In the UK, Family, Senior, and Young Persons railcards are now available for purchase online. But the Network railcard and Disabled Persons railcard must still be bought in the traditional way at a mainline train station, rail appointed travel agent, or train operator sales outlet. Online applicants should receive their railcard in three working days, and at no extra cost from those who buy at the train station.
Alongside the demand for online railcards is the increasing demand for online ticketing services. The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) recently announced developments to make rail ticket purchases more accessible. This includes its involvement with two technology suppliers (ATOS Origin and Kizoom) to work on ticket-to-mobile sales services.
Plans are also in place to develop and extend home ticket printing, which is currently available on some Virgin, One, and Midland Mainline routes. ATOC will shortly release an OJEU-PIN (Official Journal of the European Union Periodic Indicative Notice) to pre-qualify suppliers to this service.