More trouble for Southern: Card payment failure hits rush hour
Customers of Southern Rail, already fuming over ongoing service delays and then strike action, were dealt another blow on the morning rush hour commute.
The rail network was unable to accept card payments for tickets at some of its stations due to an unspecified technical problem early on Monday, leaving many customers in long queues or failing to catch their train.
"We have received reports that some stations and ticket machines are unable to accepted card payments. We are working to resolve this asap," the train company tweeted to customers.
Read more: Southern Rail workers are voting on yet another strike
📢 We have received reports that some stations and ticket machines are unable to accepted card payments. We are working to resolve this asap
— Southern (@SouthernRailUK) August 22, 2016
The issues also affected trains across the Govia Thameslink group, including Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern.
East Grinstead, Uckfield, Epsom, Brighton and Hove are just some of the locations where passengers turned up to find they were unable to pay for their ticket using a credit or debit card.
Southern advised commuters that tickets could be purchased on trains from the conductor or at destination stations.
The issue was resolved before midday and Southern said suppliers having issues with systems was to blame. It warned that some train ticket transactions may take longer than usual to process.
"Transactions are going through, although they are taking longer than usual to complete. We are working on a permanent fix and we apologise for the inconvenience this is causing," said a spokesperson.