Great Western Coffee Shop

Hi,

I regularly buy my season ticket in periods lasting between 1 and 2 months for many years now.  Over the last 6 months (and maybe longer) I have noticed a substantial reduction in the quality of the (blue coloured) tickets in terms of both wear and visibility of the information on the ticket!

I'm currently 3 weeks into my current ticket and already half the print is nearly invisible!  I guess my first question is what is my responsibility here - do I need to get a replacement for it?  Any time it's been faded badly I've still shown it to the Train Manager at any ticket check - they usually have a good squint and accept it - I've never actually had any issues due to this problem but it's almost completely illegible by the end of 2 months!

A few years ago these tickets were much more robust:

• they had a plastic centre which meant you couldn't tear it in half accidentally whereas now it just appears to be paper
• the print quality is now much worse - it simply doesn't last long enough anymore.  What this is due to I'm not sure - I guess either the ink is now different or again it's due to the ticket it's printed on being different

I thought I'd mention it in case anyone is experiencing similar difficulties!

Cheers,

Boppy.

Star machines have been with FGW for nearly 3 years or so now and to my knowledge the stock hasn't changed.
The type of stock used is thermal, so it shouldn't fade so quickly.
But if it has happened, just go to a ticket office who will replace it for you.

Even the STAR machines are somewhat inconsistent in their print quality. They are printing on a thermal ticket, but some machines produce a very bold print that is slow to fade and others produce print that is much more feint and prone to fading. Shades of the old APTIS machines where most of the tickets issued from Oxford were semi-legible because no-one ever seemed to change the print ribbons!

I found a pile of used thermal tickets in pocket of a fleece that I hadn't used for a while and most of the print on most of them had disappeared completely.  On a couple of tickets the errasure was so complete that they looked like blank stock - albeit a bit dog-eared at the corners.

I had the same problem on monthly season tickets and also on D&C Railcard. Always stored in the same place, not in sunlight or near any heat source and in the wallet that FGW provide. When I enquired about replacements as they were illegible, I was told no and to look after them better. Quite how, I'm not sure.

I was told the same with my Y-P railcard a couple of years ago (i.e. that they could not re-issue due to the faded print). A nice helpful lady in the ticket office at Oxford wrote on the expiry date in biro then stamped and endorsed the rear of the railcard to indicate why the expiry date was handwritten. Although I expected this to be a problem in fact no staff ever queried it.

Another case of sloppy management thinking. Railway tickets have been issued for over 150 years you'd have thought someone would have got it right by now!

as ive said before
in railway customer services

its all about the people providing the service nobody else

we (the cattle) should be happy just to get onboard

sad but oh well

I got my ticket replaced nice and easily this morning at the ticket office at Reading.

I've got one now that says "Replacement" over it and to get it done it looks like a form has to be submitted with the old one attached - I had to give my address.

No problems though I'm pleased to say with getting it done.

The state of my old ticket was about 50% completely faded - after 5 weeks use.  I've been trying to think what other factors could be causing the fading to occur on my tickets:

- I've always kept it in a FGW ticket wallet in my back trouser pocket - this hasn't changed.
- There are more barriers the ticket gets passed trough now due to the addition of barriers at Paddington station - not sure if this contributes towards the fading?
- Does the thermal ink stay on certain types of paper better than others - going back to the old tickets that had plastic in - were the surfaces of those tickets different?

Boppy.

My understanding is that thermal printing doesn't use "ink" as such.  The paper is coated with a heat sensitive chemical by the manufacturer.  The printer heats parts of the ticket to make the coating turn black.   

If you have ever brought a meal from Burger King at paddington they will have given you a similarly printed receipt.  If it is put into the bag with hot tea or chips, parts of the recipt will turn black.

the advice to keep your ticket awy from heat and sunlight is presumably to stop it going completely black.  I can't see how heat would cause fading.     

Correct - the paper is heat-sensitive and there is no actual ink. It's not heat that causes the print to fade, it just does of its own accord over time. Certain things seem to exacerbate this, like getting a ticket wet.

