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Train Trip Planning App

Industry

Corporate, Logistics

Service

Mobile App

Technologies

Kotlin, Native application

Client location

UK

Period of collaboration

2022-2023

Timeline

6 months
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Business need

Market Domination

The client wanted to expand their reach and become a major player in the train travel market.

Fast Turnaround

Due to government obligations, they needed the app upgrade completed in up to 7 months.

Wider Audience

They aimed to attract new customers by offering online ticket purchases and mobile ticketing services.

Cost-Effective Development

They required the upgrade without increasing technical debt (accumulated development issues).

Requirements

The app had to work as both a ticket store and a valid ticket itself.

Users should have the ability to load up to 5 tickets onto a physical NFC card for offline travel.

Ticket purchases had to be available from anywhere in the app — saved routes, history, or during trip planning.

The system needed to support tickets from multiple train operators.

Users had to be able to store an unlimited number of QR-code tickets in the app.

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Project description

Multi-function App

The upgraded app acts as an online ticket store and as a mobile ticket for users

NFC Integration

Users can buy and store up to 5 tickets on a physical NFC card

Convenient Purchases

Users can buy tickets anywhere within the app, including saved routes and history, or while planning a trip

Multi-Provider Integration

The app displays and allows ticket purchases from other train companies, creating a one-stop shop for train travel

Unlimited Storage

Users can store an unlimited number of QR code tickets in the app

Key features

tickets purchase

Users can buy tickets directly in the app. That gives them the comfort of buying tickets anytime and anywhere with a WiFi connection. And there is no limit to how many tickets a person can get and store.

The users can buy the tickets anywhere on the app:

  • saved routes, favorite places;
  • transaction history;
  • train schedule, or while planning a new journey.

This makes the process simple and faster.

To use a ticket, users show a created QR code to the train controller after payment. A QR code ticket, stored in the app, is one of two options that online purchasing provides. What is the other one?

Tickets upload to the NFC cards

If the person buys more than one ticket for future journeys, they could send up to five on the portable NFC card.

To do that, users should hold their phones close to the card for ticket upload.

Tickets for the trip will be in hand, with no need for an Internet connection or a charged phone with the app and QR tickets.

To use a ticket, users should hold their NFC card on the card reader at the train station.

Challenges to overcome

01
Inner flow complexity of the upgraded features

Adding new ticketing features to an existing app wasn’t simple. The purchase flow needed to work across multiple screens — including saved routes, trip history, and the main journey planner — without breaking the app’s architecture.

Instead of patching things in, we built a flexible, self-contained purchase flow that integrated cleanly into the existing system. It spans about 20 screens, includes NFC logic, and works seamlessly across the entire user journey — without touching the app’s core structure.

02
NFC Integration Issues

Connecting the app with the NFC SDK turned out to be more difficult than expected. The SDK was poorly documented, and the vendor offered no real support.

Despite that, we didn’t push the problem back to the client. Through trial, error, and a lot of debugging, we engineered a custom fix that made NFC ticket upload stable and reliable — even on older devices.

Results

Purchases from Anytime, Anywhere

The automated analysis retry feature works without an endless loading screen.

Easy Ticket Management

All tickets are accessible within a single app, simplifying travel organization.

Offline Accessibility

Users can store up to 5 tickets on an NFC card for offline use, eliminating reliance on the internet or a charged phone.

Streamlined Journey Planning

Users can build their journeys and get all the required tickets within the app.

Comprehensive Information

The app provides access to train schedules, route information, and journey updates.

Project Success

Delivered on Time

The developers delivered the project within 6 months, exceeding the client’s time constraint

 

Technical Expertise

Despite challenges, the team successfully implemented NFC integration and ensured smooth operation

Client Satisfaction

The client received a solution that met their needs and helped them achieve their goals

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