The UK government will invest £360 million to “radically
reform and improve passengers’ experience of fares, ticketing and retailing on
the railways”.
According to the Department for Transport (DfT), some of the
money will be used to roll out contactless tap-in and tap-out ticketing at more
than 700 stations across the country outside London and the South East, where
pay-as-you-go technology is widely used. This includes more than 400 rail stations
in the North.
Over the next three years, contactless pay-as-you-go
technology will be installed across the commuter networks of the Midlands and
the North. The government will also introduce London-style price caps and
greater integration with local bus and tram networks. This is something that
was included in Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham’s pitch to the government
to win part of its Levelling Up Fund announced in the autumn budget.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps commented: “Passengers across
the North and Midlands have waited for too long to see the same fast, easy and
convenient ticketing as those in London. We’re determined to put that right.”
The DfT said the investment is the first stage of the
government’s commitment to update the nation’s rail ticketing system, which has
often been criticised for being outdated, confusing and overpriced. It is
partially a result of the Shapps-Williams Plan for Rail, which is based on a
review of the UK’s railways undertaken by former British Airways boss Keith
Williams.
In a statement, the DfT said the announcement comes ahead of
soon-to-be-released details of the Integrated Rail Plan, which will set out how
the government intends to transform railways across the North and Midlands to
deliver benefits sooner than under current plans. There are rumours that this
will include the scrapping of the northern leg of the controversial High Speed 2
(HS2) project.