Through the contract, the London-based company will provide advertising on the back of train tickets at every station across the UK.

The contract began with a trial BT advert at Waterloo station last month, but kicked off properly this week (1 March) with a Jobsite.co.uk advert featured on every one of the estimated 3m train tickets to be printed across the UK over the next four weeks.

According to Ticketmedia sales and marketing director Susannah Burbidge, follow-up advertisers are already in place. She said: "We have been astounded at the reception – a whole host of companies have signed up to advertise."

Ticketmedia already works with bus, tram, tube and car park companies and Burbidge said that the company was "the UK's transport ticket business". It is now looking at new areas, with event ticketing one sector that it could pursue.

Burbidge added: "The key areas for us are in places where there is time to respond, where the ticket can actually be a disruption.

"People tell us that on a train journey, they have actually read the carriage instructions on the back of a ticket. That's the core value of transport tickets: we are an unsociable bunch and don't want to talk to the person sat next to us.

"At this moment in time we are investigating the possibilities that events tickets offer, but it is very early days."