Travel InfoSystems, the travel planning software specialists, today announced the end of the paper timetable in 1,500 UK travel agents. ATOC (Association of Train Operating Companies) now rely solely on Travel InfoSystems’ RailPlanner software to provide passenger information - described by the company as “a quantum shift from the fiddly, archaic paper timetable, which is out of date as soon as it is printed.”

Founded in 1993, ATOC calls itself “the official voice of the passenger rail industry.” It is ubiquitous across the UK network – with members including Eurostar (UK), ScotRail and Virgin Rail – and allocates £3.5bn of revenue from annual ticket sales. ATOC’s 1,500 travel agents account for 10% of the UK rail industry’s entire annual revenue.

“The paper timetable is now officially dead for ATOC affiliates – and could soon be a thing of the past for travel agents in general,” proclaims Travel InfoSystems’ MD Terry Hiles, “because our software is available across virtually any electronic platform – from office kiosk to handheld PCs and SMS on mobile phones. RailPlanner’s success in the ATOC agents is a true move towards the ‘paperless office’ – a victory for the environment as well as an efficient passenger network.”

ATOC’s Retail Operations Manager, Mike Lamb is equally enthusiastic. “We want to ensure all rail appointed agency ticket outlets can provide fast accurate advice on any journey,” he says. “It’s simply about improving the service to our customers. Using RailPlanner is so fast and simple in comparison to thumbing through the paper timetable. Our agents will be able to print out itineraries for the customer and give out extra information such as the availability of First Class tickets and refreshments.” ATOC use RailPlanner’s ‘Gold’ product – subscription software that is updated up to 10 times per year, covering timetable changes for bank holidays and engineering works.