...or rubbing it with a piece of fleece.  The problem with thermal printing is that the printing is only on the surface coating which can wear off.  I suspect that if you wanted to you could rub it off deliberately.  A fraudster would probably have more problem printed the new information back on the ticket though because the thermal coating would have gone and ordinary ink wouldn't look quite right so there is a fairly straightforward anti-conterfieting feature to the extent that they can only be printed on once (and how many peole have a thermal printer at home?).   The older tickets used ink which soaked some distance into the paper and was therefore more durable.  I guess that they switched to thermal printing because it does give a nice black image when newly printed and doesn't rely on a ribbon being correctly inked.  I aslo imagine that the printed is simply and therefore lower mantainance and lighter (good for portable equipment).  The stock itself must cost a bit more though and because the paper is shiny, when it is stamped with ink rather than punched by an inspector, the ink doesn't sink in and stays on the surface and smudges which rather defeats the object of printing the reporting code on the ticket rather than just punching a hole. 

I word of warning to those using day tickets which have been stamped with a Ziffco machine.  Do not put it in a wallet until it is dry or wiped dry.  Otherwise you will end up with a wallet that marks unstamped tickets and makes them look stamped or defaced.   

Zifa do actually supply quick-drying ink ribbons for use on thermal tickets, it's just that none of the UK TOCs seem to use them!

I once met a guy who had decided to preserve his car park season ticket by laminating it.

Shame that doesn't work for the barriers!

I suppose that is why the Oyster Card is so popular. No feeding through the machine, just tap!

Besides, "Smartcards" are being rolled out. Staring with South Central next franchise. (according to Wikipedia)

ive done that with my old paper driving licence

i refuse to get a photo one

Good call. I look like something out of Tales from the Crypt on mine... But it does have one big advantage over the paper ones - I can get served in a bar abroad without having to carry my passport around with me the whole time!

The car park season ticket was also heat sensitive - it went completely black!!!!

Since I bought it, the print on my railcard (bought at a station on the usual railcard stock) has started to fade.  There is another 6 months left and I'm worried that it won't be legible in a few months.

(http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/1476/36943563.jpg)
E.g. the i in Bristol was fully legible and dark black when it was issued.

I've no idea why this has happened as I have tickets from several years ago (issued at the same ticket office) which haven't faded.  The railcard is always kept in the wallet it was supplied in, with my tickets (which don't fade).

I understand there is a ^5 fee for replacing damaged railcards, however I wouldn't exactly say the railcard is damaged, more that it is faulty!  Any ideas if I would still be liable to pay the fee?

I've never had mine examined close enough to see the defects that you have on yours. Don't worry about it.

On FGW, I never offer my railcard unless asked (which is rare, except to "railcard lady", although I've not seen her recently).

The reason I worry is that the man at the barrier at my local SWT station (always seems to be the same man!) insists on seeing my railcard when my Southern advance tickets won't go through the barrier.  He didn't look too impressed last time I showed him the railcard, but let me through anyway.

It's a known problem - if you're worried you could try taking it back to the ticket office at Temple Meads and asking their advice.

When I had the same problem a few years ago I took it back to the Oxford ticket office where the supervisor wrote the expiry date on the front in biro and then stamped various endorsements on the back to the effect that the print was fading and that was the correct expiry date. In the remaining six months or so I used the card before it expired, no-one ever queried the fact that the expiry date was hand-written on the front!

The replacememt fee is only for self inflicted damage in my experience. As long as you keep it in one of their 'protective wallets', if it becomes unreadable due to fading they'll replace it. In any case, the station you bought it at isn't important to its validity IMHO.

It's odd that people report it as unusual to be asked for it, although my experience is more with SWT and SN - I'd say at least 90% of their staff will ask you if you don't offer it, based on listening to their dealings with other pax, so I always do.

Paul

Thanks for the replies.  I've still got the receipt which was stamped by the station, so I'll see if it deteriorates before I do anything.

When I got my Disabled Railcard back in the January of last year, it lasted about 4 weeks before it started to fade. Two 2 weeks later it was almost illegible. I had to send it off to the Disabled Railcard Unit near Aberdeen for a replacement which was issued free of charge.

The same thing happened twice again before I got one that didn't fade. Saying that, I've had this one now for about a year and it starting to go again.  ::)

TLM

Is there any reason why this happens?  Could it be the type of ticket stock they use?  Just seems weird that tickets themselves don't fade, even though they are printed by the same equipment.

