Rail Settlement Plan
Rail Settlement Plan (RSP) is a division of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) in the United Kingdom. It provides a wide range of common services to the UK's franchised passenger rail operators and third-party providers of information and retail services.
The green background of all UK rail tickets was made up of the repeated words "Rail Settlement Plan". In 2013, the railway started migrating to new ticket stock which uses the words "National Rail" instead.
The company was established on the privatisation of British Railways primarily for the purpose of distributing the revenue received from the purchase of generic, non-company-specific train tickets. This revenue is split between the retailer and the train operating companies (TOCs) that run trains along the route. For example, the same railway ticket is valid from London Bridge to East Croydon on all services. The RSP provides a process to share the revenue between the two train operating companies that run trains along this route (Govia Thameslink Railway).
Since privatisation, the company has increased the range of services it provides to train operators. The company now:
- Collects retail sales data from 8,500 ticket issuing systems
- Carries out the correct allocation of ticket revenue to train operators
- Settles that revenue to the operators
- Sets standards and accredits all industry ticket issuing systems
- Maintains the central industry fares database and provides tools for train operators to set fares
- Distributes fares, timetable, station and other industry data to ticket issuing and information systems
- Provides the National Reservations Service enabling retailers to book reservations on all trains with reservable seats
- Provides the capability to pick up preordered tickets at station ticket machines (Ticket-on-Departure)
- Provides the industry standard ticket stock
