System Updates

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Time Date	System Updates
Update 1359 5 December 2025	ID Cards Overhaul - Action Required ACTION REQUIRED by railways that use the ID Card System. Please see below. This update is applicable to UK heritage railways only. Arrangements for railways in other countries will follow. --- The HOPS ID Cards system is now back online following extensive overhaul. To enable physical cards that last for several years, while maintaining an annual renewal in HOPS, the concept of 'Cards' has been split into two concepts: 'Authority to Work' and 'ID Cards'. The Card just identifies the user, the only distinction between a 1-year card and a 3-year card is the material and the cost. The Authority to Work means the person is a legitimate, authorised worker, and this is the thing that is renewed every year. The exact same mechanism as previously used for ID Cards is still used for Authority to Work (eg Department Confirmation, Generating and Approving, Department Confirmation, Personal Details Check, etc). Apart from making the terminology clear and providing additional cues on the pages, this process is unchanged. If you continue to follow your old process, but replace 'card' with 'AtW' in your mind, everything will work fine. AtW still update the appropriate competence element as cards did previously. The element is updated when the AtW is APPROVED. Every user has a setting for whether they will receive a 1-year card or a 3-year ID Card. This can't be changed by users themselves. It can be changed at the point of generation of the AtW. The three generation methods are still available - individual, user list, and renewal. As previously, 'renewal' is just another method of generating an AtW with some convenient (optional) other information shown. It doesn't make a difference to the system which method is used. A tick box has been added to the Generation page for 'automatic approval' to save this job having to be done separately, if desired. It is only shown when the user has permission to do approving. If ticked, the AtWs will be generated and approved in one go. You can still give users a choice of whether they would like to opt-in to having a Raildays card instead of a physical one. The user's preference, and their current setting for which type of physical card they will/would get is shown on the AtW generation pages to aid visibility. [We have not yet facilitated making the default into a Raildays card and requiring the user to opt for a physical card, we do still intend to do this.] The physical ID Cards are produced automatically, following the creation of an AtW, when required. There is no action required from the railway to do this. ID Cards are only produced if the AtW lasts longer than the user's current card: Ie, for a three-year card a new card will be sent in year 1 and 4, but not year 2 or 3. A card is only sent if the AtW is renewed, so there is no danger of wasted cards being sent for users who are no longer working. If one-year cards are used then a new card is sent every year (if the AtW is renewed). All 3-year cards expire at the end of March. The rollover for years is 1 October, so all 3-year cards are valid for a period between 2.5 and 3.5 years. Eg a 3-year card issued on 30 September 2005 will last until 31 March 2008; a 3-year card issued on 1 October 2005 will last until 31 March 2009. Three year cards are made of (recycled, recyclable) plastic. One-year cards are made from the existing laminated card stationery. For the first few days we will be manually checking the card printing output of the system to make sure it is all working correctly. If you find any issues please let us know, but please don't panic that the printing or cost will spiral in the case of a system error. We will resolve any that arise before printing and costs are incurred. Cards displayed in Raildays now keep the same number each year. So users with a card displayed in Raildays, receiving a new AtW for the new year, will not need to take any action in the Raildays app or the Time Register app. The card expiry will update automatically in Raildays, and TR will carry on without any changes. -- As previously advised, the cost of cards is changed to: * Cards displayed in Raildays - 21p (annual) * 1-year cards posted directly to users - 50p per card, 101p process and postage. Total 1.51. (Previously incorrectly advertised as 50+91=1.51. The postage was incorrect, the total was correct.) * 1-year cards posted in batches to the railway - 50p per card. Postage will be charged at cost. * 3-year cards posted directly to users - 2.07 per card, 91p process and postage. Total 2.98. (This is 20p less than the CURRENT cost of 3 x 1-year cards, and 1.55 less than the new cost of 3 x 1-year cards). * 3-year cards posted in batches to the railway - 2.07 per card and postage is charged at cost. For clarity, there is no cost attached to an AtW, or to Temporary Cards. -- Temporary ID cards is still offline. We did not intend for this to be affected by this work, but it was. We hope to have this available again over this weekend, but we were keen to get the main system back in place asap. -- ACTION REQUIRED - In order to make use of the new system, please could admins of UK heritage railways that issue HOPS ID Cards please email in to admin@hops.org.uk and state that you accept the new card costs as stated in this update of 5 December 2025? AtWs can be generated before this, but cannot be Approved until the costs are accepted (as this is the stage at which the physical card creation is started). -- I'm sorry this downtime has taken longer than planned, but I hope the new system achieves the cost savings that some railways desire, while continuing to provide the paper stationery that other railways desire. If anyone has any questions or queries please let us know. Thank you Danny Scroggins

Time Date

System Updates

Update 1359
5 December 2025

ID Cards Overhaul - Action Required

ACTION REQUIRED by railways that use the ID Card System. Please see below.

