Northern Opens GPS Pay As You Go Trial to All Passengers

UK: Northern’s GPS-based Digital Pay As You Go trial is now open to all passengers on the Leeds–Harrogate and Sheffield–Doncaster routes after its participant cap was removed.

The Department for Transport said on 7 August 2026 that it had lifted the cap on participation in the Northern trial. The pilot launched in 2025 with access limited to 2,000 passengers, and more than 30,000 journeys have since been made using the technology. Northern says the two-route trial will continue until September 2027.

Two Northern routes are now open to wider access

The Northern routes are Leeds–Harrogate and Sheffield–Doncaster. The wider Department for Transport programme also includes Leicester–Nottingham via Derby, but that is a separate East Midlands Railway trial rather than a third Northern route. Removing the participant cap changes who can join the Northern test, not its two-route geography.

Don’t miss…Gdańsk Plans Second Rail Facility for 750-Metre Trains

Passengers still check in and out — inside the app

Northern’s Leeds–Harrogate guidance says users begin a journey in the Northern app before boarding, keep location services active, show the issued barcode at barriers or to staff when required, and end the journey in the app after arrival. The system then determines the journey and fare.

For Sheffield–Doncaster, Northern directs passengers to the FAIRTIQ-based trial. The core process is similar: check in before boarding, keep location services active, use the barcode for travel validation, and complete the trip in the app. Payment is charged automatically at the end of the travel day.

That clarifies an important feature of the GPS trial: passengers do not need to buy a ticket in advance or use a physical station check-in/check-out process, but they still need to start and end their journey digitally in the app.

The pilot remains temporary and fare choice still matters

Opening the trial to all passengers does not make it a permanent national ticketing system. Its current extension runs until September 2027. Northern also cautions on the Sheffield–Doncaster route that PAYG applies standard fares, while advance or season tickets may still be cheaper in some cases.