Why do railcards have a mag stripe on the back.

[stadler]

I have always wondered why railcards have a mag stripe on the back? Is there any explanation for this? I am wondering if it was ever intended that passengers would have to insert their railcard after inserting a railcard discounted ticket? I am just curious if something like that was ever trialled or is there another reason why they have a mag stripe on the back?

 

[father_jack]

They are encoded- when one fades to invisibility you can run them back through a printer to confirm the date. Also for accounting purposes the encoding registers the sale in the Ticket Issuing System (TIS).

 

[transportphoto]

Back in the day of Avantix Mobile being the go to mobile ticket issuing system, I believe guards were able to read magstripes to determine validity.

 

[AlterEgo]

Back in the day of Avantix Mobile being the go to mobile ticket issuing system, I believe guards were able to read magstripes to determine validity.

Yes, and if that failed, and the railcard was faded, there was the extremely risky cigarette lighter trick. I once remenber dealing with a YP railcard which had been withdrawn by a guard after he'd accidentally burned it, it was actually very funny to see how badly it had gone wrong and his note was extremely apologetic. (We did replace the railcard and chuck in £50 in vouchers for goodwill)

 

[Wallsendmag]

Yes, and if that failed, and the railcard was faded, there was the extremely risky cigarette lighter trick. I once remenber dealing with a YP railcard which had been withdrawn by a guard after he'd accidentally burned it, it was actually very funny to see how badly it had gone wrong and his note was extremely apologetic. (We did replace the railcard and chuck in £50 in vouchers for goodwill)

In a Travel Centre we used the toaster as a heat source.

 

[Haywain]

In a Travel Centre we used the toaster as a heat source.

We weren't allowed to have a toaster.

 

[CyrusWuff]

We weren't allowed to have a toaster.

Neither were we after someone forgot about their toast and set off the fire alarm...three times in the space of a week.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Neither were we after someone forgot about their toast and set off the fire alarm...three times in the space of a week.

I did that with the microwave a couple of times.

 

[RJ]

Yes, and if that failed, and the railcard was faded, there was the extremely risky cigarette lighter trick. I once remenber dealing with a YP railcard which had been withdrawn by a guard after he'd accidentally burned it, it was actually very funny to see how badly it had gone wrong and his note was extremely apologetic. (We did replace the railcard and chuck in £50 in vouchers for goodwill)

Guess that during "training" they weren't made aware that the heat source should be a certain distance from the ticket!

 

[PeterC]

No mag strip on my senior railcard. Is this specific to cards issued from ticket offices?

 

[Tetchytyke]

No mag strip on my senior railcard. Is this specific to cards issued from ticket offices?

Yes, the ones bought online come on a plastic card.

 

[Krokodil]

there was the extremely risky cigarette lighter trick

How did this work?

 

[cool110]

How did this work?

It's thermal paper, so heating it up will darken it. The trick being that the already printed parts will darken faster than the rest of it.

 

[Wallsendmag]

It's thermal paper, so heating it up will darken it. The trick being that the already printed parts will darken faster than the rest of it.

Actually the opposite, the parts already heated will not change

 

[gazthomas]

I have a 3 year disabled persons railcard, purchased on line but it is plastic and it doesn't have a mag stripe. I can see why ones at railway stations have, as they're cardboard/paper like normal tickets