Last Friday, 14th November, the ability for train passengers to use ‘Pay as you go with contactless’ instead of physical tickets was extended to an additional 21 stations in the London area and southeast England.

The 21 stations are operated by Great Northern, Southern, and Thameslink, and allow passengers to pay for their travel with a contactless card, smartphone or smart watch.

With the contactless system, passengers do not need to purchase a ticket or top up a card before they travel.

The great advantage for travellers is that they only pay for the journeys they make, and when travelling into and within London, there is a cap on the fares they are charged, and they are charged the best full adult fare applicable at the time and day of travel.

The introduction of the contactless system is part of a plan to simplify rail fares and make it more convenient to travel by train. The system will soon be rolled out to another 29 stations in southeast England. Stansted Airport.

The 21 new stations now offering pay-as-you-go with contactless are:

• Great Northern stations at Baldock, Hitchin, Knebworth, Letchworth Garden City, Stevenage, Watton-at-Stone, and Welwyn North.
• Southern stations at Ashtead, Box Hill & Westhumble, Dorking, Dormans, East Grinstead, Hurst Green, Leatherhead, Lingfield, Oxted, Reigate, and Woldingham.
• Thameslink stations at Harlington, Leagrave, and Luton

As a prelude to extending the contactless system, on Sunday, 7th December, a TfL-style fare structure will be introduced at these stations for journeys to other stations in the contactless and Oyster area. The main changes that passengers will see are:

• Single journeys will be charged at half the cost of a return journey.
• Journeys will only be charged either peak (anytime) or off-peak rates.
• Existing off-peak fares will be reduced to reflect the removal of super off-peak tickets.
• Advance tickets will continue to be available.
• Off-peak fares will be available for those single journeys where only anytime fares were previously available.

In order to match TfL’s peak times, weekday peak times for travel will now extend from 6.30 am to 9:30 am and 4 pm to 7 pm.

This will mean there are new off-peak times for early morning travel, but only for those using contactless with pay-as-you-go. There is also an evening peak restriction for both contactless and all other ticket types on trains heading out of London.

The system is also being trialled on Manchester’s Bee network, and across the East Midlands and Yorkshire.

“Rail ticketing is far too complicated and long overdue an upgrade to bring it into the 21st century. Through the expansion of tap in tap out technology, and shortly through GBR (Great British Railways), we’re doing just that and making buying tickets more convenient, more accessible and more flexible and ensuring passengers can get the best fares. As part of our Plan for Change, we’re delivering straightforward, stress-free train travel across the south-east, supporting passengers and boosting economic growth, jobs and homes.”

Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy