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Pay-as-you-go train travel could expand nationwide

Smart ticketing used in London could be rolled out across the UK

Thursday 07 February 2019 16:40 GMT

The Oyster card system, replacing cash payment, is to be duplicated across the UK (Getty)

The UK comes a step closer to offering pay-as-you-go rail travel nationwide as the Department for Transport (DfT) today launches a consultation into expanding the ticketing model.

PAYG travel, also known as smart ticketing, is currently used in London and was introduced across Yorkshire in a partnership with Northern Rail and the TransPennine Express in November 2018.

It involves using a contactless bank card or a smartcard, such as TfL’s Oyster, to pay for journeys on public transport with no need for tickets.

The paperless system is thought to simplify travel by eradicating the need for passengers to queue up for tickets and eliminating the confusion that comes with figuring out which ticket type is needed.

The DfT has said it plans to roll out the scheme across the country by 2020, although this is dependent on the response to the 12-week consultation – which will gather views from passengers and other rail stakeholders on the potential to make PAYG accepted more widely – being favourable.

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

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1/22Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

Before the journey begins, at Schefferville station

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

The train stops to pick people up from a hunting trip

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

A view from the first half of the journey from Schefferville to Sept-Îles

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

A view from the first half of the journey from Schefferville to Sept-Îles

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

Some passengers head for the dining car, while others snuggle up under blankets with iPads and laptops, or play cards

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

The train line’s primary purpose was to transport ore from Schefferville to Sept-Îles, from where it could be shipped out of the Gulf of St Lawrence to the steel mills of post-war America

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

Tshiuetin’s jobs, though, are appreciated for their stability and benefits, especially in Schefferville, where permanent employment can be hard to come by

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

The return train ride to Sept-Îles, 15 days after the outward journey, leaves an hour-and-a-half late – some passengers gripe about waiting to board, eager to go back to sleep after an early start

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

Without the train everything from building materials to cars would have to be flown to Schefferville – there are no roads connecting the town to the outside world

Photos Rachel Savage

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

In 2005, Tshiuetin became the first native-owned train company in Canada, narrowly pipping the Keewatin Railway Company. Fewer than half the staff were indigenous; there simply were not enough who were qualified. Now, around three-quarters of the 60 permanent staff are native, thanks to a rigorous training programme, and another 25 or so are hired to do track work in the summer when the weather warms up

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

An iron ore camp stop halfway to Sept-Îles

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

An iron ore camp stop halfway to Sept-Îles

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

Pine-covered mountains plunge steeply into the valley

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

Early in the journey, the train follows the winding Moisie river. Much of the dark blue water is still covered in ice and snow, even in May

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

‘It’s a new challenge,’ says Simon Pierre Aster, an Innu from Sept-Îles, who took a job as a train conductor in 2011

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

The land flattens out and the train follows slim lakes that streak northwest across the Labrador plateau like oil on water

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

A one-way ticket for First Nations is C$63, a tenth of the cost of a flight to Sept-Îles, and C$87 for non-natives. That makes the long ride worth it

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

The train is indispensable for passengers, who make around 15,000 journeys on it every year

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

Children rush down the aisles until worn out enough to sleep in the dens of colourful sheets and blankets the adults build around the seats

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

It is ‘goose week’, when Innu and Naskapi travel to their cabins outside Schefferville or along the train line to hunt Canada geese as they migrate northwards

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

Naomi Sandy, who works for Kawawachikamach’s public works department, is taking her great-niece to visit a relative in Sept-Îles. She then plans to head further south. ‘Everybody’s gone so I don’t want to stay there by myself, in the community’

Canada’s first native-owned train is the pride of its community

Louise Uniam and her grandson Alex

Rail minister Andrew Jones said: “We want to make rail journeys simpler and easier for passengers. Smart ticketing is the modern answer – offering simpler fares, fairer deals and less confusion for passengers.

“This consultation is about finding out what works for people, and we want to know how pay-as-you-go could make life easier for passengers who make hundreds of millions of journeys each year.”

The DfT has already invested £80m in smart ticketing nationally.

“There is great potential in expanding PAYG, but we need to make sure we get it right and ensure that everyone’s voice is heard as we develop our reform plans,” Jones added.

Consumer watchdog Which? has welcomed the move.

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Alex Hayman, managing director of public markets, said: “The proposed pay-as-you-go system could go a long way to making train journeys simpler and improving passengers’ experience – the industry, government and regulators must ensure the full benefits of smart ticketing are realised as soon as possible.

“It is vital that automatic compensation is included in this rollout so that passengers no longer have to jump through hoops to get the money that they are owed.”

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