Hull’s BemroseBooth Paragon secures rail ticket £14m contract extension

BemroseBooth Paragon (BBP), the Hull-based mass transit ticketing specialist, has secured a two-year extension of its contract with Rail Delivery Group (RDG) worth £14m.

The organisation, which supplied 900m rail tickets to UK operators in 2016, has also been named preferred supplier for smart ticketing as UK rail makes the transition from paper based magnetic tickets to contactless or smart alternatives.

With manufacturing facilities in Hull, Boston and Wisbech, BBP will continue to supply all tickets for RDG to 2020.

In addition to the extended ticket contract, BBP provides marketing material distribution and print management services for RDG and rail operating companies.

Richard Farmer, sales and marketing director for BBP, said: “I am delighted to have extended the rail ticket supply contract. BBP and RDG have agreed that we will work closely together to make the transition from traditional magnetic stripe paper tickets to paper and plastic smart ticketing.

“As well as improving efficiencies for operators and rail users, this progression will also help to deliver on the vision of the Transport Secretary for a smart ticketing alternative to paper tickets being available to all passengers.”

Dennis Rocks, technology services director for RDG, added: “BBP’s paper ticket pedigree makes it a leader in the field and this wider cooperation means that the company will also make its smart ticketing knowledge and ITSO manufacturing expertise available to RDG and UK train operators.

“With this partnership in place, we know that we can increase the use of simpler, smarter ticketing on the UK rail network, helping people to move through stations and trains quicker and easier, increasing customer satisfaction.”

BBP, which is a fully owned subsidiary of Paragon ID, is a supplier of both traditional magnetic, thermal and barcode tickets for the transportation sector. It also provides a variety of smart products and services including RFID tags, smart cards and tickets, contact and contactless cards.

Want your business, product or service to be seen regionally and nationally? Bdaily helps you get your story in front of the right audience, every day. Find out how Bdaily can help →

Join more than 55,000 subscribers by signing up to our daily bulletin each morning here.