Virgin Trains has become the first franchised rail operator to offer mobile tickets across all types and all routes along the west coast mainline.
Virgin said this is a “major step” towards “eliminating” the orange ticket.
The bar-coded ‘m-Tickets’, which customers download to their mobile devices, will be offered for journeys on Virgin Trains services purchased through a travellers’ TMC.
The announcement follows a pilot scheme which looked at making buying and using train tickets “simpler”. As part of this pilot Virgin said it was able to increase overall ticket-type sales to more than 170,000 since July 2015.
“We want to make our customer’s experience with us the best it can be and are delighted to provide this new functionality to our Business travellers.
Virgin Trains head of sales Amanda Robinson said: “We have worked closely with Evolvi Rail Systems to bring this to the market. While currently only available on Advance tickets, we hope to have a solution for all ticket types very soon.
Rail minister, Claire Perry said: “We want to build a 21st century railway that provides better journeys for all, and much simpler and smarter ticketing is a vital part of that.
“We have been clear that we will support the industry with ticketing innovation but that we also want rail companies to do what is best for their passengers, without government interference,” she added.