Project Oval: TfL win DfT contract to expand contactless system to 233 rail stations by May 2024, Railcards coming to contactless payment cards

[lehovec]

Does this mean that the new fare structure of no SOR, instead only CDS and SDS is still going ahead from the 7th?

This is effectively £4-£6 prices increase over existing SOR price.

 

[JonathanH]

Does this mean that the new fare structure of no SOR, instead only CDS and SDS is still going ahead from the 7th?

Yes, the fare change still happens, as it is in all the systems.

 

[SWT_USER]

So they have increased the fares to Stansted but haven't introduced the convenience/flexibility that was supposed to come with that.

On top of that, they have done a reverse ferret on the validity of contactless. Will they continue issuing unfair Penalty Fares to those who - quite understandably - try and use contactless to Stansted?

Exactly the same happened with the stations in the rollout that eventually took place last year. I forget which phase it was but it included Feltham - Windsor/ Virginia Water (but stupidly not to Reading).

Passengers shafted again.

 

[Edvid]

Honestly, this latest delay shouldn't surprise me. But surprise me it did.

How does it take six months to fix?

Probably more like almost ten months when you account for the usual optimism bias.

Here's what's stated on the StEx contactless page:

Extension of pay as you go contactless ticketing to Stansted Airport station postponed until summer 2026​

The planned extension of pay as you go contactless ticketing to Stansted Airport, announced last month, has been postponed and is now expected to take place in summer 2026.

During detailed testing, issues were identified that could have affected journeys and the price paid on certain services and prevented the technology from working as intended. For the extension of pay as you go contactless ticketing to operate correctly, fares must be fully integrated into TfL’s fare system. Additional work is required to ensure this integration is seamless and delivers a reliable experience for customers.

From summer 2026, passengers will be able to enjoy a quicker, easier and more flexible way to travel, as pay as you go contactless ticketing becomes available for all Stansted Express journeys.

A revised date for the extension of contactless ticketing to the additional stations will be confirmed in due course.

Stansted Express apologises for any inconvenience this delay may cause and thanks customers for their patience while the necessary work is completed to ensure the contactless system operates as expected from launch.

 

[jon81uk]

So they have increased the fares to Stansted but haven't introduced the convenience/flexibility that was supposed to come with that.

I don't think that many fares have increased, for those getting single tickets it is cheaper and I think it is only about a £1 more for the two new single fares compared to a period return.

 

[Watershed]

I don't think that many fares have increased, for those getting single tickets it is cheaper and I think it is only about a £1 more for the two new single fares compared to a period return.

Those making a one-way journey will make a saving of between £1-£4. Those making period return journeys will pay between £4-£8 more.

But how many people only make a one-way journey? Only a minority, I would suggest. Most will fly back to/from the same airport.

So not only are there more losers, but the losers will be paying a lot more than the winners will be saving.

It's quite clear that GA have cynically taken advantage of this opportunity to sneak through some hefty price increases. This is a pure revenue-raising move.

 

[saismee]

Honestly, this latest delay shouldn't surprise me. But surprise me it did.

This also affects the GEML extension to Witham. It's certainly disappointing to say the least. Summer 2026 isn't exactly close.

Sounds like a problem on TfL's side, but that's a guess as I'm far from involved. It was only announced to GA staff about 2 hours before the public announcement.

 

[jon81uk]

Those making a one-way journey will make a saving of between £1-£4. Those making period return journeys will pay between £4-£8 more.

But how many people only make a one-way journey? Only a minority, I would suggest. Most will fly back to/from the same airport.

So not only are there more losers, but the losers will be paying a lot more than the winners will be saving.

It's quite clear that GA have cynically taken advantage of this opportunity to sneak through some hefty price increases. This is a pure revenue-raising move.

Tottenham Hale to Stanstead goes from £37.10 for a return to £38 for two off-peak singles, an increase of less than a £1 but for a much simpler system of just being able to get single tickets instead of worrying about buying a return and keeping the second part of the ticket for the return. A fare structure based on single tickets adds a lot more simplicity.

 

[jon0844]

Not really. Elizabeth line services run to Reading but Oyster is only valid as far as West Drayton.