They are heat sensitive as far as I know? Certainly it isn't black ink.

SWT have a similar question (number 73) from one of their Web Chats earlier this year:
http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/archive.aspx?p=8
Seems they weren't happy with the ticket stock either.

I just tested this and you are correct.  They work like the thermally printed receipts from shops (which are very prone to fading).

I put an old ticket against something hot and it turned black where the heat was placed:
(http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/6319/dscf2182.jpg)

Just like old fax machines which used rolls of paper that had the image burned onto it. Few years later you would find the fax had completely faded.

I have a Devon and Cornwall Railcard. My current one is fine but last year's startede fading and was barely legible towards the end of its validity. I keep it in a FGW issued wallet away from heat.

I asked at a station if they can replace it for a legible one only to be told that they don't keep records of D&C Railcards and that I would have to buy a new one and that I should look after it better.

What would have happened had it faded totally as season tickets have done so in the past?

That's what I like to see: a good, helpful attitude to the customer !!

Think that Brucey has identified the problem. In the 'bad' old days of thermal printers, there used to be a problem with a slow chemical reaction between the printed ticket/receipt and various other plastics - so that they faded even quicker than fax rolls.

What I suspect is happening here is that there's a combination of printer ink and wallet plastic that exacerbates the fading process. But there's no identifying number on my wallet (issued at Foregate St and doesn't seem to suffer from fading).

I amassed a collection of railcard wallets when I had a YP card many years ago (most are at least 10 years old).  I used to use then to store my tickets in, but they definately do cause the thermal printing on some tickets to lift off and they also seem to attract the ink from the Zipfco gripper (which rather stupidity doesn't soak into thermal stock) and then transfer a suspicious purple mark on unused tickets so I have stopped using them.     

I've had similar problems with the purple ink on the inside of ticket wallet windows. Put a fresh ticket in there after a recently gripped one and then the new ticket looks like it's been gripped and you've attempted to rub off the ink!!

It's not a ticket wallet it's a railcard wallet!

Happened to me on several occassions.  I now keep my reservation coupon or my Bite card at the front and put the actual ticket near the back.

The ink on the ticket stampers needs to evaportate more quickly.  It stays wet for far too long on unabsorbant thermal coated stock and plastic wallets.  As well as transfering suspicious marks it is very easy to smudge either accidentally, deliberately (I've a colleage who always wipes his gripped ticket on his sock before returning it to his wallet to aviod getting ink in there) or possibly fradualently (to remove eveidence of on which train it is gripped).

in any case, if you are going to the trouble of printing detailed information on a ticket when it is gripped (the date and others details which I assume can be traced back to the individual train service or member of staff), why print it with ink that all to easily becomes illegible?

perhaps TM are just over-inking their grippers, but you dont want the cancelling to be too pale and hard to see either which is what you occassionally see with under-inked grippers.   

Personally, I prefered the Dot Matrix printing over the thermal method.  Surely thermal printing stock is more expensive as well.  Does it have a advantage I am missing (harder to fake with a PC printer prehaps?)

FGW stamp the date and train's headcode plus another number (presumably linked to the member of staff).  I've only had my ticket hole punched once on FGW, although this seems to be the only way SN mark their tickets.

I have a ticket with a heart stamp through it. Must have been a novelty BR clipper  ;)

That was the BR shape assigned to Devon and Cornwall guards, I believe. Somewhere at home I have a ticket examiner's handbook dated 1989 which catalogues all the various different nippers used by BR staff and what they meant.

The Zifa stamper is "re-inked" by replacing a ribbon cartridge. They are available with quick-drying ink for thermal tickets but FGW don't seem to use it.

I suspect thermal printing is preferred these days because it's quicker, doesn't need an ink ribbon to be replaced and produces a more consistent print density. Back in the days of APTIS tickets issued at Oxford (probably elsewhere too) were frequently all but illegible seeing as they never seemed to change the ribbons!

Correct.

No. It's a ticket wallet, one of the 3 pocket National Rail blue jobbies. My green DIS wallet only has 2 pockets which ain't enough for my railcard, tickets and BiTE card!

