The Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) has signed a 12-year outsourcing deal worth more than £30m to automate the processing of all UK rail ticket sales.
The organisation expects to save £20m by eliminating paper processes at the Rail Revenue Settlement Service and accommodating new technologies such as smartcards.
Rail Settlement Plan chief executive Antony Lain says the deal with Atos Origin, which replaces two contracts, will be more cost-effective to support and maintain.
‘The service is a little long in the tooth, and is very paper-driven and manual,’ he said. ‘It was suitable when revenues were smaller, but the rail network is now generating much higher revenue. Automated systems will increase reliability, flexibility and auditability, and provide better information, value, choice and convenience to passengers.’
Lain says the settlement service will integrate with existing systems that allocate revenue back to train operators. It will also enable new technologies such as smartcards, mobile ticketing and near-field communication to be accommodated.
The service covers the settlement of all tickets purchased directly from train operators online, via telephone, at the station or on the train.
Atos will first manage the transition to a new framework, built on Coda accounting software, before taking over the service by April 2008.
Butler Group analyst Alan Rodger says consolidating the two contracts is logical. ‘The deal will provide value by automating services and integrating the systems,’ he said.
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