Good point, but that surely needs to be fixed also - and it would seem poor to create more lines that have Oyster end part way through the route.

 

[markle]

It would be interesting to see what the issue is. Transport UK have, of course, been burnt once already by the caps on the WCML being set up such that it caused very heavily discounted fares particularly in the peaks - this went on for several months, no doubt losing the railway hundreds of thousands or more, and is discussed a fair way upthread. Though Greater Anglia of course is no longer with Transport UK.

Is there anything particularly unique about the rollout for Greater Anglia?

I'm struggling to see why it is uniquely an issue for them, as opposed to something also affecting the other operators who have stations going live this month.

 

[Watershed]

Tottenham Hale to Stanstead goes from £37.10 for a return to £38 for two off-peak singles, an increase of less than a £1 but for a much simpler system of just being able to get single tickets instead of worrying about buying a return and keeping the second part of the ticket for the return. A fare structure based on single tickets adds a lot more simplicity.

How many people are travelling at the newly defined 'peak' times in both directions - bearing in mind the introduction of an evening peak that never existed before?

The fare increases from Tottenham Hale are slightly less ("only" 90p to £6.90) than those from Liverpool Street, which is where my £4-£8 figure came from.

Most people manage just fine without 'worrying' about returns.

 

[Mojo]

And much though people complain about the complexity of rail fares, I suspect what they really want is cheaper fares. Note how there was almost universal public support for freezing rail fares - it was the second-most popular decision in the Budget in a YouGov poll.

Complexity wouldn't matter nearly as much if an Anytime "Any Permitted" fare (to 'cover all bases') were affordably priced.

Talking of complexity - a route on which I regularly travel sees the CDR remain as is with the same restrictions and price, and a new DDR introduced with restrictions between 1600 and 1900. I know there have been other examples of the same public-facing ticket name (in this case Off-peak Day Return) but how exactly is the average person supposed to know that one ticket that's printed Off-Peak Day Return *is* valid, and another isn't?

 

[JaJaWa]

So they have increased the fares to Stansted but haven't introduced the convenience/flexibility that was supposed to come with that.

On top of that, they have done a reverse ferret on the validity of contactless. Will they continue issuing unfair Penalty Fares to those who - quite understandably - try and use contactless to Stansted?

My friend who inadvertently used contactless to Stansted showed the "Google AI Overview" which said contactless is valid to Stansted and wasn't penalty fared as it's a "known issue"

 

[Edvid]

Good point, but that surely needs to be fixed also - and it would seem poor to create more lines that have Oyster end part way through the route.

It's been 6 years since the Oyster PAYG zone was effectively frozen, and it will almost certainly stay frozen until Prestige (the incumbent Oyster system) is decommissioned. Which could be a decade from now.

Sounds like a problem on TfL's side, but that's a guess as I'm far from involved.

The next P&I Committee papers (due for publication within 24 hours as of this post) may include an update on Oval progress from their end.

 

[MikeWh]

How does it take six months to fix?

At a guess it's deemed unwise to combine a rollout with the main fares revision, which although is mostly frozen there will almost certainly be increases to off-peak fares in places.

 

[MrJeeves]

The next P&I Committee papers (due for publication within 24 hours as of this post) may include an update on Oval progress from their end.

That link says Thursday 11 December. Am I missing something?

 

[jon0844]

It's been 6 years since the Oyster PAYG zone was effectively frozen, and it will almost certainly stay frozen until Prestige (the incumbent Oyster system) is decommissioned. Which could be a decade from now.

Out of interest, with TfL taking an interest in more control of outer london rail services (including beyond London if they took over the GN inners), was there ever a consideration to extend beyond zone 6 to places like Welwyn Garden City - using zones 7-9? Then Oyster could have gone further out?

I assume there would have been potential issues with an assumption of Oyster working on buses in the area, although I'm sure they could have made it clear that Oyster would only work on London buses, of which there are none in those places.

 

[Edvid]

That link says Thursday 11 December. Am I missing something?

Agenda documents for local authority meetings are published at least 7 days in advance.

