The rollout of pay as you go contactless travel is set to reach more of Essex and Hertfordshire, offering a simpler way to pay on some of the region’s most important commuter and airport corridors. Routes serving Southend Victoria, Witham and Stansted Airport are among those being added, extending tap-in, tap-out access to key stations including Southend Airport, Chelmsford, Harlow Town and Bishops Stortford. The system will also be available at Beaulieu Park, the newly opened station designed to support growing travel demand into and out of London.

Under plans confirmed by the Department for Transport (DfT), passengers using these stations will be able to travel by tapping a contactless bank card, smartphone or smart device at the beginning and end of their journey within the pay as you go contactless area. The fare will be automatically calculated based on the time and distance travelled, with travellers benefitting from daily and weekly fare caps when heading into or around the capital.

Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy said:

“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, 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.”

Greater Anglia, which operates services on the affected routes, welcomed the development. Its Managing Director, Martin Beable, said:

“We are pleased be introducing pay as you go contactless ticketing to even more stations across our network, giving passengers a quicker, easier, and more flexible way to travel. Alongside our modern fleet of trains and ongoing station improvements, expanding pay as you go contactless ticketing helps us continue to make train travel more convenient, accessible, and attractive for everyone.”

Today’s announcement forms part of a phased expansion of contactless travel agreed between the DfT and Transport for London. The next stage will see the technology introduced at 50 additional National Rail stations across the South East from next month. Earlier rounds of the programme have already brought faster, simpler ticketing to passengers travelling on services run by c2c, South Western Railway, Thameslink, Southeastern and London Northwestern Railway.

Image: Greater Anglia