Rail ticketing technology trial expands

A trial of new location-based digital ticketing on Northern Rail is expanding to more services in the North.

More than 2,000 journeys and counting have already been made under similar trials on East Midlands Railway and Northern services, which both launched in September 2025. The service is now also being rolled on Northern’s Sheffield to Doncaster services from 3rd November, and the Sheffield to Barnsley route from 1st December.

Digital ticketing trials allow passengers to check in and check out seamlessly on rail journeys, using a location-identifying app on their phone. The app tracks journeys using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology and then automatically charges participants at the end of the day. For ticket inspections and to go through ticket barriers, a unique bar code will pop up in the app to be scanned.

This technology replaces the need for paper tickets or more commonly used mobile tickets bought online or in-app ahead of journeys. Doing away with the need to plan and book travel in advance, the app tracks which trains passengers take, detecting when they have left the rail network.

Digital ticketing trials allow passengers to check in and check out seamlessly on rail journeys, using a location-identifying app on their phone. The app tracks journeys using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology and then automatically charges participants at the end of the day. For ticket inspections and to go through ticket barriers, a unique bar code will pop up in the app to be scanned.

This technology replaces the need for paper tickets or more commonly used mobile tickets bought online or in-app ahead of journeys. Doing away with the need to plan and book travel in advance, the app tracks which trains passengers take, detecting when they have left the rail network. The trial is part of work to simplify fares on the rail network alongside the creation of Great British Railways.

Alex Hornby, Commercial and Customer Director at Northern, said:

“We’re proud to be at the forefront of modernising rail travel in the North. The success of the first trial has shown that passengers value the simplicity and flexibility that technology brings.

“This second trial is an exciting next step and we’re excited to offer customers in that area a smarter, easier way to travel. This is about removing barriers and making rail the obvious choice for everyday journeys.”

Passengers taking part in Northern’s first trial of the technology have described the technology as ‘easy to install…and simple to use’, while others have said it is ‘much better than the chore of buying tickets in advance’. Thanks to government backing, passengers taking part in the trial will get £15 worth of free travel, with credit automatically added to their account.