07.02.17
RDG: Biometric technology may soon improve passenger flow
The rail industry may soon use biometric technology such as eye scans or fingerprinting to charge passengers for journeys, according to the industry’s plan for coping with growing demand for rail travel.
The railway Capability Delivery Plan, published ahead of the Rail Delivery Group’s (RDG’s) annual conference in Birmingham, which started today, said that the technology would enable fares to be automatically charged to passengers, saving time and reducing congestion.
The organisation, representing train operators and Network Rail, added that the system could be a natural progression of Chiltern’s trial of ‘ticket-free travel’ on its new London Marylebone to Oxford Parkway route, which will see passengers opening station barriers via their smartphones’ Bluetooth signals.
The RDG’s chief executive Paul Plummer said the network is “increasingly full” and while the industry tackles the problems of today, it must also be looking for “the solutions of tomorrow”.
“This blueprint sets out how we can harness digital technology to make journeys better for passengers and freight customers on a railway that’s simpler and easier to use,” Plummer said.
“The Capability Delivery Plan is an important step in ensuring that the whole railway and its supply chain collaborates efficiently and effectively to deliver the digital railway’s wide-ranging benefits, including better services for customers, more and better jobs for our people, and better value for taxpayers.”
The plan, developed in partnership with the Rail Supply Group, identifies over 200 research, design and technology projects which the RDG believes will help the rail network become more efficient and flexible.
Other innovations include two new seat designs which could be incorporated into rolling stock within a year, with one expecting to allow space for 20% more people, and ‘fully intelligent’ trains which can interact via new digital signalling technology funded by the government’s £450m Digital Railway investment last November.
Graham Hopkins, innovation lead for the Rail Supply Group and the rail industry’s technical leadership group chair, said that delivering the plan will require “strong leadership, co-ordination and collaboration from all parts of the industry” but a “united effort” will ensure that funding for the plan is targeted, and secured.
The industry is expected to release further details about the hundreds of projects identified in the Capability Delivery Plan over the coming months.
The announcement comes as Britain’s railway network gets busier than ever, with the Office of Rail and Road recently confirming that 1.464 billion passenger journeys were made across Great Britain in 2015-16 – more than double the figure declared twenty years ago.
Last week the RDG agreed to pilot the biggest overhaul to Britain’s rail fare system in over 30 years, including abolishing some fares, the introduction of single leg pricing, and making ticket vending machines more user-friendly.
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