LNER smartcard season ticket on Scotrail services

[jaffachief]

If I purchase a season ticket on the Edinburgh-Glasgow route from LNER and load it on an LNER smartcard, will that be accepted on Scotrail services?

Alternatively, is there a way to load an LNER-purchased season ticket onto a Scotrail smartcard?

 

[MrJeeves]

Smartcards are valid across all operators. You're effectively just choosing who you want to buy the tickets from and what design you want on the front of the smartcard.

There would be no issue with this.

 

[Haywain]

If I purchase a season ticket on the Edinburgh-Glasgow route from LNER and load it on an LNER smartcard, will that be accepted on Scotrail services?

Alternatively, is there a way to load an LNER-purchased season ticket onto a Scotrail smartcard?

Sadly, I am not as confident as the poster above that this would be problem free. Scotrail do not use the same back office as other TOCs, do may not accept this. @Wallsendmag may be able to provide more clarity as he is the smartcard expert.

 

[Wallsendmag]

No it won’t ScotRail don’t allow anyone else to retail their Smartcard products currently
PS @Haywain Self Service expert if you will

 

[Haywain]

PS @Haywain Self Service expert if you will

For the purposes of this thread smartcard expert will do!

 

[jaffachief]

Thanks for the replies. After I posted this thread, I also asked ScotRail this question who said “yes, if it’s ITSO”. I asked LNER if their cards were ITSO and they said no, but that it should work on ScotRail.
I’m quite confused now.

I’ll defer to @Wallsendmag expertise, but maybe I’ll experiment with a lower value season ticket and see what happens. I was mildly surprised to see LNER offer these season tickets in the first place.

 

[Haywain]

I asked LNER if their cards were ITSO and they said no,

They are, definitely, ITSO cards.

 

[Adam Williams]

The issue is that, despite the premise that ITSO would be this glorious, amazing nirvana where everything is interoperable, the whole thing is just a pipe dream that hasn't actually come to fruition. The example above is just one of many (Scotrail use their own HOPS, which is not linked to, or equivalent to the RDG HOPS) where it feels much more like every operator runs their own scheme.

 

[Haywain]

the whole thing is just a pipe dream that hasn't actually come to fruition

That's very polite!

 

[kkong]

The example above is just one of many (Scotrail use their own HOPS, which is not linked to, or equivalent to the RDG HOPS) where it feels much more like every operator runs their own scheme.

I believe it is Transport Scotland who run the HOPS, not ScotRail.

e.g. all the bus operators in Scotland use this HOPS as well.

 

[Adam Williams]

I believe it is Transport Scotland who run the HOPS, not ScotRail.

e.g. all the bus operators in Scotland use this HOPS as well.

Useful context, but it doesn't quite change the mess that is two systems that don't interoperate.. at all.

 

[nwales58]

Forwarding to a 'not us' HOPS is part of the ITSO specification, presumably a requirement. Not my area of knowledge, but surely this is simply a matter of setting up parameters? Or am I being naive? Is it in use elsewhere?

 

[Wallsendmag]

Nothing to do with any of the HOPs infrastructure, one of my pet peeves.

 

[jaffachief]

It turns out there are some practical difficulties that I did not consider. I have to active the smartcard/season ticket and the LNER app does not list any stations in Scotland at which to do this

 

[Autoticketgate]

It turns out there are some practical difficulties that I did not consider. I have to active the smartcard/season ticket and the LNER app does not list any stations in Scotland at which to do this

You should be able, if you have one, to download and use the "National Rail Smartcard Manager" app on your smart phone to load the ticket.
If you don't - then that is a problem potentially? I doubt Scotrail ticket offices would be able to load it but worth a try. Glasgow Central at least has an Avanti ticket office, they might be connected to NR's smartcard system but I have no personal experience to back that up. Maybe if Edinburgh Waverley has an LNER ticket office or machines (not sure if it does?) that might work also.

 

[Gaelan]

Maybe if Edinburgh Waverley has an LNER ticket office or machines (not sure if it does?) that might work also.

It has both - the main ticket office is LNER. There are LNER ticket machines in the ticket office, as well as a few in the main concourse (although most there are ScotRail).

 

[Wallsendmag]

It turns out there are some practical difficulties that I did not consider. I have to active the smartcard/season ticket and the LNER app does not list any stations in Scotland at which to do this

Yes because it isn't valid for ScotRail flows

It has both - the main ticket office is LNER. There are LNER ticket machines in the ticket office, as well as a few in the main concourse (although most there are ScotRail).

No they won't sell them as it isn't valid on ScotRail flows