I suppose I should take all my bank cards out of mine then =P

The fading is a known problem. Instructions have been issued to ticket office staff stating they should be reissued as a replacement but without the charge being levied. I would suggest getting it done before it gets too bad to save any aggro.

If you purchase on line you get a nice plastic card.  Mine's still as good as new after 14 months (3 yr SRC)

I got the 'seal of approval' on an Ashford-Tonbridge journey recently - dolphin shaped stamp through my ticket - great stuff!  :D

Back in my ScotRail days I had a stamp for all seasons, holes, stars, flowers, squares, and a christmas tree one for december. Surprised I didn't get pulled up on that for the fear of offending non-Christians! Though the standard rule at FSR was a pen sqiggle, hole punches had been out lawed by the management incase a hole was punched on the mag stripe stopping the ticket from working the gates. To me common sense would say just tell everyone not to punch on the stripe!

Just over a month since I took the image in the original post and my railcard has faded even more.  The Bri in Bristol is completely gone, as is the .00X from the price.  The 2085 at the left now reads 85.  The first few digits of the photocard number are gone as is the Mr on my name.  Date is still visible, probably not for much longer.

Surely the people who choose the supplier for the ticket stock actually check the quality before they sign the cheques?

I haven't travelled on a train for a couple of weeks, so not had a chance to replace it.  I'm passing through Temple Meads tomorrow so will pop to the ticket office (without breaking my journey :P) to get a replacement.  If I don't have time, then I'll see if SWT can do it at my destination.

too late now mate but if you order your next railcard online you get a laminated one and it arrives within 2 days

I had one of these last year.  I forgot to renew it online in time for delivery and needed to make a journey so had to buy one at the station.

The chap wouldn't do it at Temple Meads as he said it takes about 15 minutes and my train was in 9 minutes.  Fair enough.  Popped into the ticket office at Cosham (SWT station) today and they were more than happy (didn't have any other customers either).  Simply filled in a damaged/lost/stolen form, stating what the damage was.  He then printed another which has very dark print (much darker than my old railcard and most train tickets - perhaps SWT use a different manufacturer for the railcard ticket stock?)

I overheard a guard tell a driver that he liked to punch holes through the magnetic strip of tickets proffered by unpleasant, rude or otherwise objectionable travellers.

I can't work out whether eavesdropping on other peoples conversations is worse than boasting on here about it...

Thank you TJ for saying what I was thinking! Did you somehow 'overhear' my thoughts on Nemesis' eavesdropping?  ;) ;D

I also picked up on that, however I have my own theory explaining it ;)

i heard that if im incorrect it wasn't my fault

Several of us clearly had the same thoughts (but I was too lazy to find all the related posts, so thank you TJ for doing so).

I'm also surprised at how many trains with incidents Nemesis has been on, especially for someone who has been out of the area for so long. 

Hellos alls.

This kind of leads on from the 're-issue railcard' thread; I would've put this in there but that particular thread kind of went down a route that I didn't want to disturb (if that makes sence, and pardoning the unintentional pun!).

I bought some tickets on 10 May for this Friday and they've been in my wallet since then in the advance ticket holder thing that they gave me but they've faded somewhat - they're still readable but only just when the light isn't reflecting off them. I expect that I will be okay with it, but just wanted to check for certain! (Having said that, in my experience I can get between Exeter and Paddington and back again without having to produce my ticket... but that's another thread for another time...)

The weird thing is, a set of tickets bought the day afterwards from the same station (TVP for those interested!) have been in my wallet for exactly the same amount of time, yet haven't been faded in the same way, in fact it hasn't been faded at all.

I've actually eaten lunch between starting this post and finishing it so have kind of lost the whole point of it. Something along the lines of making sure my ticket is okay for Friday I think... or something like that

This year's railcard has suffered from the inevitable even earlier in the year.

This is the image in the first post from March 2010...
(http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/1476/36943563.jpg)

Compare to my current railcard...
(http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/3843/nowb.jpg)

Which used to look like this...
(http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3963/originalgz.jpg)

I was told yesterday by the lady at Temple Meads that the writing was still visible so she wasn't allowed to print another without charging me a fee.  I tried to reason with her by saying my local station is unstaffed and this won't last until October but she wouldn't have any of it - ending our "encounter" abruptly with "are you actually buying a ticket?"

