Contactless ticketing roll-out date for London commuter belt revealed after cyber attack delays
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The long-awaited roll-out of Contactless ticketing to almost 50 train stations across the South-East will happen on February 2, the Department for Transport has announced. This will enable passengers to use their bank cards to pay for travel rather than having to rely on paper tickets or digital tickets bought in advance.
It will also mean passengers will benefit from daily and weekly fare-capping if they also travel on Transport for London services, such as the Tube, Elizabeth line or London buses. They will receive the “best value ticket” for their journey, depending on whether it is peak or off-peak.
A total of 47 stations will included in the first major tranche, including Basildon, Berkhamsted, Leighton Buzzard, Hemel Hempstead, Sevenoaks, Southend Central and Windsor and Eton Riverside. The initial plan had been for 53 stations to go Contactless by the end of 2023. That then slipped to Spring 2024.
Then in June last year, six stations served by Chiltern Railways became the first outside Greater London to get Contactless - including Beaconsfield, Denham, Gerrards Cross and High Wycombe. The remaining 47 had been due to be added on September 22 but this was then delayed by a cyber attack on TfL, which has been handling the roll-out.
The DfT announced on Monday that the remaining 47 would be added to the Contactless network in just under a fortnight – and confirmed that 49 more stations, including Stansted Airport, would be added later this year. This tranche will also include the key Hertfordshire commuter towns of Baldock, Hitchin, Letchworth Garden City and Stevenage, the DfT said on Monday. No date for this rollout has been announced.
