The shambles that is the rollout of contactless payments to rail stations in the South East outside London continues with a programme that should have been completed three years ago still less than half way through and no confirmation of the next steps.
I have been reporting this issue for years and it’s going from worse to worser.
In January of 2025, I reported that the delayed delivery of contactless to 47 stations the following month was due complete the first phase (53 stations) of a programme covering a total of 233 stations.
This first phase was due to have been done by the end of the 2022-23 financial year, with a revised date of December 2023, with the remaining 180 stations upgraded by the end of 2024.
This is all based on a paper from Transport of London (TfL), which is delivering the programme as it depends on its technology.
By November 2025, the DfT was promising the delivery of 50 more stations the following month, but was unable to give a completion date for the programme, although it did say that it expected to announce further stations for delivery mid 2026 “in due course”.
But the following month the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) reported:
From 14 December 2025, pay as you go (PAYG) with contactless cards and devices will be available to customers at another 30 National Rail stations in South-East England.
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.
The following explanation was given:
During rigorous testing, the system identified issues affecting journeys on Greater Anglia services. These issues meant customers would not get the experience they should, and the technology would not have worked as intended. To make sure customers get the best possible experience, additional work is required.
As a result, the introduction of pay as you go with contactless at the 20 Greater Anglia stations, including Stansted and Southend airports, announced last month, will now take place next summer. Customers will receive a full update ahead of the revised launch date to ensure they are informed and prepared for the benefits and convenience this technology will bring.
My understanding is that this was due to complication over integrating ticket prices, but for once, the delay was not as bad as it could have been and 20 Greater Anglia stations were added in March.
When I asked the RDG where this leaves the programme, it referred me to the DfT, which confirmed that this takes the total to 103, but was not able to say what will happen next, pending an official announcement.
That’s 103 out of a programme of 233 that should have been completed by March 2023 – and the suggestion of new stations “for delivery mid 2026” has evaporated.
TfL has (again) not responded to my request for an update.
I think it’s more a case of don’t hold your breath than watch this space.
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