Re-imagining the gateline experience with HS2

Design Research

Service & Experience Design

The challenge

Innovating a new approach to ticket barriers

For two years HS2 Ltd had struggled with the problem of ticket barriers in train stations, or gatelines as they’re known in the industry, and what role they would play in the future of rail travel. They were working to find the best possible experience for customers accessing their stations, platforms and trains, while satisfying their own rigorous demands for reliability, safety, security, value for money and revenue protection.

Looking for answers, they challenged us to accelerate the process and find tangible, innovative solutions to what gatelines would be in 2026.

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The approach

Bringing all stakeholders together in a Design Sprint

Drawing on insights from users and consumers, we first analysed over 40 industry studies and conducted 8 stakeholder interviews, in order to formulate in-depth background research on the issue at hand. We then combined conclusions from this with user-centered ethnographic research, involving observations, vox pop conversations and video analysis. With this background and context, we ran a 3-day Design Sprint with 29 stakeholders.

We introduced them to our innovative design thinking techniques and tools, to co-create ideas and develop solutions. We then brought these ideas together to deliver a strategy for the future of gatelines, and also for rail stations themselves.

The impact

New solutions conceived

Five teams created five solutions, that we then collated to create a fully formed concept pitch for the future of HS2 rail stations.
Outcomes accelerated

Process rapidly accelerated from two years into six months. All outcomes came out of a three-day sprint.
Industry activated

This work, alongside economic assessments, is feeding in to gateline strategy at HS2. Ethnography now being purposed for wider work around station design.