 

[MikeWh]

Out of interest, with TfL taking an interest in more control of outer london rail services (including beyond London if they took over the GN inners), was there ever a consideration to extend beyond zone 6 to places like Welwyn Garden City - using zones 7-9? Then Oyster could have gone further out?

I assume there would have been potential issues with an assumption of Oyster working on buses in the area, although I'm sure they could have made it clear that Oyster would only work on London buses, of which there are none in those places.

The main issue is with the daily caps. There is only one set (adult/zip/railcard etc) of caps per zone.

 

[jon81uk]

How many people are travelling at the newly defined 'peak' times in both directions - bearing in mind the introduction of an evening peak that never existed before?

The fare increases from Tottenham Hale are slightly less ("only" 90p to £6.90) than those from Liverpool Street, which is where my £4-£8 figure came from.

Most people manage just fine without 'worrying' about returns.

Additionally there isn't always a return fare available for all routes either. I've headed into London from home in the past at 8am to connect onto Eurostar, coming back a few days later and there was no anytime return available so I had to get two singles at £13.50 each, now I can get a peak single at £11.20 and an off-peak one at £8.10. Again just much simpler than a return ticket. Also as the off-peak return is more than a day return the two singles on the new pricing will be cheaper for me.
Yes not everyone will do as well, but for some journeys the change to single leg pricing is an improvement, the only loss is the super off-peak day ticket.

 

[Watershed]

Additionally there isn't always a return fare available for all routes either. I've headed into London from home in the past at 8am to connect onto Eurostar, coming back a few days later and there was no anytime return available so I had to get two singles at £13.50 each, now I can get a peak single at £11.20 and an off-peak one at £8.10. Again just much simpler than a return ticket. Also as the off-peak return is more than a day return the two singles on the new pricing will be cheaper for me.
Yes not everyone will do as well, but for some journeys the change to single leg pricing is an improvement, the only loss is the super off-peak day ticket.

These are two completely different things: the pricing to Stansted, and the pricing to intermediate stations. Stansted prices has been increased unreasonably, there are no two ways about that. Barely anyone benefits, almost everyone loses out.

For intermediate stations they have done the same as has happened on other Oval expansions - single leg pricing based broadly on half the previous fares. That has its winners and losers but at least there is a logic to it.

 

[weeklycommuter]

Oh dear. Stansted was used in all the initial publicity about the Contactless extension, so is going to be somewhat awkward.

The extension of contactless to Stansted Airport is indeed the highlight of the Government Press Release on 17 November.

The extension to other Greater Anglia stations is also highlighted with the emphasis on Greater Anglia now being a publicly owned train company hinting this to be a benefit of the new public ownership. The newly opened Greater Anglia station of Beaulieu Park is mentioned as well as Chelmsford.

I guess the Government did not expect this delay and is not pleased by this delay to the extension of contactless to 20 Greater Anglia stations and to Stansted Airport above all.

Simpler train travel to London airports as tap-in, tap-out expanded across south-east England

Buying tickets will be more convenient, more accessible and more flexible, ensuring passengers can get the best fares.

www.gov.uk

• easier travel for holiday makers with tap-in tap-out technology installed at Stansted and Southend Airport stations before Christmas

Passengers travelling to every London airport will soon benefit from simpler train journeys, with the expansion of contactless ticketing to London’s Stansted and Southend Airports.
From 14 December, customers can tap-in and tap-out at all London airports for the first time, ensuring seamless connections from train to plane across our capital - just in time for Christmas travel.
The 6.7 million people travelling to and from Stansted Airport annually will no longer need to worry about booking tickets in advance and will experience more convenient and easier journeys.

Other stations modernising ticketing include those used by publicly owned train company Greater Anglia, like Beaulieu Park and Chelmsford.

 

[Horizon22]

The extension of contactless to Stansted Airport is indeed the highlight of the Government Press Release on 17 November.

The extension to other Greater Anglia stations is also highlighted with the emphasis on Greater Anglia now being a publicly owned train company hinting this to be a benefit of the new public ownership. The newly opened Greater Anglia station of Beaulieu Park is mentioned as well as Chelmsford.

I guess the Government did not expect this delay and is not pleased by this delay to the extension of contactless to 20 Greater Anglia stations and to Stansted Airport above all.

