12.12.12
Contactless ticket payment trialled at Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways has become the first train operating company in the UK to launch contactless payment for train tickets.
The technology is being trialled between Great Missenden and London Marylebone and has been developed by Parkeon Transit and Barclaycard.
Passengers will be able to ‘wave and pay’ for the most popular tickets: Adult Anytime Day Singles, Adult Anytime Day Returns, Adult Day Returns with Railcard and Adult Day Singles with Railcard.
Tickets will be available on platform via a Parkeon TVM and can accommodate transactions of up to £20. The process of contactless payment takes an average of 12.5 seconds per transaction, compared to 34 seconds for cash and 27 seconds for traditional card payments.
Thomas Ableman, commercial director at Chiltern Railways, said: “The contactless revolution has arrived for rail ticketing and once again we are embracing another technological development.”
Paul Moirano, Parkeon’s head of UK Rail said: “Parkeon is delighted to have been chosen by Chiltern to participate in this partnership for what is both an industry first and a great example of how innovative ticketing technology can deliver both better service and greater operational efficiency. The route and the fare amount make this a perfect application for wave and pay. No-one likes queuing for tickets and this new technology means that Chiltern passengers can access valid tickets easily and securely and move through the station concourse quickly.”
Paulette Rowe, managing director of Barclaycard Global Payment Acceptance said: “Contactless is a great way to buy train tickets – and I'm delighted that the partnership between Barclaycard, Parkeon and Chiltern Railways is enabling Chiltern to become the first train company to offer contactless payments to their passengers.”
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