All Aboard! French National Railway Installing Intelligent Ticket Gates

System from Conduent fights fraud and eases passenger flow

Today’s busy transportation systems require passenger-ticketing gates that enable rapid and easy access by valid passengers. Just as important: Effectively impeding fraudulent fare dodgers.

SNCF Transilien, the Ile-de-France branch of the French national railway company, has made both of these needs a top priority, with the goal of halving the number of passengers who fail to pass through ticket gates on their daily commute.

For help in meeting that ambitious goal, SNCF Transilien has turned to Conduent. The national railway has awarded us a contract to provide them with 3,000 of our new “intelligent” gates.

The gates are an excellent example of how Conduent is optimizing transportation infrastructure to make mobility smarter, safer and more efficient.

How the gates work

The “intelligent” transportation ticket gates use three-dimensional scanning to distinguish between valid passengers and tailgating fare dodgers – something that systems based on infrared sensing devices find difficult to do.

For example, the gates can accurately distinguish between passengers loaded with luggage and a person attempting to pass unnoticed behind them ―a common tactic of fare evaders.

The gates feature an LED strip bordering the gates’ glass doors that changes color to indicate to travelers whether the gate is operational and if their ticket has been validated or rejected. When a fare dodger is detected, an audible or visual signal warns security officers.

Designed for closed transport networks, the gates are modular, working with all ticketing formats including magnetic, contact-less, NFC-enabled phone, or bar codes. This new generation equipment also meets privacy protection requirements. To ensure passenger safety, the gate automatically opens if it detects an item, such as skis or a baby stroller, stuck in the doors.

First installation

Designed, developed and manufactured in France, the Conduent gates are expected to be first installed at Pereire Levallois and then Paris Saint Lazare railway station. With 1,600 trains and 450,000 passengers a day, Saint Lazare remains the last major Parisian station with free access.