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Belgian Railways rolls out ticketing kiosks

The Belgian Railways has rolled out new tablet kiosks to scan passenger's e-tickets, provide information and sell tickets.

December 16, 2015

The Belgian Railways has rolled out new tablet kiosks to scan passenger's e-tickets, provide information and sell tickets. The tablet, the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1, was built to be light and ergonomic for the railway, according to a press release.

The company needed a new platform to replace its digital system. "Problems were becoming increasingly common," said Pascal Rooms, project manager at NMBS. "Last year, we had no fewer than 7,000 technical faults in around 3,000 devices. Other problems facing train conductors included device failures and an ever shorter battery life."

In particular, NMBS needed a system that was light and had the appropriate screen brightness. In order to perform this task, the company partnered with consulting company PwC.

"Panasonic's tailored solution won us over," said Steven Ackx, director at PwC. "The new platform, called ITRIS, is made up of two devices. The Toughpad FZ-M1, Panasonic's robust 7-inch tablet, functions as the main terminal, while a separate smaller terminal is used to process the payments and to check tickets and passes."

The tablet was outfitted with SAM slots, NFC, smartcard reader and a hot swappable battery, according to the release. With the system, train manages can access all the necessary information on delays and incidents and relay it to travelers.

The system was first implemented in September 2015, with plans to complete the rollout by the end of the year.