As is Southend Airport which also won't be available!

Considering it's only 11 days out, I imagine a lot of effort has been going into trying to resolve whatever the issue is over the last month(s) and they had a cut-off given for "Go / No-Go". So no doubt it was not expected and they were not pleased, but some sort of contingency was worked out, even if deeply unsatisfactory and a bad PR loss.

 

[Edvid]

From agenda item 5 - TfL's Investment Programme report (2025/26 Q2), released earlier this evening:

8.7.8 Payments: Following the successful launch of contactless at 49 NR stations in February 2025, we are now preparing for the go live of an additional 50 NR stations in December 2025. Enabling works are complete across all sites, test pay as you go fares have been assured and updated fares are set to go live as part of the December Fare Revision. Enabling works have begun at a further 51 stations which are scheduled to go live in summer 2026, continuing our strategic rollout of contactless pay as you go across the NR network.

Note the next sub-phase of 51 stations planned for summer 2026 (ha!), which may or may not be indirectly affected by today's RDG update. Going by that extract TfL may have been caught by surprise too.

 

[weeklycommuter]

From agenda item 5 - TfL's Investment Programme report (2025/26 Q2), released earlier this evening:


Note the next sub-phase of 51 stations planned for summer 2026 (ha!), which may or may not be indirectly affected by today's RDG update. Going by that extract TfL may have been caught by surprise too.

It would be interesting to see the list of 51 stations. I guess this includes some SWR stations but definitely not any of the ten Marston Vale Line stations between Bedford and Bletchley as they will be replaced by five new stations in the East West Rail project.

 

[JonathanH]

It would be interesting to see the list of 51 stations. I guess this includes some SWR stations but definitely not any of the ten Marston Vale Line stations between Bedford and Bletchley as they will be replaced by five new stations in the East West Rail project.

Can it be reduced from the stations which have Ovalised fares to Stansted Airport from 7 December, but aren't part of Phase 2?

For example, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Guildford among others?

 

[MikeWh]

Can it be reduced from the stations which have Ovalised fares to Stansted Airport from 7 December, but aren't part of Phase 2?

For example, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Guildford among others?

SWR have already said that Surbiton to Guildford both ways, Bookham and Virginia Water to Weybridge and Reading are coming.
Planning documents also suggest that Sevenoaks to Tunbridge Wells and Otford to Maidstone East are likely.
Redhill to Tonbridge and Edenbridge Town would seem likely given the above.
That would be 45, not sure what else is being consdered.

 

[hwl]

SWR have already said that Surbiton to Guildford both ways, Bookham and Virginia Water to Weybridge and Reading are coming.
Planning documents also suggest that Sevenoaks to Tunbridge Wells and Otford to Maidstone East are likely.
Redhill to Tonbridge and Edenbridge Town would seem likely given the above.
That would be 45, not sure what else is being consdered.

GA still had a few stations to add later like Cambridge and near by stations (and Cambridge South)

 

[londonbridge]

SWR have already said that Surbiton to Guildford both ways, Bookham and Virginia Water to Weybridge and Reading are coming.
Planning documents also suggest that Sevenoaks to Tunbridge Wells and Otford to Maidstone East are likely.
Redhill to Tonbridge and Edenbridge Town would seem likely given the above.
That would be 45, not sure what else is being consdered.

Which brings me back to my long standing question regarding an expansion of pink readers to indicate a choice of route. If I travel Croydon to Tonbridge the system needs to know whether I’ve gone via London Bridge or via Redhill in order to charge an appropriate fare.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Which brings me back to my long standing question regarding an expansion of pink readers to indicate a choice of route. If I travel Croydon to Tonbridge the system needs to know whether I’ve gone via London Bridge or via Redhill in order to charge an appropriate fare.

No additional pink (routeing) validators have been installed for either Phase 1 or Phase 2 of Project Oval.

So it's essentially reliant on a touch (or lack of touch) at a Zone 1 station to determine whether you've gone via London or not.

Looking at East Croydon - Sevenoaks to get an idea of what's likely to happen for Tonbridge, the default route appears to assume travel via London.