Pop cards will be accepted on the new Northumberland Line when it opens to the public on Sunday 15 December, offering a seamless interchange with the Tyne and Wear Metro alongside traditional rail-only tickets.
Metro’s Pop Pay As You Go (PAYG) product will be usable at each of the Northumberland Line’s new stations, and Pop fares are extended to those areas. Customers with pre-paid Metro season tickets loaded to a Pop card can also add a Northumberland Line season ticket to their card. Full info here.
We have worked with Northern, the Northumberland Line’s operator, and Northumberland County Council to establish good value integrated fares for multi-modal journeys using the North East’s successful Pop Pay As You Go payment system on Android phones and smart cards.
John Souter, Head of Customer Service Operations at Nexus, said: “Customers can travel seamlessly between the Tyne and Wear Metro and the new Northumberland line with a Pop card.
“Integrated fares make it easy and affordable for people to use the new line, and connect in with Metro services for onward journeys. It’s another great boost for connectivity in our region.
“We’ve worked closely with Northern and our local authority partners to create good value integrated fares for multi-modal journeys on the Northumberland Line using our Pop Pay As You Go payment system.
“Customers will need to simply touch in and touch out on each journey to ensure that they are charged the correct fare. The cheapest combined fare will then be deducted.”
For customers aged 21 and under, a single journey anywhere across that expanded network will cost just £1.00 and a full day’s travel will be capped at £2.20. For adults, a single journey using a Pop PAYG card will cost between £1.80 and £3.80 depending on how far they travel, and the daily cap is between £2.90 and £6.20.
Season tickets for the Northumberland Line bought with a Pop card will start at £13.20 for unlimited travel for one week in one zone, with unlimited travel in all four zones costing £30 per week.
Like existing Pop card users, Northumberland Line customers need to “touch in” at either a station validator or at an automatic ticket gate when starting their journey, and “touch out” at their destination to ensure they are charged the correct fare.
The technology behind the Pop card means that the cheapest combined fare will then be deducted – helping customers ensure they’re getting the best price for their journey, applying a daily cap if they have made several trips.
The Northumberland Line will deliver six new accessible stations, a half hourly service and 35-minute end to end journey time – benefiting not just those who live along or near the line – but bringing a huge regional boost in terms of travel and access to jobs, housing and education.
To meet the commitment to run trains this year, Ashington and Seaton Delaval Stations will open initially. Newsham Station will open early in the New Year , with the remaining three stations at Bedlington, Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park scheduled to open next year.
The £298.5m Northumberland Line project involves a number of key partners including Northumberland County Council, the Department for Transport, Network Rail and Northern Trains.
More info about the new Northumberland Line.