Electronic Ticket Use Widens On Southern And Thameslink Trains

As awareness increases of the dangers of failing to keep to Covid-19 social distancing requirements, twelve extra railway stations in Sussex have installed barcode readers at ticket gates, for scanning advance tickets, or those kept on mobile phones.

According to train provider Govia Thameslink, which operates Southern, the stations between Chichester and Eastbourne allow scanning e-tickets bought via the Southern OnTrack app, or online at southernrailway.com, and displayed on their smartphones or printed out at home.

The company said barcoded e-ticket sales have increased in the UK from 25% of UK rail ticket revenues pre-Covid to 33% now as passengers realise the benefits of non-contact travel.

E-tickets can help passengers travel with confidence and can include several ticket types including advance singles, peak and off-peak singles, and peak and off-peak day return tickets.

Season ticket holders looking for similar Covid-safe benefits are urged to use the free Key smartcard which, by December, will also be available over the ticket office counters and not just by ordering it online, a process taking up to five days.

Southern Managing Director Angie Doll said:

"Customers can already travel safe in the knowledge that our trains and stations are kept clean with a long-lasting viruscide on all touch points.

"Now e-tickets and our Key smartcard make it even quicker and easier to book a ticket online, speeding up the journey through the station, minimising contact and helping everyone to socially distance." 

Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris added:

"Making public transport more modern and accessible is a top priority in all the work that we do.

"The roll-out of smartphone ticketing across the Southern network makes it quicker and faster for passengers to pass through stations, simplifying their journeys and delivering a more seamless experience."

The Southern OnTrack app or Southern website will offer passengers an e-ticket if they are available on the route they want to travel. 

E-tickets are available for advance singles, peak and off-peak single tickets and peak and off-peak day returns, between any stations with a barcode reader on the ticket gates.

Over the coming months, the railway company said e-tickets will also become available for journeys between stations with a barcode reader on the ticket gates and stations with no gates, substantially increasing the journeys available.

Passengers could already use e-tickets if travelling to or from 15 major destinations on the Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern network, including Brighton, Gatwick Airport, East Croydon, London Bridge, London Victoria, London Blackfriars, City Thameslink, St Pancras International and Luton Airport Parkway.

The 12 stations along the Southern coast which have been fitted with the new technology are: Chichester, Bognor Regis, Barnham, Littlehampton, Angmering, Worthing, Lancing, Shoreham-by-Sea, Portslade, Eastbourne, Lewes and Falmer.

A further 29 stations will have barcode readers fitted by spring next year:

In December: Hassocks, Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath, Three Bridges, Horsham, Crawley, Dorking, Leatherhead, Ashtead, East Grinstead, Oxted, Reigate, Huntingdon, St Neots, Sandy, Royston, Letchworth, Hitchin, Leagrave;

in 2021: Horley, Redhill, Merstham, Hertford North, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Potters Bar, Harpenden, Radlett,Hove.