Rambus and West Midlands Trains pair up to deliver smart ticketing

Rambus announced today it is working with West Midlands Trains to support the rollout of ITSO smart ticketing back-office systems across its rail network. This new deployment will help deliver a modern smart travel experience for passengers.

About West Midlands Trains

West Midlands Trains serve 178 stations in England, and is investing £1 billion into the franchise’s network after winning the West Midlands franchise in 2017. Acting as the backbone of smart ticketing, Rambus HOPS provides several benefits including processing ticket transactions at high speed, validating journeys and helping ensure data is secure.

“Robust scalable systems that deliver a truly reliable ticketing experience for passengers and operators is essential to support the wider adoption of smart ticketing,” said Russell McCullagh, vice president and general manager of Rambus Ticketing. “We’re delighted to be working with West Midlands Trains and supporting another rail customer taking us one step closer towards a wider smart transport network across the UK.”

Rambus Solutions

Smart ticketing enables transport operators to optimise public transport and deliver improved services and ticket access for passengers. The Rambus ticketing suite of solutions will provide valuable travel data insights, which can support capacity management and can drive greater use of public transport through interoperability between operators.

Beyond HOPS, West Midlands Trains Ltd will be taking advantage of the Rambus CMS solution, which allows staff to manage customer smart cards and ticket products effectively. Additionally, staff can check passenger smart tickets and pay-as-you-go balances, using the Rambus Smart Ticket Checker app.

“At the heart of our new franchise is the drive to develop smart ticketing for our customers,” says Paul Matthews, head of Revenue & Ticketing at West Midlands Trains Ltd. “The technology and support provided to us by Rambus has proved crucial. We have benefitted greatly from the speed and proficiency in which Rambus delivered the West Midlands HOPS and CMS, all achieved in time to meet the commitments of our franchise.”

Rambus smart ticketing solutions drive greater use of public transport through interoperability between operator deployments and enables partnership opportunities with operators and retailers. Rambus solutions securely capture all data relating to smart ticket creation and usage for bus, rail, metro and ferry.

For more information on the Rambus Smart Ticketing solutions, visit rambus.com/smart-ticketing.