in the erstwhile 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...
area, but their limitations were increasing as technology became more sophisticated.
Shere Ltd, founded in its present form in 1992, initially specialised in self-service ticket sales/collection and check-in systems for airlines (notably the former British Midland
Bmi (airline)
British Midland Airways Limited , is an airline based at Donington Hall in Castle Donington in the United Kingdom, close to East Midlands Airport, and a fully owned subsidiary of Lufthansa...
and KLM UK
KLM UK
KLM UK was the brand name of a British airline subsidiary of KLM, which operated services within the UK and between the UK and the Netherlands using ATR-72, Fokker 50 and Fokker 100 aircraft...
). In the first instance, the FASTticket system was developed directly from these, with early FASTticket terminals resembling their airport equivalents in many respects. Only a small range of tickets were available, for example - mostly higher-value tickets to important destinations such as London; only debit and credit cards
Payment card
The term payment card covers a range of different cards that can be presented by a cardholder to make a payment.-Types:Typically a payment card is backed by an account holding funds belonging to the cardholder, or offering credit to the cardholder. Payment cards can be classified into types...
were accepted; touch-screen
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
functionality was offered, but there were limited options and sub-menus; and some of the early machines only printed ATB-style tickets (Automated Ticket and Boarding Pass - an international standard format used by airlines, coaches, railways, ferries and other transport undertakings), which are large and inconvenient for passengers to carry, in comparison with standard credit-card-sized tickets.
As more TOCs showed an interest in the system, the hardware and software were developed further, and machines were universally provided with printers able to vend credit-card-sized tickets (although receipts, card sales vouchers and seat reservations were sometimes still printed by a separate printer within the same machine, on glossy flexible paper cut from a roll - batch reference RSP 3598/3: Example).
Didcot Parkway railway station
Didcot Parkway is a railway station serving the town of Didcot in Oxfordshire in England. The station was opened as Didcot on 12 June 1844, and renamed Didcot Parkway on 29 July 1985 to reflect its role as a park and ride railhead....
. Newly installed machines used the Common Stock format as from 2004, and almost all machines have now been converted to do so (as of 2006).
Trial machines
Various TOCs installed machines on trial, including the following (TOC names shown in the table are those current at the time of installation):| Train Operating Company | Location | Machine No(s) | Date | Outcome of trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connex South Eastern Connex South Eastern Connex South Eastern was a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It was owned by the Connex Group and operated between 14 October 1996 and 9 November 2003. The company operated passenger services in South London and Kent... |
Dartford Dartford railway station Dartford railway station serves the town of Dartford in Kent, England. All train services from the station are operated by Southeastern, which also manages the station... Sevenoaks Sevenoaks railway station Sevenoaks railway station serves the town of Sevenoaks in Kent. Train services are provided by Southeastern.Trains from the station run northbound to London Bridge, Cannon Street , Waterloo East and London Charing Cross via Orpington, to London Blackfriars via Swanley and Catford, and southbound to... Bromley South Bromley South railway station Bromley South railway station is a major interchange and station in Bromley town centre within the London Borough of Bromley in southeast London. It is in Travelcard Zone 5, and the station and all trains are operated by Southeastern... London Bridge London Bridge station London Bridge railway station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the London Borough of Southwark, occupying a large area on two levels immediately south-east of London Bridge and 1.6 miles east of Charing Cross. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the... Gillingham (Kent) Gillingham (Kent) railway station Gillingham railway station in the town of Gillingham , north Kent, is on the Chatham Main Line between and Rainham stations. Train services are provided by Southeastern.... Chatham Chatham railway station Chatham railway station is situated in Chatham, one of the Medway Towns in Kent, England. It is on the Chatham Main Line between Rochester and Gillingham, and is 34.3 miles from London Victoria... |
4236, 4237 4238, 4239 4240 4241-4243 4257 4309 |
2003 2002 2002 2002 2004 2004 |
All machines have been replaced by Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress The Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress system is a passenger-operated, self-service railway ticket issuing system developed and manufactured by the German systems development and production group Scheidt & Bachmann GmbH, based in the city of Mönchengladbach... |
| South Central Trains | Gipsy Hill Gipsy Hill railway station Gipsy Hill railway station is in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London. It is situated on the outer route of the South London Line. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Southern, and it is in Travelcard Zone 3.... East Croydon East Croydon station East Croydon station is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, 10.35 miles south of London Bridge in Travelcard Zone 5. It is the largest and busiest station in Croydon and the busiest in London outside Travelcard Zone 1 in terms of the number of passengers entering and exiting... Haywards Heath Haywards Heath railway station Haywards Heath railway station serves Haywards Heath in West Sussex, England. It is on the Brighton Main Line and Thameslink north of Brighton, and train services are primarily provided by Southern and First Capital Connect... |
4018 4163 4315, 4376, 4377 4378 |
1999 2003 2004 2004 |
4163 replaced 4018 at Gipsy Hill. The other five machines have been replaced like-for-like with new FASTticket machines |
Installations
The following table shows the locations and dates of installations as of September 2006.| Train Operating Company | Extant machines | Trial machines | First installed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shere FASTticket used as the main type of self-service machine | ||||
| Southern | 179 | 6 | 2004 | |
| Virgin Trains | 81 | 1999 | All accept debit/credit cards. Some accept cash also. | |
| Great North Eastern Railway | 71 | 3 | All accept debit/credit cards only (no cash) | |
