Volunteers wanted to trial new East Midlands GPS ticketing system

The Government are looking for volunteers for a new ticketing trial which it hopes will kick-start its overhaul of the wider ticketing system across the national network.

Rail passengers across the North and East Midlands are being invited to take part in a government-backed trial of GPS-based digital ticketing technology, launched today (Friday 6 June).

Up to 4,000 volunteers are being sought to take part in a “Pay As You Go” trial across four major rail routes operated by East Midlands Railway (EMR) and Northern. Unlike current contactless systems that rely on physical barriers or card taps, this new approach uses GPS tracking via a mobile device to automatically calculate the best-value fare for the journey taken on that day. Cheaper fares could exist however, as in some cases fares could be cheaper if passengers have purchased an advance single fare.

The selected routes include:

Leicester – Derby – Nottingham (EMR)

Harrogate – Leeds (Northern)

Sheffield – Doncaster (Northern)

Sheffield – Barnsley (Northern)

Each route will host up to 1,000 participants, with the first trial launching this September on EMR’s Leicester–Derby–Nottingham corridor. Northern’s routes are set to follow between September and November, with each trial running for nine months.

The trials are part of the wider push to modernise Britain’s railways and simplify fare structures ahead of the establishment of Great British Railways (GBR), which is expected to launch in 2027.

Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy described the initiative as a "major step" towards delivering more intuitive and customer-friendly rail services: “Contactless ticketing is making journeys easier to navigate for millions of passengers, and now our digital trials are actively recruiting volunteers to help expand this technology across Yorkshire and the East Midlands. Simplifying ticketing is a major part of our plans to overhaul the railways.”

The digital trial is being seen as a key milestone following the rollouts of contactless payment systems at 53 stations in the South East. That scheme has used a different technology to the one being utilised in the Midlands trials, with the more commonly used TfL system being deployed across the region. Delays were seen to the rollout of the technology after Transport for London (TfL) suffered a cyber-attack which halted its systems in January.

Tap-in tap-out technology was first launched at six Chiltern stations in Summer 2024, seeing more than 268,000 entries and exits using contactless cards or mobile devices within the first six months of operation.

Participants in the new trial will use mobile apps equipped with GPS technology to "check in and out" of their journeys—eliminating the need to purchase tickets in advance or understand fare structures.

Alex Hornby, Commercial and Customer Director at Northern, said the technology would dramatically reduce friction in the customer experience: “These trials mark an important step forward in simplifying rail travel. We’re helping shape a future where hopping on a train is as easy as checking in and out.”

Jenna Cowie, Interim Commercial Director at EMR, added: “No more fare confusion – just check in and out with your phone and travel knowing you’ll automatically pay the best-value fare for your journey.”

Recruitment for volunteers has opened on the websites of EMR and Northern. Those who frequently travel the trial routes are encouraged to apply.