Toulouse goes cntactless in 2006

International Railway Journal, Feb, 2005

EQUIPMENT that has been in use for 14 years on the public transport network in Toulouse, France, is being replaced by a contactless system that will be introduced in September 2006. The challenge facing Ascom, which supplied the original equipment, is to install the new equipment throughout the city without disturbing either operator or customer during the process.

The 2000 new machines in Ascom's 24 million [euro] contract will be able to read existing tickets and communicate with the present system until the changeover takes place, providing the vital and seamless link between the past and the future.

The information, control, and management system accounts for about 25% of the contract. The ticket validation system will be able to collect high-quality data, and the central management system will analyse more than 700,000 daily journeys. The overall aim is to improve service to the passenger, for example by offering new types of season ticket.