Smart tickets are be made widely available in the UK with the roll-out of the technology across the network, bringing benefits ranging from cutting queues to being more sustainable.

Nine in 10 train tickets will be available for sale as smart tickets with the help of station upgrades and software updates

The tickets, which can be used via a smartphone or smartcard, are now offered through every train operator in the UK and are being rolled out across the network through station upgrades.

Following recent updates, passengers travelling from all major stations across Britain including Waterloo, Brighton, Gatwick Airport, Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central are now able to go paperless.

And according to the Rail Delivery Group, further station upgrades over the coming months and software updates mean nine in 10 tickets will be available for sale to customers as smart tickets.

The announcement comes some 18 months after the Government set out plans for smart ticketing to be available across England and Wales by the end of 2018.

Robert Nisbet, regional director at the Rail Delivery Group, said: “Together, rail companies are going full steam ahead with smart ticketing, with passengers increasingly able to use their phones or smartcards thanks to station upgrades across the network. Of course, we want to go further, but realising the full benefits of new ticketing technology requires regulatory reform of the wider fares system. That’s why train companies are working with government to update the rules that underpin our rail fares.”