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Why are rail tickets orange?

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alexl92

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Simple question really. Just interested to know why our national rail tickets have the colour scheme that they do?
 
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Merseysider

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Maybe this is one for the General Discussion forum? Monthly or longer seasons were (are?) issued on blue stock. I know some PTE (eg GM) multimodal 'seasons' are differently coloured too.

Some rovers & rangers require special stock which are differently coloured.

And then you have Gold Cards.

Short answer: Different ticket types=different colours.
 
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yorksrob

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Black was a first class supplement (or a platform ticket).

As to why, orange, I'm not sure, but BR did have a fondness for the colour around the early 80's when these tickets came in (as anyone who's ever travelled on a refurbished CEP will attest - orange walls, lino, seats, livery etc).
 

D6975

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Some rovers & rangers require special stock which are differently coloured.

Yes, not that long ago all rovers were issued on grey stock. Now most of them appear to use standard orange stock.
Anyone know why the distinctive grey gave way to the orange, making rovers look like ordinary tickets? Is it just convenience, not having to load a different colour blank when issuing?
 

yorksrob

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Yes, not that long ago all rovers were issued on grey stock. Now most of them appear to use standard orange stock.
Anyone know why the distinctive grey gave way to the orange, making rovers look like ordinary tickets? Is it just convenience, not having to load a different colour blank when issuing?

Convenience I suspect. They tend to just load everything in the machine from the same pile. I remember the little tray with different coloured tickets that booking clerks used to have.
 

Dave1954

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I always thought they were easier to be seen when dropped .
dave1954 ..
 

RPM

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The orange colour came in with APTIS. Previously the normal colour was red, at least for the most common ticketing system, the NCR51 and also for INTIS. As someone has already said, orange was very much in vogue in the mid 1980s.

As for different coloured APTIS blanks, there has been a vast array over the years (over 200 different types) covering various seasons, Travelcards, Railcards, etc. A few years ago there was a move to common ticket stock and the vast majority of tickets went over to the standard orange stock. In order to achieve this the orange stock was altered so it was blank apart from the security background. Previously various headings etc were preprinted onto the ticket. The aim was to reduce costs and speed up transactions. These days only Railcards and some seasons are printed onto bespoke ticket stock.
 

hairyhandedfool

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....Anyone know why the distinctive grey gave way to the orange, making rovers look like ordinary tickets? Is it just convenience, not having to load a different colour blank when issuing?

I doubt they have ticket office staff in mind. Cost is probably a big factor. Ticket stock can only be purchased in set quantities (varies by type, multiples of 10,000 for standard orange stock for example) and no-one really wants ticket stock sitting around taking up space (or being wasted when the design changes).

....I remember the little tray with different coloured tickets that booking clerks used to have.

Some offices do still have them (for railcards, season ticket stock and photocards)
 

DownSouth

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Just interested to know why our national rail tickets have the colour scheme that they do?
Perhaps there was originally a bloke in an anonymous-looking office who changed things from time to time, but one day a committee on ticket design was formed and all progress immediately ground to a shuddering halt?
 

Mojo

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Supplements were indeed black when APTIS was first introduced, however they were changed to pink after a few years.
Aptis also printed black receipts.
 

Flamingo

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What's orange and sounds like a parrot?

A carrot. :)


(I'll get my coat...)
 

Busaholic

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Wasn't it part of Robert Kilroy-Silk's plan for world domination that everything should be the same colour as he was?
 

Starmill

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London Overground are seemingly allowed their own variation upon the theme!
 

40129

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The West Midlands Day Tripper ticket is in Network West Midlands colour.

It is when issued at a ticket office as are Network West Midlands seasons. However, these can also be issued by conductors on trains in which case they are issued on standard ticket stock.

Incidentally, Daytripper tickets can also be issued at Centro travel centres in scratchcard format and by bus drivers / tram conductors in bus ticket format. Should be fun when automatic ticket gates are installed
 

D6975

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Incidentally, Daytripper tickets can also be issued at Centro travel centres in scratchcard format and by bus drivers / tram conductors in bus ticket format. Should be fun when automatic ticket gates are installed

Same applies in Glasgow, pain in the proverbial being on a Strathclyde daytripper when Q St and most of Central is barriered.
 
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