The 'magstripe' train ticket could be nothing more than a museum exhibit within five years, according to Northern.

The current version of the 'iconic' orange ticket was first used in 2014.

The train operator reported a marked shift towards digital and paper options, with 12 per cent (2.3 million) fewer magstripe tickets in use in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23.

In the 2023/24 period, under 20 per cent of journeys on Northern services used magstripe tickets, and digital ticket use grew by almost 19 per cent, reaching 65.2 million.

A spokesperson from Northern said: "All of our standard tickets are available in electronic format and people clearly enjoy the flexibility of buying their ticket ‘on the go’ and being able to store it on their mobile phone or tablet."