There are very few feelings as satisfying as smugly tapping your phone on the contactless card reader and smoothly gliding through the station barriers as your fellow passengers fumble about for their paper tickets. And now, a whole lot more people will have the opportunity to experience it, as contactless ticketing technology is about to be rolled out at 20 stations near London. One of which is a major London airport.
Stansted Airport station is getting contactless ticketing
Stansted Express passengers will be able to tap in and out at Stansted Airport from March 8. These shiny new high-tech ticket barriers are sure to be welcomed with open arms, as the previous lack of them has cost many passengers a pretty penny. Plenty of Stansted-bound train-travellers have tapped in at Liverpool Street and hopped about a Stansted Express, unbeknown to the fact that they won’t be able to tap out at the other end of the journey. But these ticketing troubles are soon to be a thing of the past.
20 stations across Hertfordshire and Essex will be following in the footsteps of the capital city and introducing the tap-in, tap-out ticketing next week, courtesy of Greater Anglia. The new barriers were set to be rolled out in December, but they were delayed due to software issues. But the problem has been overcome, and the machines are officially ready to be installed.
The contactless journey between London and Stansted will cost £21.80 (the same price as a regular single ticket bought on the day) So, it’s worth knowing that whilst the contactless option is a whole lot more convenient, it won’t necessarily save you any cash as if you book the Stansted Express in advance, a single journey can cost as little as £9.90. Oyster cards won’t work on the machines, either.
The full list of stations that will offer tap-in, tap-out ticketing from March 8:
- Billericay
- Beaulieu Park
- Bishop’s Stortford
- Chelmsford
- Harlow Mill
- Harlow Town
- Hatfield Peverel
- Hockley
- Ingatestone
- Prittlewell
- Rayleigh
- Rochford
- Roydon
- Sawbridgeworth
- Stansted Airport
- Southend Victoria
- Stansted Mountfitchet
- Wickford
- Witham
- Southend Airport
Martin Beable, Managing Director at Greater Anglia, said: “We are pleased to be able to confirm that pay as you go contactless ticketing will be introduced at a further 20 stations from 8 March, making travel across our network simpler and more flexible for customers.
“This extension is another important step in modernising ticketing on the railway, allowing passengers to tap in and out and pay for the journeys they make, while improving the overall experience for those travelling into and out of London.”