Transport for Wales launches pay as you go travel at stations across north east Wales

Transport for Wales has today (18 May) launched its contactless pay as you go rail travel in north east Wales and borders.

Passengers travelling on TfW rail services can now tap in and tap out using a contactless card or smart device at 15 stations in north east Wales and borders with platform validators or contactless-enabled gate lines.

The service automatically calculates the best value fare for each journey by applying daily and weekly fare caps, removing the need to purchase a ticket in advance.

The 15 stations launching with the service include:

• Bidston
• Buckley
• Caergwrle
• Cefn‑y‑Bedd
• Gwersyllt
• Hawarden
• Hawarden Bridge
• Heswall
• Hope
• Neston
• Penyffordd
• Shotton (High Level)
• Upton
• Wrexham Central
• Wrexham General

The launch marks the first phase of TfW’s contactless tap in, tap out travel scheme for north east Wales and borders, with more stations to be added in a phased rollout later this year.

It builds on the success of the pay as you go scheme already live across the south east Wales region, where customers have made more than 4.5 million journeys using contactless tap in, tap out to date.

Alexia Course, Chief Commercial Officer at Transport for Wales, said: “The launch of contactless pay as you go in North East Wales and borders is an important milestone in our work to make rail travel simpler, more flexible and better value for our customers.

“We know that ease and convenience play a vital role in how people choose to travel, particularly for everyday journeys.

“By expanding contactless tap in, tap out travel beyond south east Wales, we are helping more communities travel with confidence and supporting our wider ambition for a better connected and more accessible Wales.”

To ensure the correct fare is applied, customers must remember to tap in and tap out using the same card or smart device for every journey.

As the TfW pay as you go schemes are designed for frequent and localised travel, customers will be unable to travel between the north east Wales and south east Wales schemes using pay as you go.

For customers wishing to travel between the schemes, TfW has other ticket options available. For more information, visit the TfW site here.