The reason I still buy my railcard at the ticket office still is that I collect my Rail Travel Vouchers from the year (thank you Southern) and use them towards my railcard.  I don't usually visit a ticket window any other time so never have an opportunity to spend them.

Barely visible! A bit over officious from the ticket clerk at Temple Meads. Try again another day with a different clerk.

Now, my DSB railcard was replaced by post without me even needing to surrender the badly faded old one!

There's a blog about some people attempting to redesign the ticket here (http://www.roberthempsall.co.uk/uk-train-ticket-redesign/)

Now all they need to do is to look at the stock its printed on :-)

Waste of time and money in my opinion. Research should be going into introducing electronic ticket booking / purchase / display / validation / check-in & out via and on a mobile phone, not redesigning a "technology" that dates back to the 1830s for goodness sake

Yes. Electronic ticketing/smart cards should be the way forward. Not attempting to crowd more information onto the existing ticket stock.

The current RSP ticket stock is old technology that cannot cope with the information that, these days, needs to be coded on the magnetic strip. Just look at the the amount of tickets that are refused by gatelines with a 'seek assistance' message.

The magnetic strip can only cope with very limited data. No more than 24 bits I believe. Fine when they were introduced in the mid 80s, but no longer fit for purpose.

Gatelines and on-board ticket machines that can scan barcodes and work online are the way forward.  Even if the current ticket stock is used for tickets bought in person, this will allow for more options to purchase tickets (e.g. print at home and mobile phones).

Some countries (e.g. Spain) allow all RENFE tickets to be purchased online and printed at home.  Even some ticket office tickets now have a barcode which can be scanned on the train (instead of checking all the details manually).

That#'s fine if you can persuade the TOCs to man every train & check tickets after every stop...

Well, modern ticketing technology is working in other markets. It's only the intransigence and vested interests of ATOC and individual TOCs that are currently preventing UK Rail from moving forward.

Not all blame though should be directed at ATOC. The DfT, and UK Government in general, are complicit also.

Privatisation of rail services can work. Inter-available ticketing within a privatised network can work. Unfortunately the rushed model drawn up by the, privatise everything, Conservatives (Railways Act 1993) was flawed from the outset.

Many other nations have sucessfully privatised their passenger rail networks without all the problems we in the UK have experienced.

UK PLC picked the wrong model of privatisation. But that's pretty typical of the UK's insular 'we know best' style of politics.

all stations on the west of england line upto pinhoe have a device on the ticket machines which reads the chip in the oyster cards, now i thought that this was just the same type of machine used by all south west trains stations, however honiton and axminster have recently had stand alone card readers installed, any ideas why?

The readers at SWT stations are for ITSO cards (not Oyster cards, although they work in a similar way).  All ungated SWT stations will have standalone readers installed which allow the smartcards to be validated before boarding.

I don't know how far the trial has gone, but SWT was trying out loading season tickets onto these cards on one route.  Many stations (e.g. Cosham) have had the readers for years, albeit either bagged up or never used.

London Midland also use the ITSO system: http://www.londonmidland.com/smart-card/faq/1-what-is-itso-smartcard-ticketing-/1/

SWT's roll put of ITSO is laudable, but before doing so they should've ensured that their TVMs and stations within the TfL area were fully compliant with Oyster. It's all well and good for SWT to say that Oyster journeys are now available from any station within the TfL zones, but in many SWT locations it is still the case that passengers have to go to a local newsagent etc. to top up because the TVMs at the station don't offer Oyster top up facilities.

As I am now retired I no longer travel as much as when I worked full time. However my daughter was until recently an annual season ticket holder and her ticket never lasted the year as the ink faded after about 6 months and the magnetic strip failed to operate the platform gates after an even shorter period of time sometimes. She was told to make sure the ticket was stored well away from magnetic influences but even then, the tickets often had to be replaced yet the many other cards that most people carry around usually last for years.

But they weren't supposed to need to do that because according to the 2007 franchise agreement the DfT were going to ensure that TfL made all their system ITSO compatible in similar timescales. 

DfT couldn't make it happen and SWT basically took all the flack on the DfT's behalf... 

