A new Pay As You Go digital ticketing trial has been introduced on East Midlands Railway, covering journeys between Leicester, Derby and Nottingham. Passengers taking part will benefit from paying the best fare available for their trip by checking in and out through an app that records their travel.
The initiative is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to making ticketing more straightforward and adaptable for passengers, ensuring greater convenience across the East Midlands rail network.
The rail users travelling between Leicester, Derby and Nottingham will be able to join the trial. Additional testing will also be launched with Northern Trains in Yorkshire towards the end of September.
Under this digital train ticketing trial, passengers can check in and check out with ease, using an app that relies on location technology. Their journeys are tracked using GPS. The system automatically calculates and charges the passengers the most cost-effective fare at the end of each day. For ticket inspections and access through station barriers, a unique barcode is generated within the app.
The new system removes the need for paper tickets or the more common mobile tickets purchased online in advance. Instead, the app determines which trains were taken and identifies when the passenger has exited the rail network, making travel smoother and more flexible.
As many as 4,000 participants can join the trials by registering through the operator’s website. The project ensures travelers receive the best-value fare for the day, while also experiencing simpler and more flexible train travel. Similar systems have already been successfully trialed in Switzerland, Denmark and Scotland, but this marks the first time the technology has been introduced across England’s rail services.
This effort underscores the Government’s focus on improving passenger experience through innovation. By cutting both costs and time spent planning journeys, the digital train ticketing trial supports the wider Plan for Change, encouraging more people to choose rail travel.
Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy said: “The railway ticketing system is far too complicated and long overdue an upgrade to bring it into the 21st century. Through these trials we’re doing just that, and making buying tickets more convenient, more accessible, and more flexible. By putting passenger experience at the heart of our decision making we’re modernising fares and ticketing and making it simpler and easier for people to choose rail.”
Oli Cox, Head of Commercial Strategy and Business Planning at East Midlands Railway, said: “We’re delighted to announce the launch of our Digital Pay As You Go trial. We’ve had a fantastic response from customers keen to take part – with more than 500 people registering their interest so far.”
From late September, further digital ticketing trials will extend to Northern services, covering routes to Harrogate, Leeds, Sheffield, Doncaster and Barnsley. Northern has already seen strong adoption of mobile ticketing, with usage figures showing a consistent increase and a marked reduction in traditional orange ‘magstripe’ tickets over the past year.
