Pay as you go with contactless

Pay as you go with contactless has been extended to 47 National Rail stations. The stations operated by London Northwestern Railway that have been included in the extension are:

• Apsley
• Berkhamsted
• Bletchley
• Bricket Wood
• Cheddington
• Garston
• Hemel Hempstead
• How Wood
• Kings Langley
• Leighton Buzzard
• Park Street
• St Albans Abbey
• Tring
• Watford North

No, pay as you go with contactless has been rolled out to 47 National Rail stations across the South East, but this does not mean they are becoming part of the London Fare Zones.

Oyster will not be accepted for travel to the pay as you go with contactless stations. You can continue to use your Oyster card on routes where it is valid. Oyster is not available on all pay as you go with contactless routes so please check before you travel.

You can view our London Northwestern Railway network map that outlines pay as you go with contactless and Oyster zones for travel with us.

Use the Transport for London single fare finder to find the cost of a pay as you go with contactless journey between any two stations on National Rail, Tube, DLR, London Overground and Elizabeth line services where pay as you go with contactless is accepted.

To keep the price of tickets and pay as you go with contactless as similar as possible, Super Off-Peak tickets are no longer available on journeys where contactless pay as you go is available. You will either be charged a peak or off-peak fare instead.

Off-peak fares have also been reduced to reflect the removal of Super Off-Peak tickets.

Oyster will not be accepted for travel to the pay as you go with contactless stations. You can continue to use your Oyster card on routes where it is valid. Oyster is not available on all pay as you go with contactless routes so please check before you travel.

You can view our London Northwestern Railway network map that outlines pay as you go with contactless and Oyster zones for travel with us.

You must always tap in and out with your contactless card or device, even if the gates are open, to ensure you pay the correct fare. If there are no gates, use a freestanding card reader next to entrances, exits or on platforms. If you do not tap out, this will show as an incomplete journey and you will be charged a maximum fare.

You can manually complete your journey by creating a Transport for London (TfL) account or logging in to your existing account. You can do this up to 3 times a month. If you were charged a maximum fare, find out if you can apply for a refund.

Yes, you can still buy tickets for your journey.

If you pay as you go with contactless on National Rail services in the South East, your bank statement will show a TfL Travel Charge. Pay as you go with contactless payments are processed by TfL.

If your phone, watch or FitBit is contactless enabled and is linked to a valid debit or credit card, you can use it to pay as you go with contactless.

If you have a valid contactless card or device and are travelling wholly within the pay as you go with contactless area, you can pay as you go with contactless. You’ll be charged an adult fare provided you tap in and out correctly.

No, you must use the same card or device to pay as you go with contactless. If you use a different contactless card or device when touching in or out, we won’t be able to calculate the best fare for you.

No, if your station already has pay as you go with contactless then you can continue to pay as you go with contactless as usual. You will also be able to travel to more National Rail stations on pay as you go with contactless.

You can apply for Delay Repay by providing the train company you travelled with a statement of your journey from Transport for London (TfL).

See up to 7 days of journey history from the TfL website .

To see more than 7 days of journey history, you will need to set up a TfL account .

Following the introduction of pay as you go with contactless earlier this year, some customers have been undercharged for their journeys due to a technical issue. This issue was fixed on 8 June 2025 and customers are now paying the correct fares.

You can check if you have been charged the correct fare using the Single fare finder via the Transport for London website. Customers will not be required to make any additional payment for previously undercharged journeys. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.

You can see up to 7 days of journey history on the Transport for London (TfL) website .
To see more than 7 days of journey history, you will need to set up a TfL account .

It is your responsibility to check that pay as you go with contactless is available at your destination before you tap in at the start of your journey. If you do not tap out, this will show as an incomplete journey, and you will be charged a maximum fare.

If you do not have a valid ticket for your whole journey, you may be liable to pay a full fare or Penalty Fare.

If you touch your card twice at the same station in quick succession, the second touch will be rejected by the card reader and you won’t be charged for it.

No, you cannot use one contactless card or device to pay as you go for multiple people. Each person must use a separate contactless card or device for each journey. It may be cheaper to buy tickets for your journey.

The technology is not currently available on the Marston Vale Line. Customers travelling to/from these stations should use existing ticket methods.

Concessionary and child fares are not available with pay as you go with contactless. Anyone aged between 5-11 may travel using pay as you with contactless, but would be charged the full adult price.

Individuals travelling as part of a group must also use a separate contactless card or device to pay for their journey.
Concessionary and child fares are still available when buying on our app, website, or via our other ticketing options.

You will usually be charged for your pay as you go with contactless journey within 3 days.

If you think you’ve been charged incorrectly, please check the details of your charge by creating a Transport for London (TfL) account or logging in to your existing account.

If you still feel you’ve been charged incorrectly, please contact TfL:

• TfL website
• Telephone: 0343 222 1234

Yes, you can still use your train operator’s Smartcard on routes where it is valid. Paying with your Smartcard or buying and loading a ticket onto your Smartcard may be cheaper than using pay as you go with contactless if you can apply a discount.

If you tap out with a different card or device than the one you tapped in, we can’t work out your correct fare. This will show as two incomplete journeys, meaning you’ll be charged a maximum fare for each journey.

You can manually complete your journey by creating a Transport for London (TfL) account or logging in to your existing account. You can do this up to 3 times a month.

Yes. If you tap in and tap out at the same station within a short period of time, you’ll be charged a ‘same station exit charge’. These charges help prevent fare evasion.

You can get a refund if you have been charged for touching in and out at the same station without making a journey. This should happen automatically within 48 hours.

If you haven’t received a refund after 48 hours, you can apply for a same station exit refund.

Find out more about same station exits.