‘Tap and go’ to be installed at West Midlands stations
Passengers across the West Midlands region will be able to board trains without the need to buy a ticket, under plans to modernise payment systems at 75 stations by 2027.
Announced as part of the government’s “Better Connected” transport strategy launch earlier today, the Department for Transport confirmed that so-called contactless ticketing, where passengers tap a bank card at a payment point at the start and end point of their journey, would be expanded in three regions across the UK.
Those improvements include installing “tap and go” systems at 75 stations in the West Midlands, 17 in Greater Manchester, and a further 52 in the South East of England. The Department for Transport declined to confirm which stations would be included in the roll out.
The move is part of a wider government initiative to simplify ticketing systems across buses, trains and trams in city regions.
As part of the announcement, the government also said it was continuing to work with the West Midlands Combined Authority on a standardised contactless ticketing system would be rolled out across England.
The combined authority is working alongside private-sector bus operators and Midlands Connect to develop a system known as “Project Coral”, which would allow passengers to pay with bank cards across participating bus, train and tram operators, with fares automatically capped at a set weekly or monthly limit.
The scheme received £18m of funding from the government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement in 2022, with the system expected to be ready by 2030.
“Coral is designed to be the national contactless solution for integrated ticketing, and we expect franchising authorities to plan for integration,” said a government spokesperson.
“Contactless payment is our preferred option for delivering integrated ticketing in city regions, and we are committed to supporting and working with them to implement this.
“At a national level, this means we will be developing the technology and back end solutions to enable integrated contactless ticketing, so regions do not have to build from scratch; and ensuring local leaders have the funding flexibility and powers to deliver in the way that best suits their communities.”
