On Feb 5, 8:24*pm, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Wed, 4 Feb 2009 12:40:11 -0800 (PST), MIG

wrote:
On Feb 4, 8:36*pm, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Wed, 4 Feb 2009 11:47:39 -0800 (PST), MIG

In the early 1990s I was assured that this was possible. *(Didn't I
post it somewhere?). *My annual had been grabbed at a barrier, and I
was told that it could be tracked to find a pattern of use and catch
someone if they were using it.

You were told wrong then. *The only "tickets" with individual numbers
were staff passes and Freedom Passes. *Ordinary tickets did not have
individual serial numbers.

What if they were BR ones, as this was (it was a BR person who told
me)?

No difference. *It is only LUL that really uses the capability within
the magnetic stripe. *This includes the serial number for certain types
of ticket. *BR did not use their section of the stripe for anything
other than default values - I don't believe that has changed since TOCs
put in gates but I may well be wrong. *BR did not have the capability or
the inclination to independently encode serial numbers in tickets issued
via their standard range of ticket issuing machines - APTIS etc.

In those days I don't think it was likely to pass through any barriers
other than LU ones, so I assumed he was implying some kind of
cooperation with LU to catch a potential fraudster, and he seemed very
certain. (To clarify, it was an annual travelcard, purchased from a
BR station.)

But they did have different blanks for different kinds of travelcard
then. This would be specific Gold Card/annual ticket stock.


He didn't make it clear that that made a difference, but it might. *It
wasn't just some gripper, it was the Revenue Protection person in the
office at Cannon Street (who seemed to think he was a TV cop).

Well I guess that shows you can be relatively senior and clueless about
part of your job.
--
Paul C