Contactless pay as you go to launch on Wrexham to Bidston line from 18 May
Contactless pay as you go rail travel arrives on the Wrexham to Bidston line on Monday 18 May, with Shotton, Hawarden, Hawarden Bridge, Buckley and Penyffordd among the 15 stations included.
Transport for Wales confirmed the launch in a press release on Tuesday.
Passengers will be able to tap in and tap out using a contactless bank card at any of the 15 stations between Wrexham General and Bidston.
The system follows the rollout of the same payment method in south east Wales.
Transport for Wales said the contactless system will mean passengers always pay the best value fare for the journey they make.
The payment change lands a day after the wider Transport for Wales timetable change on Sunday 17 May.
That timetable change increases services on the North Wales Coast Line by around 50 per cent and introduces a standard hourly pattern on key routes north and west of Shrewsbury.
The current Wrexham to Chester and Chester to Crewe services will be combined into a single through service, meaning passengers will no longer need to change at Chester to travel between Wrexham and Crewe.
The Liverpool to Chester service will be extended to Llandudno, offering a direct route from Chester to the North Wales coast.
Trains from Manchester Airport, which currently terminate at Llandudno, will run through to Holyhead, with Transport for Wales saying the change is intended to improve links to north-west England and ferry connections to Ireland.
The two-hourly Birmingham to North Wales service, which includes Birmingham International Airport, will terminate at Llandudno Junction rather than continuing to Holyhead.
Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales, said:
“We are now just days away from delivering a major improvement to rail services as part of Network North Wales. The new timetable will bring more frequent trains and better connections for our customers in north and west Wales.”
Mr Lea said the changes would be supported by the introduction of pay as you go.
He said: “Alongside the introduction of pay as you go, we are making it easier than ever for people to choose rail and travel sustainably.”
Passengers are being advised to check their journeys before travelling from Sunday, as some calling patterns will change and trains may stop at different stations than before.
Timetable and fare information is available at https://tfw.wales/service-status/timetables.
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