End of the line for paper train tickets as Northern Rail warned passengers that e-fares will make them a mere ‘museum exhibit’ in the next five years

Paper train tickets – a hallmark of rail travel since the first passenger service in 1825 – could become a thing of the past within five years, a train company warned today.

Northern Rail said the classic orange train ticket – known as the ‘magstripe’ because it has a magnetic, machine-readable stripe on the back – will soon be a museum exhibit.

They will be replaced by tickets carried on mobile phones or by technology similar to that used on the London Underground where passengers board and disembark at the gates with the bank card they used to pay for their ticket.

Critics are expected to see this move as another step towards a cashless, paperless society.

Over the past 12 months, 2.3 million fewer tickets have been issued, with the number falling from 20.3 million in 2022-2023 to 18.3 million.

Northern Rail said the classic orange train ticket – known as the ‘magstripe’ because it has a magnetic, machine-readable stripe on the back – will soon be a museum exhibit (file image)

2.3 million fewer tickets were issued in the last 12 months, with the number falling from 20.3 million in 2022-2023 to 18.3 million (file image)

In the same period, the number of people using digital tickets on Northern services grew by almost 19 percent, from 54.8 million to 65.2 million.

But phasing out the tickets could pose problems for people, including the elderly, who don’t have a smart mobile phone – or don’t have a mobile phone at all – and for people whose phones run out of battery on long journeys.

A spokesperson for Northern said: ‘All our standard tickets are available in electronic format and people are clearly enjoying the flexibility of purchasing their ticket ‘on the go’ and saving it to their mobile phone or tablet.

‘We can also increasingly offer real ‘paper’ tickets through our ticket counters and machines for those who prefer physical proof of purchase.

‘While ‘magstripes’ can evoke a sense of nostalgia, it’s important to remember that because they are made from more than one material, they are less recyclable and could end up in landfill – while paper cards can be easily recycled with other materials. paper products.

‘At the current rate of decline and with an increasing focus on digital and paper alternatives, ‘magstripes’ are definitely approaching the end of the line. Within five years they could be a kind of museum exhibition.’

Northern Rail made the announcement to mark UN World Environment Day. The current version of the orange ‘magstripe’ ticket was first used in 2014 after Northern was selected by the then Association of Train Operating Companies (now known as the Rail Delivery Group) to pilot a trial at stations in the north of England.

The orange tickets became the standard ticket for all train operators and remain in use to this day.

Northern is the second largest train operator in Britain, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations in the north of England.

MailOnline has contacted Rails Operations Group and Transport Focus for comment.

This comes shortly after it was revealed that Kearsley, located near Bolton in Greater Manchester, was Britain’s worst-performing train station.

Over the same period, the number of people using digital tickets on Northern’s services grew by almost 19 percent, from 54.8 million to 65.2 million (stock image)

The unmanned station visited by Northern Rail trains stood at 2,625 in the past four weeks.

According to Ontimetrains, only 17 percent of services at the station were on time, compared to the 834.

Another 43 percent were one to four minutes late, while 14 percent were five to nine minutes late.

Five percent of trains were ten minutes or more late and as many as 20 percent were canceled altogether.

The station opened in 1838 and is on the line between Stalybridge and Southport, with direct services to locations such as Manchester, Bolton, Wigan and Salford.