Oyster cards on rail by 2009

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Rail firms are set to accept a deal which would see Oyster pay-as-you-go cards accepted across all rail companies in London, tying the capital's public transport together into an integrated smartcard ticketing system by 2009.

Earlier this year, the mayor's office offered rail companies a slice of £20 million to fund the installation of technology to allow the cards to be read and for backend upgrades.

Steve Howes, London director of the Association of Train Operating Companies, told the Daily Mail newspaper: "Oyster pay-as-you-go will operate across London by 2009... This will prove a major boost for rail users. It will help prevent queues at ticket offices and mean much easier journeys."

A Transport for London (TfL) spokesman said that North London Railway's passengers will be able to use pay-as-you-go across all 54 stations from November 11, when that London Overground service will start.

The pay-as-you-go service will be expanded to the rest of stations by 2009. "To ensure that all 250 national rail stations in London can install Oyster we have made an offer to pay for and install the equipment to make this possible," said the spokesman in a statement. "The Train Operating Companies have until 19 October to accept this offer although Chiltern has already signed up to the deal. c2c and ONE have indicated their acceptance of the offer but are yet to sign the contractual documents."

London mayor Ken Livingstone said: "It is most welcome that train companies have finally agreed to introduce Oyster on their services. This means we will have a fully integrated ticket system. Passengers will be able to move easily between rail, Tube, Docklands Light Rail, tram and bus using an Oyster card."

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