Originally Posted by
trainman74
I just got back from a trip where I used an 8-day BritRail pass. I was a bit disappointed that scanning it at ticket barriers almost never worked (but fortunately, there was usually a staff member right there to look at the pass and let me through), and I wish that I'd been able to add it to Apple Wallet (which would have been somewhat easier to deal with than having to keep the PDF file elsewhere on my phone).
One thing the British rail system has that I wish Amtrak would adopt is having digital train status displays at (just about) every station, even small ones with relatively limited service.
I noticed in my travels that where the station was operated by Great Western Railway, the optical scanner would not read my pass, so I had to get assistance from one of the GWR gate people. For whatever reason, GWR does not accept Oyster cards. My pass would open the gates at stations operated by Southern or Southwestern Railway. I think it also worked in Liverpool Street when I entered the Greater Anglia platforms.