Railway companies look to digital IDs, facial biometrics and blockchain for ticketing

Railway companies in France, Japan and Indonesia double down on introducing ticketing technology such as digital identity and facial recognition. Meanwhile, a digital ID-focused VC firm argues that rail service providers need to go decentralized if they want to protect themselves from data leaks.

French railway experiments with digital IDs for ticket checks

French national rail operator SNCF continues to test using digital IDs for ticket checks through the France Identité mobile app.

Starting on January 20th, passengers traveling on TGV InOui high-speed trains can prove their identity by showing a QR code through the app which displays their name and date of birth. By scanning the QR code, train inspectors can confirm that a person is sitting in their assigned seat.

SNFC has been testing the France Identité app since June 2024. The current trial is expected to be expanded to other SNCF-operated trains by the end of the year, Connexion France reports.

The national digital wallet currently holds a digital driver’s license and identity card while the French government plans to make the healthcare card, the carte Vitale, accessible in the first quarter of 2025.

Tokyo introduces facial recognition for airport railway line

The railway line connecting Tokyo’s Narita airport to downtown Tokyo has introduced facial recognition ticket gates to cut down on crowds caused by the rising number of tourists to Japan, Kyodo News reports.

On Friday, the Keisei Electric Railway Company (K’SEI) introduced the Face Check in Go system to its Keisei Skyliner trains connecting Ueno Station in Tokyo with Narita International Airport in Chiba. Passengers can take a photo of their face and upload it to the Skyliner E-Ticket website to register.

Other Japanese railway operators have also been introducing biometric ticketing options, including Yamaman Co, JR East, JR West and more.

Railways should look towards decentralized digital identity: VC firm

The popularity of online ticketing has forced railway companies to deal with rising fraud such as scalping and widespread ticket fare evasion schemes. To prevent these risks, rail companies have started collecting significant amounts of passenger data.

The practice of storing large amounts of personal data centrally, however, has already led to several high-profile leaks and data breaches, including for U.S. rail service Amtrak, India’s largest ticketing website RailYatri, the Dutch National Railway and local transportation network Transport for London.

A solution for these issues could be decentralized digital identity, according to digital identity-focused venture investment firm Key State Capital. The company says its recent study has recorded over 400 government-backed decentralized identity initiatives.

The two core advantages of decentralized ID are using decentralized databases such as a blockchain which are harder to target and applying technologies such as Zero Knowledge Proof. ZKP systems allow passengers to only share necessary data to the official or software platform requiring identification.

Key State Capital says that its conclusions were backed by a study from researchers from the University of Birmingham which urges rail providers to adopt a blockchain ticketing system.

Indonesian KAI passes 10M passengers using facial recognition

Indonesian state-owned railway service Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) or KAI announced earlier in January that 10.3 million passengers have used its facial recognition to board trains since the implementation of the system in 2022.

The system has been used to replace paper tickets for rail services across the islands of Java and Sumatra. Passengers can sign up for the boarding service using the KAI application and scan their faces at the boarding gate.

KAI President Director Didiek Hartentyo assured users that the company has implemented the ISO 27001 international standard to ensure data security. Passenger photos are stored for one year after which they are automatically deleted, according to Indonesia news outlet Voi.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  facial recognition  |  identity verification  |  transportation