I suspect (based on discussions elsewhere) the fundamental reason is that the ITSO spec cannot yet run a PAYG procedure at the speeds required by TfL's ticket barriers.  SWT and others such as LM are yet to provide anything other than seasons on ITSO...

Paul

i think this is an awesome idea, i think the current tickets are quite boring and not really that interesting to look at, i would be really interested to see what the new tickets would look like if they actually decided to re-design the tickets. :D

'css' i wouldnt be expect exciting beautiful tickets just a different text layout and maybe colour

 . . .  and uses ink that is not invisible ink, i.e. it doesn't disappear after a few months as so often happens now on a season ticket!

Small pedantic point. The RSP Common Stock isn't printed using ink. It uses thermal printing.

http://www.newburydata.com/nd4020.html

i cant remember the last time i touched a printer that used ink to be honest! ... well since throwing my personal one across the garage in disgust

Ink printers in a retail environment are completely impractical, take an age to change, smudge, and of course they don't last very long.

The only thing that needs changing with a thermal printer is the till/print roll and that generally takes a matter of seconds.

the only bad thing about thermal is that the print isnt that durable, after  time it gets rubbed away and heat of course kills it

The word "ink" is a generic word applied to any material that adds written information to a hard (or soft) surafce material whether it is old fashioned liquid ink aplied with a quill pen, liquid ink applied with heat with an ink jet printer, powder that is applied with heat through a laser printer or the chemical that has been pre applied to paper and changed with a thermal process to show written information.. What ever form it takes if what it is applied to and the result is intended to be read or understood for a period of time, such as an annual season ticket, it should be capable of lasting that pre-determined life and what ever is used on the season tickets that are commonly in use with now FGW is just not up to the job at present. So let us not get het up about types of ink - it is the end result that matters.

Just got informed by ticket inspector that my Senior Railcard is rather faded. Well I had noticed, my signature is still fine but the date, number and issuing station have nearly vanashed, and it's only 7 weeks old! Inks obviously not up to much at Frome that day.  I don't want to send it away for a replacement, any ideas?

Senior Railcards are available at stations if I'm not mistaken.

From your OP I assume you bought it at Frome station. Should be a simple case of going to a staffed station and asking for a replacement. Maybe best if you go to the station that originally issued it. Shouldn't be a replacement charge as it's not your fault it's faded. If you are asked to pay ^10 then I suggest you decline the replacement and take the matter up with FGW Customer Services.

You are indeed correct. Take it to any ticket office and a replacement can be issued. It is a common problem with the railcards these days. The problem is the type of card the ink is printed on. However, for it to go off in 7 weeks is pretty good going!!

Our trick in my ticket office is to put a cigarette lighter under the railcard for a couple of seconds. The card goes black but the areas where the ink was shines clearly though. The railcard is still valid despite being half burnt!

We did this trick to a chaps railcard and found it to be 3 years out of date! Needless to say he did not get his discount! 

If the expiry date is not clearly visible, take it to the ticket office with the receipt you should have been issued with, the part of the application form the office should have stamped and given to you when you bought the railcard.  You can do it in any ticket office, as somebody said is to do with some older stock that fades as it was defective.

Thank you everyone for your comments and advice.

With many thanks to all Coffee Shop forum members who have contributed to this particular subject over the years, I've now taken the opportunity to merge several previous topics here - purely in the interests of clarity, continuity and ease of future reference. :)

Or, just because I can. CfN ;) :D ;D

For the fullness of providing info on this topic, anyone know the solution to railcard fade when bought online? Can you still get a replacement wityh your receipt at any ticket office?

Railcards bought on line are plastic cards and do not, in my experience, fade.  My last one looked as good at the end of its three year life as at the start.  My current one is two years old and looks as good as new.

If the railcard bought online is in paper stock, the answer is yes.

Same as before, if the expiry date can be read take it to any ticket office (or to one that issues that type of railcard, i.e. if it's a Network Railcard don't take it to St Austell) and it will be replaced there and then.

If it's so faded that it cannot be seen, then take the receipt that shows the expiry date and the issue date and it will also be done there and then.

If you are not sure or you want to avoid a potential second trip, take the receipt with you anyway.  In both cases you'll have to fill in a replacement railcard form and surrender the old railcard.  The ticket office should NOT keep the receipt or charge you any fee in any case, they should endorse the form as "Railcard Faded" and attach the old one.