| Chiltern Railways | 43 | (2) | 2005 | Two machines originally trialled at London Marylebone - these still exist |
| East Midlands Trains | 13 | All accept debit/credit cards only (no cash) | ||
| TransPennine Express | 27 | 2005 | ||
| Gatwick Express | 3 | Two at Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport railway station Gatwick Airport station is the railway station at London Gatwick Airport that provides a direct rail connection to London 43 km away. The station platforms are located directly below the airport’s South Terminal, and the ticket office is adjacent to that terminal’s concourse... ; one at London Victoria Victoria station (London) Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. It is named after nearby Victoria Street and not Queen Victoria. It is the second busiest railway terminus in London after Waterloo, and includes an air terminal for passengers... |
||
| Shere FASTticket used in addition to the main type of self-service machine | ||||
| First Capital Connect (WAGN) | 19 | Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress The Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress system is a passenger-operated, self-service railway ticket issuing system developed and manufactured by the German systems development and production group Scheidt & Bachmann GmbH, based in the city of Mönchengladbach... is the main system used |
||
| First Capital Connect (Thameslink) | 21 | 2004 | Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress is the main system used | |
| First Great Western | 50 | 10 | Shere FASTticket is used at former Great Western Trains (ex-Intercity) stations; Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress is used at former Thames Trains Thames Trains Thames Trains was a British railway company, owned by the Go-Ahead Group, franchised to run regional and suburban trains from London Paddington station to destinations in the home counties west of London like Slough, to Worcester, Hereford and Stratford-upon-Avon, and the Reading to Gatwick Airport... and Wessex Trains Wessex Trains Wessex Trains was the primary passenger rail operator in the South West of England. The company operated trains in the region bounded by Penzance, Cardiff, Gloucester, Worcester and Brighton... stations |
|
| 'one' Railway | 30 | 15 | Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress is the main system used | |
| c2c | 13 | Avantix B8070 Avantix B8070 Avantix B8070, more commonly known as Avantix MultiTicket was a passenger-operated railway ticket issuing system, installed at British railway stations from 1999 onwards... is the main system used |
||
| Silverlink | 9 | Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress is the main system used - see note below. | ||
| Shere FASTticket trialled but no longer used | ||||
| Southeastern | 10 | 2002 | Machines were at Dartford (2), Sevenoaks (2), London Bridge (3), Bromley South (1), Gillingham (Kent) (1), Chatham (1) | |
| South West Trains | 6 | 2003 | Machines were at Walton-on-Thames (1), Wokingham (1), Farnborough Main (1), Havant (3) | |
Silverlink: In the autumn of 2007, Shere Fasticket machines were installed at stations on the Barking & Gospel Oak line
Gospel Oak to Barking line
The Gospel Oak – Barking Line is a railway line in north and east London which connects Gospel Oak in North London and Barking in East London as part of the London Overground network. It is sometimes known as the Goblin , although this is a nickname rather than an official title...
. These offer a typical National Rail
National Rail
National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
ticket selection, with no hint that Oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
PAYG will be valid on the line from 11 November 2007 when TfL take it over. At the time of writing (October 2007) the home screen suggests that prepaid (ie TOD) tickets can be printed on these machines, though the on screen buttons to do so aren't presented. The machines are able to take cash, but are (at the time of writing) payment card only, pending cash collection (ie emptying) arrangements being put in place. Oystercard validators have been installed at B&GO (including on platforms) ready for 11 November, and the ticket machines have a circular blanking plate, perhaps for an Oyster reader/writer.
Features
- Some machines, chiefly on the former "Intercity" networks (Virgin Trains, First Great Western, East Coast, East Midlands Trains and Gatwick Express), offer "Ticket On Departure" (TOD) pick-up facilities for tickets purchased online or by phone. If this option is chosen at the time of booking, an eight-character code is supplied to the person booking the ticket, who can then use a TOD-enabled machine to obtain the tickets at any time. The process is:
- The payment card used to make the booking is inserted in the machine's card slot (it is not charged at this point, as this will already have happened)
- An alphanumeric keypad appears on the touch-screen
- The code is keyed in. (At least on some machines, such as those at Barking stationBarking stationBarking station is a railway station served by National Rail and London Underground services. It is located in Barking in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in east London, England. The station is in Zone 4, has nine platforms, and is managed by c2c. It has been proposed that ownership of...
, if only one ticket order is in hand, the ticket is printed immediately after the payment card is inserted without the need for the code to be entered.)
- Many machines offer Seven Day Season Tickets. Southern originally planned for monthly Season Tickets to be renewed (although not bought for the first time) through their machines, and the information panels mounted on each machine mention this; however, this function is not yet available, and on most machines the wording "monthly seasons" has been blanked out.
- Some TOCs machines, notably those on the Southern network, allow tickets to be bought for the next day. This option is only available after 4.00pm, at which point two buttons appear on the main menu screen: one for "travel today", the other for "travel tomorrow".
- Southern uses the name QUICKticket for its machines, both in publicity material and on the machines themselves, as shown on the Hassocks example above.
- Until early 2007, a notable feature of these machines was their frequent printer self-test routine, which resulted in the production of two test tickets (one from the main ticket printer, one from the receipt and card sales voucher printer) showing all of the printable characters. These were also produced when the machine's underlying Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
software is reset. The test tickets would drop into the collection tray at the bottom of the machine.