There’s nothing quite like that feeling of smugly tapping your phone against the contactless reader and smoothly gliding through the barriers whilst watching your fellow commuters fumble around with their paper tickets, is there? Well, I come bearing some pretty brilliant news for train-travellers in the South East of the country. Because this year, contactless ticketing is being rolled out at almost 100 stations outside of London.
Project Oval is the name, and quick, easy, and convenient travel is the game. The £20 million plan was originally set to start in September 2024 but was pushed back due to a cyber attack. But, fear not. 47 stations will be receiving their shiny, new contactless technology next week (February 2) – and a further 49 stations will be treated to the tech at some point throughout 2025.
Contactless ticketing will make train travel far more convenient, and will also work out cheaper, always guaranteeing passengers the cheapest tickets for the time of travel. Of course, those wishing to continue using prepaid barcodes or paper tickets can do so. But it will be blooming lovely to have the option, hey?
The stations getting contactless ticketing on February 2:
- Apsley
- Ashford
- Basildon
- Bat & Ball
- Benfleet
- Berkhamsted
- Bletchley
- Bricket Wood
- Chalkwell
- Cheddington
- Datchet
- Dunton Green
- East Tilbury
- I don’t know
- Eynsford
- Garston
- Hemel Hempstead
- How Wood
- Kempton Park
- King’s Langley
- Laindon
- Leigh-on-Sea
- Leighton Buzzard
- Otford
- Park Street
- Seal
- Sevenoaks
- Shepperton
- Shoeburyness
- Shoreham
- Southend Cental
- Southend East
- St. Albans Abbey
- Staines
- Stanford-le-Hope
- Sunbury
- Sunnymeads
- Thorpe Bay
- Tilbury Town
- Tring
- Upper Halliford
- Virginia Water
- Watford North
- West Horndon
- Westcliff
- Windsor & Eton Riverside
- Wraysbur
The stations getting contactless ticketing later in 2025:
- Ashtead
- Aylesbury
- Aylesbury Vale Parkway
- Baldock (new)
- Box Hill and Westhumble
- Billericay
- Bishop’s Stortford
- Chelmsford
- Dorking (Main)
- Dormans
- East Grinstead
- Great Missenden
- Harlington
- Harlow Mill
- Harlow Town
- Hatfield Peverel
- Hitchin (new)
- Hockley
- Hurst Green
- Ingatestone
- Knebworth
- Leagrave
- Leatherhead
- Letchworth Garden City (new)
- Lingfield
- Little Kimble
- Luton
- Monks Risborough
- Oxted
- Princes Risborough
- Prittlewell
- Rayleigh
- Reigate
- Rochford
- Roydon
- Sawbridgeworth
- Saunderton
- Southend Airport
- Southend Victoria
- Stansted Airport
- Stansted Mountfitchet
- Stevenage (new)
- Stoke Mandeville
- Watton-at-Stone
- Welwyn North
- Wendover
- Wickford
- Witham
- Woldingham
Peter Hendythe UK’s rail minister, 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 southeast, and it’s something we will roll out to other cities as soon as we can.’