Please note that in the case of (at least) the Devon & Cornwall Railcard there isn't any receipt, so you MUST take to any ticket office in Devon or Cornwall before the date fades completely.

The fading is to do with the manufacturer of the stock, at the time when the previous supplier (Bemrose Booth) went into administration and the new supplier (Magnadata) took over.  Apparently they didn't use the correct call it paper to make the railcard stock, I think it was the same as the common stock, so it's not designed to last.  All the new stock should last longer, I'm not going to sure it won't fade, but as the railcards came in boxes of 10,000 I'm sure there are loads of them still around!

Just to make it even better, there is a batch of magnadata common stock tickets which have been recalled because the mag strip is b******ks broken and will not store any data on it, and of course won't go thru any barriers and come up error code 07 (as opposed to 09).

With thanks for your posting that information, SDS pad, I've now amended the heading of this topic to more accurately reflect what we're all ... err, moaning about, here.  ;) ;D

Just an update about my faded Railcard.
I took it to Trowbridge ticket office yesterday for a replacement, together with the stamped receipt. He barely spoke two words to me, just took the Railcard out of its wallet, peered at it, I told him that I had the receipt with the expiry date and number on it, he didn't seem interested. He wrote the expiry date on the back and stamped the back and wrote PTO on the front. When I told him that he had written 11 OCT 14 instead of 17 OCT he peered at it again (still didn't look at the receipt), said 'Yes' and changed the 11 to 17. I don't think he was having a good day somehow. I can foresee problems with this in a few months time if it continually has to be taken out of the wallet for the reverse to be looked at. Strange, he's usually such a cheerful chap!

If the change looks obvious, expect queries between 11 & 17th then!

Frankly, I'd take it & the receipt to another ticket office soon, explain that you've been asked to get it changed by a ticket inspector, and ask for a proper replacement!

Agree, Id go to a different ticket office with receipt and say an RPI warned you to get it changed as a matter of urgency because other "inspectors might assume you altered the date yourself".

Also in the long term it would save ticket office staff time in that they wouldnt have to keep asking for it to be removed from the wallet etc etc

Just spotted this on FRPP/The Manual


Changes to Season Ticket, Photocard & Railcard Stock

From late December 2013, updated Season Ticket, Photocard and Railcard stock will come into circulation.

These new stocks will be automatically sent out when you place new orders with Magnadata. Current Season Ticket, Photocard and Railcard stock should continue to be issued and accepted until further notice.

NEW Bi-laminate Ticket Stock

To minimise incidents of ticket stock curling and of print fading over time, the following ticket stocks will be issued on a new bi-laminate ticket stock:
Senior Railcard (7599/197)
16-25 Railcard (7599/217)
Family & Friends Railcard (7599/253)
Network Railcard (7599/275)
Annual Gold Card (7599/24)
Annual Gold Card Travelcard (7599/66)
Period Season Ticket - blue stock (9699)
The new bi-laminate ticket stock feels glossy on the front and reverse.

Design Changes

There have been subtle changes to the design of Season Tickets, Photocards and Railcards. These changes are:

FRONT
National Rail roundel: National Rail roundel with double arrow replaces the standalone double arrow (crow^s feet) symbol.
Season ticket security print: The words ^National Rail^ will be used in the background security print on the front of Season tickets.
Travelcards: Transport for London roundel and National Rail roundel on Travelcard ticket stocks are now blue or black. Previously these were red.
BACK
Terms & Conditions wording: The wording on the back of Season Tickets, Photocards and Railcards has been standardised wherever possible.
Annual Gold Card wording: Annual Gold Card ticket stocks include additional wording referring holders to www.nationalrail.co.uk/goldcard for details of Gold Card discounts.
Advertising & short term messaging: Advertising and short term messaging may appear on the back of some Season Ticket stocks above the magnetic stripe from time to time.
All other aspects remain the same. A full retail brief will be circulated shortly.

Item submitted by ATOC Commercial
06 December 2013

Thank you all, taking it all on board, it just amazes me that it's not 2 months' old yet and you can't read the number, my name or the issuing station any more just a scribbled date on the back!