Digital train tickets to be rolled out across England and Wales by the end of 2018

A sum of £80 million is to be invested into a programme to introduce smart ticketing across the rail network in England and Wales by the end of 2018.

The investment will ensure that every passenger has a choice of travelling without a paper ticket.

Mobile barcode ticketing will be rolled out on every rail franchise in Britain and passengers will be able to have smart cards hosted on their mobile phone - like a digital travel card - with a pilot of this technology expected in the next four months.

The Department for Transport is also working on plans with the Rail Delivery Group to bring forward the next generation of ticketing systems to give passengers more tailored options to pay for their travel, saving them money and offering better value deals.

In addition, pay-as-you-go travel is being rolled out across the rail network, including the introduction of KeyGo - a contactless travel card - by Govia Thameslink Railway. It will allow passengers to use their card to tap in and out across nearly the whole Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern networks.

Other train operators will soon be following suit, with tests happening shortly on South Western Railway, c2c and Greater Anglia.

Transport secretary, Chris Grayling, said: “Passengers across the country want smart ticketing and this government will deliver it.

“This significant investment will ensure that passengers across the network can use mobile phones, bar codes, and smart cards across almost all of the network by the end of next year.”