Rail passengers will be able to use the capital's Oyster cards on almost all trains later this year unless it’s a South West Train.

An agreement between Boris Johnson and the Association of Train Operating Companies will create a ‘fully integrated’ service for passengers using almost all overground and underground trains in and around the capital.

However some train operators, including South West Trains, declined to be part of the integrated system claiming that the costs of maintaining the equipment necessary to sell and to read the Oyster cards were prohibitive and feared fare evasion would increase.

According to The Standard, South West Trains wants to apply its own, more expensive, fares structure, and “has other demands to which TfL is unable to agree”.

January 9, 2009