End of the line for paper rail tickets?

ORANGE paper train tickets will soon become a thing of the past, as commuters turn to smartphones or contactless cards to travel.

Only half of all journeys are taken using orange-bordered tickets – down from 63 per cent last year. By comparison, the number of journeys taken using digital tickets has soared from 37 per cent a year ago to 50 per cent this year.

Ministers have been pushing for greater uptake of ‘tap in tap out’ payments as paper tickets are costly to produce and harmful to the environment.

The changes have saved over 68 miles of paper, according to the Rail Delivery Group, which represents the industry.

It compared millions of journeys over four weeks in August to September this year to the same period last year.