29.06.12
Nexus ticketing machine upgrade reaches halfway mark
Tyne and Wear Metro is benefitting from an updated ticketing system, with more than half of its stations now upgraded with newer ticket machines with added functionality.
Nexus has so far installed new machines at 33 stations as part of the £25m ticketing project, and is replacing a total of 225 ticket machines at all 60 stations.
The new machines will accept payment by credit or debit card, notes or smartcard. Passengers will be able to top up their Pop travel smartcards, purchase weekly tickets up to seven days in advance and view the information screen in six different languages.
Smartcard validators will be installed at every station and at the ticket gates of the 13 busiest Metro stations. Staff have been trained to assist passengers with the new features available.
Director of Rail and Infrastructure, Ken Mackay, said: “We have now passed the half way mark in the installation of the new Metro ticket machines. We are making good progress.
“The new machines are vastly different to the older models and more and more passengers are now getting used to using them. The facility to purchase weekly Metro tickets in advance is proving particularly popular.
“Work is ongoing to install the new technology at the rest of our stations and attention will also be turning to fitting the new electronic ticket gates, which will revolutionise how people access the Metro network.”
The project is part of the wider £385m Metro: All Change modernisation programme.
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