Published on: Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Last updated: Saturday, 15 October 2016
Rail passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex can now use new ‘Smart Cards’ when travelling from Norwich, Ipswich, Manningtree, Colchester and Chelmsford to London, and all journeys in between.
Using a smart card season ticket is much quicker than the traditional paper ticket as customers simply touch the smart card on the reader at ticket gates. Smart cards are plastic and more durable and their issue opens up greater opportunities in the future for developments such as flexible ticketing, tailored to the individual travellers’ needs.
Abellio Greater Anglia became the first train operator to launch the SEFT (South East Flexible Ticketing) Smart Card ticket product for rail season tickets on the Cambridge to London Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street routes in March - when rail minister, Claire Perry, launched the scheme at Cambridge.
Now the scheme has been rolled out to the mainline (services between Norwich, Diss, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Manningtree, Colchester, Chelmsford, Shenfield, Stratford and London Liverpool Street) and can be used for annual, monthly and weekly season tickets.
Passengers can apply for a smart card at: www.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk/smart
The Department for Transport funded programme is aimed at accelerating the deployment of season tickets on smart cards across the south-east, the largest commuter market in the UK, to make journeys across the region more seamless and integrated. Abellio Greater Anglia, c2c, GTR, South West Trains and Southeastern will cover 73% of the annual season ticket market.
Jamie Burles, Managing Director, Abellio Greater Anglia said: “We’re excited to be at the forefront of the South East Flexible Ticket (SEFT) programme, working with our partners at the Department for Transport, in pioneering more convenient and integrated ticket products for rail commuters travelling with Abellio Greater Anglia on the Norwich to London Liverpool Street mainline.