Helping EMR pioneer Smart Kiosks on their network
26/01/2021
Written by Frederic Kalinke
We are delighted to announce our partnership with East Midlands Railway in powering their Smart Kiosk ticketing machines.
EMR’s Smart Kiosks will issue both advance and walk up tickets as a printed bar code or directly to a smart card, improving the customer experience whilst supporting revenue protection. Additionally, there is a smart card collection device to collect pre-purchased smart products.
The new machines have been developed in partnership with Cammax, a leading supplier in next-gen ticketing technology. Powered by SilverCore, our Ticket Issuing System that already delivers multi-channel retailing for a number of UK TOCs, the Smart Kiosks offer the same flexibility and pricing that rail passengers have come to expect from online retail.
David Pitt, Head of UK Rail at SilverRail comments: “We are as delighted as our colleagues at East Midlands Railway, to see the Cammax / SilverRail Smart Kiosk finally launch. We are all extremely pleased to provide passengers with access to a full range of eTickets that will allow everyone to access the same fare offers that you can otherwise access online. We already have ideas on how we can improve on this and bring even more innovative services to the kiosk.”
Rail Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) have hardly changed in 15 years. This product moves the TVM from being a basic pre-programmed ticketing machine to a dynamic shop window through which EMR can offer their full product range, even down to last minute on-the-day advanced tickets.
The first Smart Kiosks are in operation at Derby and Uttoxeter stations. For Phase 2, an additional 28 machines will be installed late August / early September this year.
Lucy Dean, Head of Commercial Strategy and Transformation at EMR said: “This is such an exciting time for East Midlands Railway. Smart Kiosks will support the industry’s ambition for increasing Smart ticket take up and reducing ticketless travel by offering more opportunities to purchase tickets and doing so in a Smart way. To be the first TOC to do so is a great achievement. With the Smart Kiosks being much more user friendly, we hope our passengers on our regional routes will see the benefits of them as they are installed across our network throughout 2021.”
Julian Rooney, Managing Director at Cammax said: “It has long been our ambition to help the rail industry deliver innovative and flexible retailing. We have been supplying Smart Ticketing Machines to the Transportation Market for many years and are delighted to have launched our first Smart Rail TVMs in partnership with SilverRail. We are very much looking forward to exploring and delivering additional functionality and services that will help EMR improve their customer offering further.”