This update is applicable to UK heritage railways only. Arrangements for railways in other countries will follow.

---

The HOPS ID Cards system is now back online following extensive overhaul.

To enable physical cards that last for several years, while maintaining an annual renewal in HOPS, the concept of 'Cards' has been split into two concepts: 'Authority to Work' and 'ID Cards'.

The Card just identifies the user, the only distinction between a 1-year card and a 3-year card is the material and the cost. The Authority to Work means the person is a legitimate, authorised worker, and this is the thing that is renewed every year.

The exact same mechanism as previously used for ID Cards is still used for Authority to Work (eg Department Confirmation, Generating and Approving, Department Confirmation, Personal Details Check, etc). Apart from making the terminology clear and providing additional cues on the pages, this process is unchanged. If you continue to follow your old process, but replace 'card' with 'AtW' in your mind, everything will work fine.

AtW still update the appropriate competence element as cards did previously. The element is updated when the AtW is APPROVED.

Every user has a setting for whether they will receive a 1-year card or a 3-year ID Card. This can't be changed by users themselves. It can be changed at the point of generation of the AtW.

The three generation methods are still available - individual, user list, and renewal. As previously, 'renewal' is just another method of generating an AtW with some convenient (optional) other information shown. It doesn't make a difference to the system which method is used.

A tick box has been added to the Generation page for 'automatic approval' to save this job having to be done separately, if desired. It is only shown when the user has permission to do approving. If ticked, the AtWs will be generated and approved in one go.

You can still give users a choice of whether they would like to opt-in to having a Raildays card instead of a physical one. The user's preference, and their current setting for which type of physical card they will/would get is shown on the AtW generation pages to aid visibility.

[We have not yet facilitated making the default into a Raildays card and requiring the user to opt for a physical card, we do still intend to do this.]

The physical ID Cards are produced automatically, following the creation of an AtW, when required. There is no action required from the railway to do this. ID Cards are only produced if the AtW lasts longer than the user's current card: Ie, for a three-year card a new card will be sent in year 1 and 4, but not year 2 or 3. A card is only sent if the AtW is renewed, so there is no danger of wasted cards being sent for users who are no longer working. If one-year cards are used then a new card is sent every year (if the AtW is renewed).

All 3-year cards expire at the end of March. The rollover for years is 1 October, so all 3-year cards are valid for a period between 2.5 and 3.5 years. Eg a 3-year card issued on 30 September 2005 will last until 31 March 2008; a 3-year card issued on 1 October 2005 will last until 31 March 2009.

Three year cards are made of (recycled, recyclable) plastic. One-year cards are made from the existing laminated card stationery.

For the first few days we will be manually checking the card printing output of the system to make sure it is all working correctly. If you find any issues please let us know, but please don't panic that the printing or cost will spiral in the case of a system error. We will resolve any that arise before printing and costs are incurred.

Cards displayed in Raildays now keep the same number each year. So users with a card displayed in Raildays, receiving a new AtW for the new year, will not need to take any action in the Raildays app or the Time Register app. The card expiry will update automatically in Raildays, and TR will carry on without any changes.

--

As previously advised, the cost of cards is changed to:

* Cards displayed in Raildays - 21p (annual)

* 1-year cards posted directly to users - 50p per card, 101p process and postage. Total 1.51. (Previously incorrectly advertised as 50+91=1.51. The postage was incorrect, the total was correct.)

* 1-year cards posted in batches to the railway - 50p per card. Postage will be charged at cost.

* 3-year cards posted directly to users - 2.07 per card, 91p process and postage. Total 2.98. (This is 20p less than the CURRENT cost of 3 x 1-year cards, and 1.55 less than the new cost of 3 x 1-year cards).

* 3-year cards posted in batches to the railway - 2.07 per card and postage is charged at cost.

For clarity, there is no cost attached to an AtW, or to Temporary Cards.

--

Temporary ID cards is still offline. We did not intend for this to be affected by this work, but it was. We hope to have this available again over this weekend, but we were keen to get the main system back in place asap.

--

ACTION REQUIRED - In order to make use of the new system, please could admins of UK heritage railways that issue HOPS ID Cards please email in to admin@hops.org.uk and state that you accept the new card costs as stated in this update of 5 December 2025? AtWs can be generated before this, but cannot be Approved until the costs are accepted (as this is the stage at which the physical card creation is started).

--

I'm sorry this downtime has taken longer than planned, but I hope the new system achieves the cost savings that some railways desire, while continuing to provide the paper stationery that other railways desire.

If anyone has any questions or queries please let us know.

Thank you

Danny Scroggins

Generated at 06:35:14 08/12/2025