Transactional Train Ticket App Goes Live

Thetrainline.com has launched its updated iPhone app that enables travellers to buy train tickets on the go from their mobile handset, and collect them from any of over 900 stations.

Since its initial launch last October, over 800,000 people have downloaded the free thetrainline.com iPhone app, which has consistently ranked as a Top 5 travel app in the iTunes store, clocking up 1m journey plans per week. Nearly half of these users have upgraded to the new version, launched last week, allowing them to buy tickets. The company says that ticket sales from the app are well ahead of expectations. It is also making the app available for use on Blackberry, Nokia, Android and “many other” mobiles. Additionally, there are plans to deliver tickets to the phone as a secure barcode, replacing the need for a ticket altogether on selected routes.

“With 43% of rail passengers saying they would like easier ways to purchase and obtain tickets*, were confident that our mobile app will bring about a clear change in how people buy train tickets,” says Richard Rowson, product development director for thetrainline.com. “The personalised nature of a phone and the ability to tap into features such as location awareness means that this is now one of the easiest possible ways to buy a train ticket. The app lets you configure your home station, manage favourite journeys, and store your credit/debit card details in your account meaning that you need do little more than tap on ‘Next train home’ to buy a train ticket home. No website or ticket machine is that simple.”

The new app is currently available to download for free for iPhone (including iPod touch), most Blackberries and most Nokia handsets. Other handsets are being added weekly, with the vast majority of handsets expected to be supported by the end of the year.