Oyster cards on track for mainline rail launch

Transport for London (TfL) will spend up to £20m introducing smart card technology at mainline rail stations to accommodate the use of pay-as-you-go Oyster cards.

Cards are currently accepted on Tubes, buses and Docklands Light Railways, but just 60 of the 310 mainline stations in London's travel zones accept pay-as-you-go.

TfL has agreed to pay for Oyster validation equipment at all stations, with work to introduce the technology beginning this year for completion in 2008.

This will include all smart card readers, station equipment and back office support. Train operators will provide power and communications.

TfL says it is willing to bear the cost to ensure passengers can travel using streamlined integrated ticketing on all services. But it also anticipates significant cost savings that will be put back into the rail network.

Since the introduction of Oyster, single paper ticket sales have reduced by more than 100,000 a day, with potential estimated savings of £100m on buses and £25m on the underground.

TfL also expects to save £2m savings in fraud annually from counterfeit protection and the ability to hotlist lost or stolen cards.

‘The extension of Oyster from just 60 rail stations to over 300 marks a massive step towards a fully integrated ticketing system in London,' said London Mayor Ken Livingstone.

'It will deliver a real improvement to the journeys of thousands of Londoners who currently cannot take advantage of the benefits of Oyster.’

TfL commissioner Peter Hendy added: ‘This plan resolves the problem passengers currently face of having to buy two separate tickets to travel on overground rail and TfL services.’

TfL will work with the Department for Transport (DfT) to ensure that all Oyster equipment is capable of accepting other smartcards.

These are currently under development for use on public transport across England by the Integrated Ticketing Smartcard Organisation. This is a further step towards the wider introduction of smart ticketing technology outside London.

Some 11 million Oyster journeys are made on the DLR and Tube every week and 16 million on buses, according to TfL.