East Midlands Railway (EMR) will now issue customers who buy tickets on board its train a paper version – meaning more than 600,000 a tickets a year can be recycled.
EMR’s train managers, senior conductors and revenue protection officers use a small machine to issue tickets, excess fares and sundries to its customers.
Previously, these machines used the traditional magnetic stripe solution which was costly and non-recyclable due to their composition and the use of the data strip across the back of the ticket.
In a project costing £116,000, almost 300 of these devices have now been converted to paper roll ticketing – meaning a more sustainable approach to EMR’s day-to-day operations.
Tom Gunton, Environment and Sustainability Manager at East Midlands Railway, said: “We have an important role to play in helping people live more sustainably by offering a practical alternative to taking the car. But, on top of that, it’s our responsibility to minimise the environmental impact of our services.
“In 2022, EMR issued 662,000 magnetic-stripe tickets using onboard machines – unfortunately these tickets ultimately ended up in landfill.
“Thanks to this investment, on board tickets can now be recycled – which is great for sustainability and another important step in reducing our impact on the environment.”
Photo credit: East Midlands Railway
