Contactless rail payments expanding to Southeastern, Thameslink, c2c, LNWR and SWR

27/08/2024 0 Comments J Smith

A project to expand contactless payments to stations in counties around London is set to move forward next month as another 47 stations go live.

Project Oval is running someway behind schedule with this the second tranche of stations to go live. It’s a Department for Transport project contracted to Transport for London.

Project Oval boundary taken from DfT consultation document

While contactless payment has been in operation in London for years, most Train Operating Companies running to outside London either didn’t accept it or used their own version, such as The Key on Southeastern.

Stations now going contactless on Southeastern and Thameslink are:

Bat & Ball
Dunton Green
Eynsford
Otford
Sevenoaks
Shoreham

C2C will see extensive coverage all the way to Southend and Shoeburyness.

c2c trains from London to Essex will now enable contactless either end

Basildon
Benfleet
Chalkwell
East Tilbury
Laindon
Leigh-on-Sea
Pitsea
Shoeburyness
Southend Central
Southend East
Stanford-le-Hope
Thorpe Bay
Tilbury Town
West Horndon
Westcliff

LNWR out of Euston will see these stations covered:

LNWR stations out of Euston will accept contactless

Apsley
Berkhamsted
Bletchley
Bricket Wood
Cheddington
Garston
Hemel Hempstead
How Wood
King’s Langley
Leighton Buzzard
Park Street
St. Albans Abbey
Tring
Watford North

SWR stations out of Waterloo include:

Waterloo routes heading south west of London

Ashford
Datchet
Egham
Kempton Park
Shepperton
Staines
Sunbury
Sunnymeads
Upper Halliford
Virginia Water
Windsor & Eton Riverside
Wraysbury

Another benefit is the use of contactless within London when undertaking an onward journey with fare-capping.

However railcards will not be enabled initially when the system goes live so a paper ticket will be needed.

A total of 223 stations were supposed to go usable by May 2024 including up to Cambridge but that target has not been met.

Stations will be able to accept contactless cards from 22nd September.

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