Shere FASTticket

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Shere FASTticket**
System Information
Full name	Shere FASTticket
Machine type	Self-service machine
Type of ticket stock	Hopper-fed
Manufacturer	Shere Ltd, Guildford, Surrey
History
First introduced	1996
Machine number range	4000-4700
Window number range	Upwards from 81
Machines in use	523
Locations/Areas/Train Operating Companies
Current users	Virgin Trains Great North Eastern Railway Southern First Great Western Midland Mainline Gatwick Express Chiltern Railways First TransPennine Express 'one' Railway First Capital Connect Silverlink c2c
Former users	Southeastern South West Trains

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 eight 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.

1 History
2 Installations
3 Features
4 External links

[edit] History

In the last years of British Rail, before privatisation, the main passenger-operated ticket issuing system (POTIS) on the network was the "Quickfare" B8050, 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.

[edit] Installations

The following table shows the locations and dates of installations as of 2006.

Train Operating Company	Extant machines	Trial machines	First installed	Notes
Shere FASTticket used as the main type of self-service machine
Southern	181	6	2004
Virgin Trains	70		1999	All accept debit/credit cards only (no cash)
Great North Eastern Railway	65	3		All accept debit/credit cards only (no cash)
First Great Western	49	10
Chiltern Railways	37	(2)	2005	Two machines originally trialled at London Marylebone - these still exist
Midland Mainline	13			All accept debit/credit cards only (no cash)
First TransPennine Express	12		2005
Gatwick Express	3			Two at Gatwick Airport; one at London Victoria
Shere FASTticket used in addition to the main type of self-service machine
First Capital Connect (WAGN)	35			Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress is the main system used
First Capital Connect (Thameslink)	20		2004	Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress is the main system used
'one' Railway	17	15		Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress is the main system used
c2c	12			Avantix B8070 is the main system used
Silverlink	9			Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket XPress is the main system used
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)