Railway operator Thalys is to launch a new paperless service: MobileTicketing. Thanks to this service, Thalys customers will be able to show ticket inspectors their smartphones, on which their reservation will be displayed as a barcode, announced Thalys on Thursday.

“Since a series of tests will be starting early next year with a view to launching the service in mid-2011, we wish to find the best technical application for going totally paperless, to transform this service into a daily reality for our customers”, explained Laurent Lenoir, Thalys’ Head of Systems.

In practical terms, the passenger’s identifier will take the shape of a 2D barcode which will appear on the telephone screen and contain the full details of the journey (train number, passenger’s full name, times, etc.). Passengers will show their “ticket” to the train manager who will then scan it.

Currently, 20% of Thalys customers travel using the “Ticketless” service. The ticket consists of an E-mail which is presented to the ticket inspector or inserted into the Thalys TheCard or Navigo pass.

The MobileTicketing pilot phase due to start during the first quarter of 2011 aims to test the service on 20 or so customers, all carrying various brands of smartphone and recruited online in advance between 18 November and 15 January 2011 on www.thalys.com