Bletchley train station to begin to use contactless ticketing

Contactless ticketing is set to become available at Bletchley railway station as part of an expansion of the service.

The station is one of 14 stations served by London Northwestern Railways (LNWR) to have upgraded Pay As You Go (PAYG) contactless technology to be installed from Sunday 2 February.

The technology comes as part of a £20 million government investment to modernise the network, which was previously intended to be introduced in 2024 and is intended to offer simpler and more flexible payment options across the South East at 47 more stations on lines across the region heading into London.

Contactless PAYG technology has been introduced on more rail lines in recent years, having first been introduced in the UK on suburban rail routes in London.

It is as yet unknown when this technology may be expanded to Milton Keynes Central, Wolverton, further stations northwards on the West Coast Main Line or stations on the Marston Vale line connecting Bletchley with Bedford.

LNWR confirmed that as well as Bletchley station, the infrastructure will be introduced to Apsley, Berkhamsted, Bricket Wood, Cheddington, Garston, Hemel Hempstead, How Wood, Kings Langley, Leighton Buzzard, Park Street, St Albans Abbey, Tring and Watford North stations.

The equipment had already been introduced at Watford Junction and stations down to London Euston.

In a statement, LNWR said, “Passengers travelling to and from these stations will only need their contactless card or device to travel, providing easy access to the best priced adult fare available on the day. The PAYG upgrade also allows customers to benefit from daily and Monday – Sunday caps. Current methods of ticket purchasing such as paper tickets and online purchases, remain available.”

Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director at LNR, said: “We’re excited to launch this upgraded PAYG technology across more of our stations in the South East, bringing flexible travel to customers across the Abbey Line, and between Watford Junction and Bletchley.

“Ahead of the launch, we encourage passengers to read up on the new system before they travel, with information available via our website.”

The government’s Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy, said in a statement that the system was intended to try to help simplify purchasing rail tickets for travellers.

Lord Hendy said, “The ticketing system is far too complicated, so we’re taking the stress out of navigating the labyrinth of fares and replacing it with new technology so passengers can simply tap-in tap-out, while being guaranteed the best fare available at the time on the day.

“This hassle-free technology will simplify thousands of journeys every day for passengers across the South East, and it’s something we will roll out to other cities as soon as we can, unlocking growth across the country as part of our Plan for Change.

“We are delivering the biggest overhaul of our rail network in a generation, putting passengers at the heart of every journey and encouraging more people to choose rail.”