End of the line for paper train tickets as Northern Rail warned passengers that e-fares will make them a mere 'museum exhibit' in the next five years

Paper train tickets - a feature of rail travel since the first passenger service in 1825 - could become a thing of the past in as little as five years, a train company warned today.

Northern Rail said the classic orange train ticket - known as the ‘magstripe’ as it has a magnetic, machine readable stripe on its back, will soon be a museum exhibit.

They will be replaced by tickets carried on mobile phones or technology similiar to that used on the London Underground where passengers tap in and out at the gates using the bank card they paid for their ticket.

Critics are expected to see the move as another step to a cashless, paperless society.

In the last 12 months, 2.3 million fewer of the tickets have been issued, with numbers dropping from 20.3 million in 2022-23 to 18.3 million.

During the same period, the number of people using digital tickets on Northern services grew by almost 19 per cent, from 54.8m to 65.2m.

But phasing out the tickets could pose problems for people including the elderly who do not have smart mobile phones - or have no mobile phone at all - and for people whose phone’s run out of batteries on long journeys.

A spokesperson for Northern said: ‘All of our standard tickets are available in electronic format and people clearly enjoy the flexibility of buying their ticket ‘on the go’ and being able to store it on their mobile phone or tablet.

‘We’re also increasingly able to offer actual ‘paper’ tickets from our ticket offices and vending machines for those who prefer a physical proof of purchase.

‘Whilst ‘magstripes’ might generate a sense of nostalgia, it’s important to remember that because they’re made from more than one material, they’re less recyclable and could ultimately end up in landfill - whereas paper tickets can be easily recycled with other paper products.

‘At the current rate of decline and with an ever-greater focus on digital and paper alternatives, ‘magstripes’ are definitely nearing the end of the line. They could be something of a museum exhibit within five years.’

Northern Rail made the announcement to mark the UN’s World Environment Day. The current version of the orange ‘magstripe’ ticket was first used in 2014 after Northern was selected by the then Association of Train Operating Companies (now known as the Rail Delivery Group) to carry out a trial at stations across the North of England.

The orange tickets became the standard ticket for all train operators and remain in use to this day.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.

MailOnline has approached Rails Operations Group and Transport Focus for comment.

This comes shortly after it was revealed Kearsley located near Bolton in Greater Manchester was Britain's worst-performing railway station. 

The unmanned station which is frequented by Nothern Rail trains came bottom out 2,625, over the last four weeks.

According to Ontimetrains, only 17 per cent of services at the station were on time our of 834.

A further 43 per cent were between one or four minutes late while 14 per cent were five to nine minutes late.

Five per cent of trains were ten or more minutes later and a staggering 20 per cent were cancelled altogether. 

The station opened in 1838 and is on the line between Stalybridge and Southport, with direct services to locations including Manchester, Bolton, Wigan and Salford.