Transport Insights

There’s more good news, bad news on the rail ticketing front with Greater Anglia adding contactless technology to the 20 stations that were due to get it at the end of last year but which were put back to the summer.

But, although the delay isn’t as bad as it was predicted to be, the whole programme to spread Transport for London’s (TfL) pay as you go (PAYG) beyond London is still years behind and less than halfway complete.

Out of 233 stations that should have had the technology by the end of 2024, only 103 have now been delivered by TfL.

Rather embarrassingly for rail minister Lord Hendy (who used to head TfL), he keeps saying the same thing about the upgrade being long overdue, even as he tries to sing its praises.

In November, it was announced that 50 stations would go live the following month – the first tranche of a second phase. Hendy said:

Rail ticketing is far too complicated and long overdue an upgrade to bring it into the 21st century.

In December, it was announced that only 30 stations had been delivered:

PAYG contactless will be rolled out to a further 20 stations, including Stansted and Southend airports, on Greater Anglia route during Summer 2026 after issues were identified in testing.  

These are the 20 stations that have now had the technology implemented. Hendy said:

Rail ticketing is long overdue an upgrade to bring the rail network into the 21st century.

He is surprisingly frank on this: the upgrade is long overdue and, as I reported in November, there is no target date for adding the remaining 130 stations.