Think Railways

Latvian FIMA company has installed an e-ticketing system on behalf of Lithuanian Railways, in the framework of a EUR 1.1 million contract. Train tickets are now available online and can be printed out or saved on smart devices.

“The system itself is not an innovation but it is the first time that it has been introduced in the country’s railway sector. We have installed electronic ticket office machines at all the country’s stations, updated ticketing and control equipment on trains and introduced an online ticketing website – www.traukiniobilietas.lt – and have integrated all the systems into a single one. This was a big and ambitious project. From now on rail travellers can enjoy more flexibility and convenience thanks to this practical solution while Lithuanian Railways can now update customers on different travel-related issues and provide them with attractive offers in a more efficient way,” the director of FIMA’s Solutions Department, Rokas Šlekys, said.

According to the deputy director of the passenger transportation directorate at Lithuanian Railways, Dalijus Žebrauskas, about 4.6 million passengers used the rail network in 2014 with 71% of them being students or commuters travelling to work. Because people in these age groups are technology-minded, the new service should be instantly recognisable to them. In Lithuania, passengers usually travel on the lines between Vilnius and Kaunas, Vilnius, Ignalina and Turmantas and Vilnius and Klaipėda. Each passenger spends about EUR 3.10 on each journey.

“The availability of tickets online will save time for our passengers and they will be able to plan their trips more easily. Registered users will receive faster updates on changes to timetables and different offers and promotions,” Mr Žebrauskas said. “We, in turn, will be able to build on the existing loyalty scheme and offer more discounts and special tickets than before”.

The new system increases the number of ways that tickets are sold. It allows seat reservations, ticket purchases at stations, on trains and online as well as fully automated administration. Before the system was introduced, many functions used to be carried out manually and were computerised afterwards. The system includes an interface with the company’s data processing system, SAP, a module for updating passengers on travel conditions, integrated timetables and prices.

Future plans are to expand the ticketing system with an international ticket module, an application for smart phones and to offer more ways of paying for rail travel.