Thousands of rail passengers using the Stansted Express service will see an end to controversial £100 fines as contactless payment technology arrives at the airport station next month.
The End of Penalty Charges
From December 14th, Stansted Airport station will begin accepting contactless payments following an announcement from the Department for Transport. This significant change will also extend to 49 other stations across South East England, addressing what campaigners have called an "unfair" ticketing system.
The previous rules created a trap for unwary travellers. Passengers could tap their contactless cards to open ticket barriers at Liverpool Street and Tottenham Hale stations and board trains to the airport, but were prohibited from tapping out at their destination.
Greater Anglia, which operates the Stansted Express service and was nationalised last month, regularly deployed teams of ticket inspectors at the airport station to catch passengers attempting to use contactless payment methods.
Thousands Affected by Previous System
Transport watchdog London TravelWatch estimated back in 2019 that approximately 16,000 Stansted Express passengers were being fined each year for trying to pay with contactless or Oyster cards.
A spokesperson for London TravelWatch welcomed the decision to end what they described as the "unfair" ban on contactless payments for travel to and from London.
She told PA news agency: "Passengers still need to be savvy to avoid paying over the odds, and the rail industry has got to be super-clear in communicating the changes."
The spokesperson also highlighted an important distinction for travellers: "Oyster cards won't count as contactless cards and will still not be valid at Stansted Airport Station."
Expanding Contactless Travel Across the South East
The changes mean passengers will be able to use contactless technology for train travel from London to all airports serving the capital, with Southend Airport's station also accepting contactless payments from December 14th.
However, despite this expansion, contactless cards will still not be permitted for journeys between Cambridge and Stansted Airport.
Rail minister Lord Hendy stated: "Rail ticketing is far too complicated and long overdue an upgrade to bring it into the 21st century."
He added: "Through the expansion of tap-in tap-out technology, and shortly through GBR (Great British Railways), we're doing just that and making buying tickets more convenient, more accessible and more flexible - and ensuring passengers can get the best fares."
This major expansion of contactless ticketing in the South East has received £18.7 million of Government funding, with additional support from Transport for London.
Among the other stations set to benefit from the new system are Aylesbury, Chelmsford, Dorking (Main), Luton, Southend Victoria and Stevenage.
