APTIS
Encyclopedia
APTIS was the Accountancy and Passenger Ticket Issuing System used on Rail transport in Great Britain
until 2007.
(It was originally called The Advanced Passenger Ticket Issuing System as it was being developed at the time of the Advanced Passenger Train)
It was widely known as the All-Purpose Ticket-Issuing System, a description which was used during the development of the prototype devices.
It led to the introduction, on the national railway, of a new standardised machine-printable ticket, the APTIS ticket
, which replaced the Edmondson railway ticket
first introduced in the 1840s.
on the centre of the reverse which could be encoded to operate ticket barriers; it could also use plain non-magnetic ticket stock.
APTIS could issue receipts for passengers paying by debit card
or credit card
. These receipts were a combination of a transparent carbonless copy paper
top copy, for the customer; and a backing card, for retention by British Rail. The customer signed the receipt, handed it back; and, in return, was given the signed top copy and the train tickets.
in 1978. It had 25 kB
of memory.
British Rail
asked 23 firms to tender for a ticket-issuing system and Thorn EMI was successful. The first prototype was installed at Portsmouth & Southsea railway station on 11 November 1982.
APTIS, along with the portable system PORTIS
, was adopted as part of British Rail's £31 million investment, which was authorised in 1983. The production APTIS machines had 300 kB of memory; this could be upgraded to 500 kB.
Some 2,971 APTIS machines were scheduled to be installed at 1,600 staffed British Rail stations between August 1985 and September 1987.
, London, on 18 November 1986.
Railway Magazine, March 1988, reported that the last of British Rail's Edmondson printing press
es, located at their Paper and Printing Centre, Crewe
, had been shut down. The last BR station to sell Edmondson tickets prior to full APTIS conversion was Emerson Park
, on the Network SouthEast
Romford to Upminster Line
, on 29 June 1989.
ticketing systems although some APTIS were modified as APTIS-ANT (with no obvious difference to the ticket issued) Oyster-compatible machines in the Greater London area. The last APTIS machines were removed at the end of 2006 as there was no option to upgrade for accepting Chip and PIN
credit-card payments. The last APTIS-ANT ticket to be issued in the UK using one of the machines was at Upminster station
on 21 March 2007.
Rail transport in Great Britain
The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world, with the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opening in 1825. As of 2010, it consists of of standard gauge lines , of which are electrified. These lines range from single to double, triple, quadruple track and up to twelve...
until 2007.
(It was originally called The Advanced Passenger Ticket Issuing System as it was being developed at the time of the Advanced Passenger Train)
It was widely known as the All-Purpose Ticket-Issuing System, a description which was used during the development of the prototype devices.
It led to the introduction, on the national railway, of a new standardised machine-printable ticket, the APTIS ticket
APTIS ticket features
Tickets issued from British Rail's APTIS system had a considerable amount of detail, presented in a consistent, standard format. This format has formed the basis for all subsequent ticket issuing systems introduced on the railway network - Ticket Office-based, self-service and conductor-operated...
, which replaced the Edmondson railway ticket
Edmondson railway ticket
The Edmondson railway ticket was a system for validating the payment of railway fares, and accounting for the revenue raised, introduced in the 1840s. It is named after its inventor, Thomas Edmondson, a trained cabinet maker, who became a station master on the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway in...
first introduced in the 1840s.
APTIS
APTIS issued impact printed tickets on credit-card sized card ticket stock, with a magnetic stripeMagnetic stripe card
A magnetic stripe card is a type of card capable of storing data by modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic particles on a band of magnetic material on the card...
on the centre of the reverse which could be encoded to operate ticket barriers; it could also use plain non-magnetic ticket stock.
APTIS could issue receipts for passengers paying by debit card
Debit card
A debit card is a plastic card that provides the cardholder electronic access to his or her bank account/s at a financial institution...
or credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
. These receipts were a combination of a transparent carbonless copy paper
Carbonless copy paper
Carbonless copy paper , non-carbon copy paper, or NCR paper is an alternative to carbon paper, used to make a copy of an original, handwritten document without the use of any electronics...
top copy, for the customer; and a backing card, for retention by British Rail. The customer signed the receipt, handed it back; and, in return, was given the signed top copy and the train tickets.
Adoption by British Rail
APTIS was derived from a private venture ticketing system, the General Purpose ticket-issuing system, developed by Thorn EMIThorn EMI
Thorn EMI was a major British company involved in consumer electronics, music, defence and retail. Created in October 1979 when Thorn Electrical Industries merged with EMI, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it demerged again in...
in 1978. It had 25 kB
Kilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
of memory.
British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
asked 23 firms to tender for a ticket-issuing system and Thorn EMI was successful. The first prototype was installed at Portsmouth & Southsea railway station on 11 November 1982.
APTIS, along with the portable system PORTIS
PORTIS/SPORTIS
PORTIS and latterly SPORTIS were portable ticket issuing systems used on Rail transport in Great Britain until 2006...
, was adopted as part of British Rail's £31 million investment, which was authorised in 1983. The production APTIS machines had 300 kB of memory; this could be upgraded to 500 kB.
Some 2,971 APTIS machines were scheduled to be installed at 1,600 staffed British Rail stations between August 1985 and September 1987.
Phase-out of Edmondson tickets
The first production APTIS tickets were issued in October 1986 at stations including Didcot Parkway and Abbey Wood; the official launch was by David Mitchell, Transport Minister, at the British Rail Travel Centre, Regent StreetRegent Street
Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
, London, on 18 November 1986.
Railway Magazine, March 1988, reported that the last of British Rail's Edmondson printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
es, located at their Paper and Printing Centre, Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
, had been shut down. The last BR station to sell Edmondson tickets prior to full APTIS conversion was Emerson Park
Emerson Park railway station
Emerson Park railway station is a National Rail station on Butts Green Road in the Emerson Park neighbourhood of the London Borough of Havering in northeast London, England. The station is on the Romford to Upminster Line and is the only intermediate station of that line...
, on the Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast was one of three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE principally operated commuter trains in the London area and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the network reached as far west as Exeter...
Romford to Upminster Line
Romford to Upminster Line
The Romford to Upminster Line or Upminster Branch Line is a branch line between Romford and Upminster in the London Borough of Havering. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7, SRS 07.09, and is classified as a rural line...
, on 29 June 1989.
Phase-out of APTIS
APTIS survived in widespread use for twenty years, but in the early 2000s was largely replaced by more modern PC basedPersonal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
ticketing systems although some APTIS were modified as APTIS-ANT (with no obvious difference to the ticket issued) Oyster-compatible machines in the Greater London area. The last APTIS machines were removed at the end of 2006 as there was no option to upgrade for accepting Chip and PIN
Chip and PIN
Chip and PIN is the brandname adopted by the banking industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland for the rollout of the EMV smartcard payment system for credit, debit and ATM cards.- History :...
credit-card payments. The last APTIS-ANT ticket to be issued in the UK using one of the machines was at Upminster station
Upminster station
Upminster station is a London Underground and National Rail station located in Upminster in the London Borough of Havering and in London fare zone 6. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is the easternmost station on the London Underground network and the eastern terminus of the District...
on 21 March 2007.
External links
See also
- APTIS ticket featuresAPTIS ticket featuresTickets issued from British Rail's APTIS system had a considerable amount of detail, presented in a consistent, standard format. This format has formed the basis for all subsequent ticket issuing systems introduced on the railway network - Ticket Office-based, self-service and conductor-operated...
- PORTISPORTIS/SPORTISPORTIS and latterly SPORTIS were portable ticket issuing systems used on Rail transport in Great Britain until 2006...