18 May 2026
Transport for Wales (TfW) has today launched its contactless pay as you go rail travel in North East Wales and borders, making journeys simpler and more flexible for customers across the region.
Passengers travelling on TfW rail services can now tap in and tap out using a contactless card or smart device at 15 stations in North East Wales and borders. The service automatically calculates the best value fare for each journey, removing the need to purchase a ticket in advance.
The 15 stations launching with the service are below, with more to be added in a phased rollout later this year:
- Bidston
- Buckley
- Caergwrle
- Cefn‑y‑Bedd
- Gwersyllt
- Hawarden
- Hawarden Bridge
- Heswall
- Hope
- Neston
- Penyffordd
- Shotton (High Level)
- Upton
- Wrexham Central
- Wrexham General
The launch marks the first phase of TfW’s contactless tap in, tap out travel scheme for North East Wales and borders.
It builds on the success of the pay as you go scheme already live across South East Wales, where customers have made more than 4.5 million journeys using contactless tap in, tap out to date.
Alexia Course, Chief Commercial Officer at Transport for Wales, said:
“The launch of contactless pay as you go in North East Wales and borders is an important milestone in our work to make rail travel simpler, more flexible and better value for our customers.
“We know that ease and convenience play a vital role in how people choose to travel, particularly for everyday journeys. By expanding contactless tap in, tap out travel beyond South East Wales, we are helping more communities travel with confidence and supporting our wider ambition for a better connected and more accessible Wales.”
To ensure the correct fare is applied, customers must remember to tap in and tap out using the same card or smart device for every journey.
As the TfW pay as you go schemes are designed for frequent and localised travel, customers will be unable to travel between the North East Wales and South East Wales schemes using pay as you go.
For customers wishing to travel between the schemes, TfW has a range of attractive and affordable ticket options available.
For further information visit: www.tfw.wales/ways-to-travel/rail/ticket-types/pay-as-you-go/north-wales
Notes to editors
Pay as you go allows customers to travel without the need to buy a ticket before boarding.
Customers simply tap in at the start of their journey, and tap out at the end, using the same card or smart device (with taps made on platform validators or contactless-enabled gate lines).
The scheme applies daily and weekly fare caps, ensuring customers receive the best value equivalent fare for their travel. This makes contactless tap in, tap out travel particularly well suited to frequent and local journeys.
The expansion of contactless tap in, tap out forms part of Transport for Wales’ wider T Network ambitions and is a critical milestone in the delivery of the Network North Wales programme. Aimed at enabling simpler, more affordable and more attractive public transport, while supporting improved rail services across the region. The Network North Wales programme has supported significantly in the introduction of contactless pay as you go travel in North East Wales.
