Sweden introduces an open standard for train tickets
Sweden introducing a digital infrastructure for the distribution of reserved train tickets with an open standard.
For many years, public transport ticket sales systems in different countries have been incompatible, often due to local, proprietary and outdated systems. This has led to a need to modernize the underlying infrastructure and there is now general agreement within the rail industry that there should be an open standard for train tickets.
Sweden’s new infrastructure will therefore be based on the international and open sales and distribution model standard (OSDM) developed by the International Union of Railways (UIC).
Although Sweden is one of the first countries in Europe to implement OSDM, other countries are expected to soon be in line with CER’s (Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies) roadmap to implement ticketing. Other countries supporting the standard include Germany, Austria, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Sweden’s choice of OSDM means:
- the booking process for travelers is easier and simpler;
- there will be lower costs for rail operators;
- it becomes less dependent on certain suppliers as it becomes easier to add or replace more subsystems.
The first version of the new digital infrastructure will be introduced at the end of next year.
Tickets for use on public transport in Sweden use Swedish ticket and payment standard (BoB). It is developed by Swedish Samtrafiken and its partners and enables flexible ticketing solutions and secure validation of tickets.
Since 1991, almost everyone has Sweden’s public transport companies have also participated in Resplus which makes it possible to travel by train, bus, subway, tram or boat with a single ticket.
Gerhard Wennerström, CEO of Samtrafiken, says: “Consumers expect European rail traffic to have a relevant range of travel products that should be easily accessible. We now make it possible to meet that need and we also make it easier to develop products for their benefit.”
Johan Hammar, Product Owner Standards at Samtrafiken, added: “We look forward to managing the train tickets with a common open standard. It simplifies the work of connecting existing and new players and will also contribute to reduced costs in the industry.”