As previously outlined in TRU145, the DfT have agreed £20m funding for the expansion of PAYG beyond Zone 6 to around 200 NR stations within the south-east of England.
This like other recent PAYG extensions will be for contactless payment only, as limitations within the Oyster system mean that we have reached the maximum number of zones that can be configured for calculating fares.
The first phase of Project Oval has recently been announced and will see PAYG expanded to 53 additional stations by the end of December.
Cubic installation work to equip the gates at the stations concerned with readers and to install PVals at ungated sites, has been underway for some time and as fares data has ben progressively loaded for these new stations as part of the fares revision process in readiness for the expansion.
The first phase of Project Oval will see contactless expanded to:
Chiltern | LNWR | C2C | South Western |
Beaconsfield | Apsley | Basildon | Ashford (Surrey) |
Denham | Berkhamsted | Benfleet | Datchet |
Denham Golf Club | Bletchley | Chalkwell | Egham |
Gerrards Cross | Bricket Wood | East Tilbury | Kempton Park |
High Wycombe | Cheddington | Laindon | Shepperton |
Seer Green & Jordans | Garston | Leigh on Sea | Staines |
Thameslink | Hemel Hempstead | Pitsea | Sunbury |
Bat & Ball | How Wood | Shoeburyness | Sunnymeads |
Dunton Green | Kings Langley | Southend Central | Upper Halliford |
Eynsford | Leighton Buzzard | Southend East | Virginia Water |
Otford | Park Street | Stanford Le Hope | Windsor & Eton Riverside |
Sevenoaks | St Albans Abbey | Thorpe Bay | Wraysbury |
Shoreham | Tring | Tilbury Town | |
| Watford North | West Horndon | |
| | Westcliff | |
It is likely that an additional fares Revision will be scheduled on 03 December to add additional sites and fares to facilitate Project Oval, and this is may also include some changes to Single ticket fares, to remove some charging anomalies, which will arise through the expansion of contactless payment.
In general, the PAYG fares to these new destinations are likely to match the standard Single fare, unlike within the London zones, where contactless is generally cheaper than the standard fare.
Further detail on the planned implementation dates for the various routes, along with fares and capping arrangements will be included in future editions of TRU nearer the launch.
As part of the DfT imitative to allow more NR customers to benefit from the use of contactless payments, in addition to the South East, the DfT and the Great British Railways Transition team are working towards PAYG pilots in both the West Midland and Greater Manchester.