Tag: contactless

• No end in sight for delayed contactless roll-out

  The Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed that there is no target date to complete its programme of enabling rail stations in the South East outside London to accept contactless payments.

  As I reported on Monday, the 50 stations due to be upgraded are the first stations in the second phase of a programme being delivered by Transport for London (TfL), which should have been completed last year.

  

  The first phase of 53 stations was delivered earlier this year, meaning that so far less than half the overall programme of 233 has been delivered.

  A DfT spokesperson told me “We don’t have a specific target completion date to share,” which could just mean that they don’t want to disclose a new target date that might be missed.

  The DfT did say that it expects to announce further stations in the South East for delivery mid 2026 “in due course”.

  TfL refused to tell me anything, on the grounds that the programme that it is delivering for the DfT is the DfT’s programme.

  That didn’t stop Alex Williams, TfL’s chief customer and strategy officer, saying

  We are delighted to be extending pay-as-you-go with contactless to a further 50 stations from 14 December, including Stansted Airport, making it easier for those arriving at the airport to travel to London and experience all the city has to offer.

  It may be of course that the delay is not due to technical difficulties but to the DfT releasing the funding slowly.

  2025.11.19

• DfT and TfL adrift on contactless roll-out

  The Department for Transport’s (DfT) claim that tap-in, tap-out payment for trains has been “expanded across south-east England” has to be one of the most misleading press releases I have seen for a long time.

  It’s misleading not only because it’s by no means the universal coverage that the word “across” implies but because the programme is nowhere near the coverage that should have been achieved by the end of last year.

  The good news is that the addition of the 50 new stations to the Transport for London (TfL) system in four weeks’ time, including Stansted and Southend airports, means that passengers travelling to every London airport will be able to use contactless ticketing – assuming that they could tap in when then started their journeys.

  

  But, as I have reported extensively, this is part of a programme of 233 stations that TfL is delivering for the DfT – effectively extending the Oyster network – that was originally due to be completed by the end of 2024.

  It’s the first instalment on the “main phase” of 180 stations, with the “initial phase” of 53 stations being completed earlier this year, nearly two years late.

  (more…)

  2025.11.17