Your chance to try simpler train tickets in Yorkshire and the East Midlands this September

From today (Friday 6 June) thousands of passengers across the North and East Midlands will have a chance to volunteer to take part in a new digital ticketing trial.

Backed by government funding, the trials will use GPS based technology to track train journeys, ensuring passengers pay the best fare for the journey they take.

Digital ticketing builds on the government’s plans to overhaul the railways to make them simpler, more flexible and passenger focused. Ahead of the creation of Great British Railways, the government continues to work to deliver positive changes like this for passengers - attracting more people back onto our trains, boosting the economy and delivering on the government’s Plan for Change.

The trials being operated by East Midlands Railway (EMR) and Northern Rail will run along these routes:

• Leicester – Derby – Nottingham
• Harrogate – Leeds
• Sheffield – Doncaster
• Sheffield – Barnsley

Rail Minister, Lord Peter Hendy, said: “Contactless ticketing is making journeys easier to navigate for millions of passengers, and now our digital trials are actively recruiting volunteers to help expand this technology across Yorkshire and the East Midlands.

“Simplifying ticketing is a major part of our plans to overhaul the railways. I encourage anyone who regularly gets the train along these routes to get involved, and help us build a ticketing system that delivers a better experience for passengers and communities across the country."

Unlike the previous roll out of pay as you go, which uses contactless payment at barriers, these trials will use GPS based technology to track people’s location throughout their train journey.

Up to 1,000 passengers will be able to take part on each route of the trials, meaning 4,000 passengers in total. The first trial to get underway will be on EMR between Leicester, Derby and Nottingham kicking off at the beginning of September. The other routes, operated by Northern will begin between September and November with each running for nine months from the start date.

Anyone interested in taking part should check EMR and Northern’s website where a recruitment campaign has been launched.

Jenna Cowie Interim Commercial Director at East Midlands Railway said: “We're excited to be part of a project that aims to improve the way people travel and it is a great opportunity for our customers in Derby, Nottingham and Leicester to be among the very first in the country to experience a new, smarter way to buy train tickets.

“This trial is all about making train travel easier, faster and more intuitive. No more fare confusion – just check in and out with your phone and travel knowing you’ll automatically pay the best-value fare for your journey.”

Alex Hornby, Commercial and Customer Director, Northern said: "These trials mark an important step forward in simplifying rail travel and making the experience as frictionless as possible for our customers. By trialling Pay As You Go technology on some of our routes, we’re helping to shape a future where hopping on a train is as easy as checking in and out.

“We will now be reaching out to regular customers on those routes to see if they would be willing to participate in these trials later this year. We’re excited to see how they respond and look forward to playing our part in modernising how people travel by rail in the north."

These trials are expected to build on the success of the roll out of contactless ticketing at 53 stations across the South East. Since introduced, more than two million entries and exits have been made using contactless cards or mobile devices, averaging around 140,000 a week – showing how popular the system is with customers using those stations already.

The Department is also working closely with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands to develop their proposals for rolling out contactless ticketing even further.