Northumberland Line Joins Pop Pay As You Go: first integrated rail and Metro ticketing in North East

In partnership with Northern and the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), the Pop Pay As You Go (PAYG) product is usable at each of the Northumberland Line’s new stations – as the first implementation of daily capped fares across heavy rail and light rail services.

Northumberland Line customers can tap in at either a station validator or at an automatic ticket gate when starting their journey, and tap out at their destination, like existing Pop card users.

Customers with pre-paid Metro season tickets loaded to a Pop card can also add a Northumberland Line season ticket to their card.

The Pop card deducts the cheapest combined fair, helping customers get the best price for their journey and applying a daily cap if they have made several trips.

The project has been delivered on behalf of North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness. She said: “Our integrated fares, available through Pop Pay As You Go, offer North East passengers a simple and affordable way to travel using the Northumberland Line and Metro.

“I want to give people in the region the best opportunities and that includes better access to education, jobs and leisure through a simple and good value rail and Metro offer.

“I hope to see the success of our integrated fares be rolled out across other local rail services in the North East, and we’re working hard behind the scenes to make this a reality.”

Paul Welford, major projects director at Nexus, said: “We’ve put a huge amount of work into the fare integration on the Northumberland Line, and it’s delivered the first ever roll out of Pay As You Go on a stretch of the mainline railway network using the established and lower cost ITSO technology.

“By using established, low cost technologies, we have been able to make integrated fares easy and affordable for people who use the new line, and then connect in with Metro services for onward journeys. It’s another great boost for connectivity in our region.”

Jason Wade, Northern regional director, said: “We’re delighted that Nexus has introduced Pop Pay As You Go tickets on the Northumberland Line.

“The tap in technology allows customers to easily switch between our trains and Tyne and Wear Metro services, while ensuring they always get the best price for their journey.”

Jacqueline Starr, executive chair and chief executive of Rail Delivery Group, said: "It’s great to see the railway network expanding and connecting more people in the North East.

“We’re proud that this is the first place in the North of England to introduce Pay As You Go ticketing on National Rail services.”

A new map of the larger Pop card area shows stations at Seaton Delaval, Newsham, Blyth Bebside, Bedlington, and Ashington added onto the familiar Tyne and Wear Metro network, with the creation of a new ‘zone D’ for the most northerly of those stations.