New date for contactless payment expansion at four train operators

Passengers going through ticket gates at London Waterloo station (Photo SWR)

UK: The introduction of pay-as-you-go travel using contactless bank cards and mobile devices at further 47 stations is now scheduled for February 2, having been delayed from September 2024 as a result of a cybersecurity incident at Transport for London which how now been resolved.

The stations are served by c2c, London Northwestern Railway, Southeastern and South Western Railway. The delays to the rollout resulted from the problems at TfL, and were out of the train operators’ hands.

Touching in and out to pay ‘will mean less time spent queuing to buy a ticket and will speed up journeys’, said SWR Customer & Commercial Director Peter Williams when the new launch date was announced on January 20.

Jonny Wiseman, Customer Experience Director at LNR, said ’ahead of the launch, we encourage passengers to read up on the new system before they travel, with information available via our website’.

Essex commuter operator c2c will be the only National Rail operator offering contactless payments across its entire network. ‘Following months of rigorous behind-the-scenes technical and operational testing, I am delighted that work to introduce pay as you go with contactless has now been completed and will launch across our entire network next month’, said Managing Director Rob Mullen.

Existing ticketing options are not affected by the expansion of contactless PAYG.

It is to be rolled out at a further 49 stations in southeast England during 2025, with Baldock, Hitchin, Letchworth Garden City and Stevenage now added to the list. The inclusion of Stansted Airport means all major London airports will be covered.

The Department for Transport is also working with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands to develop proposals for further roll outs.

Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy said ‘the ticketing system is far too complicated, so we’re taking the stress out of navigating the labyrinth of fares and replacing it with new technology so passengers can simply tap-in tap-out, while being guaranteed the best fare available at the time on the day.’