Stations in the Luton area have been the latest to have contactless technology rolled out to enable tap-in tap-out travel for train services.
Luton, Leagrave and Harlington stations on the Thameslink route between London St Pancras and Bedford are among 50 stations on routes with train services to London that will have the technology enabled next month.
From 14 December, the service will be enabled at these three stations. Luton Airport Parkway station has previously had this service enabled.
Other routes that will have this enabled from the mid-December starting date include stations on the Chiltern lines from Aylesbury to London, Southern services to Dorking, Reigate and East Grinstead, Greater Anglia routes to Stansted and Southend, and stations on the Great Northern Thameslink line to Stevenage, Letchworth and Baldock.
The project is supported by £18.7 million in government funding, with support from Transport for London, as part of a project to roll out further contactless ticketing on the UK railways network, and the larger Great British Railways project enacted by the national government.
The government’s Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy said, “Rail ticketing is far too complicated and long overdue an upgrade to bring it into the 21st century. Through the expansion of tap in tap out technology, and shortly through GBR, we’re doing just that and making buying tickets more convenient, more accessible and more flexible – and ensuring passengers can get the best fares.
“As part of our Plan for Change, we’re delivering straightforward, stress-free train travel across the south-east, supporting passengers and boosting economic growth, jobs and homes.”
Tap-in tap-out ticketing allows passengers to use a bank card or contactless enabled device to enter any train station, instead of manually buying individual or return tickets. The government has already rolled out this technology at 53 additional stations across the south-east, with 5.6 million journeys taken since June 2024, and more stations to follow from 2026.
Alex Williams, Chief Customer and Strategy Officer at Transport for London (TfL), said, “For more than ten years, the popularity of convenient travel via pay as you go with contactless has grown and become increasingly popular across London and the surrounding areas. We are delighted to be extending pay as you go with contactless to a further 50 stations from the 14 December, including Stansted Airport, making it easier for those arriving at the airport to travel to London and experience all the city has to offer.
“Expanding pay as you go with contactless will further help those travelling by rail outside London do so more flexibly and conveniently, avoid the need to pre-purchase tickets or paper Travelcards when heading into the capital, and support the wider UK economic recovery through easier access to rail travel.
Jacqueline Starr, Executive Chair and CEO of the Rail Delivery Group, added, “This is another important step in making it easier for customers to travel by train. Extending tap-in-tap-out to a further 50 stations will mean even more rail customers can benefit from this technology, knowing they will always pay the right fare at the right price. The rail industry is committed to working with government to improve and enhance the overall experience for our customers.”
Louis Rambaud, Chief Customer Officer for Govia Thameslink Railway which runs Southern, Great Northern and Thameslink services, also said, “We’re pleased to be supporting this Government initiative to give our customers simple, easier journeys.”
Karl Robinson strongly criticised the officials as his Salford City side lost 2-0 away at his former club MK Dons.
Robinson, who managed the Dons between 2010 and 2016, was particularly aggrieved at two penalty calls that went against his side.
The first of the calls in question saw a foul given against Salford’s Dan Udoh on Jack Sanders, which saw the home side given a penalty in first half stoppage time that Nathaniel Mendez-Laing converted to make it 1-0.
The second then came in second half stoppage time, when Kadeem Harris went down under a challenge by the Dons’ Aaron Nemane that was not given moments before Callum Paterson scored the goal that made it 2-0 to the home side.
Defeat at Stadium MK saw Salford fall out of League 2’s play-off spots, with the Ammies now down in 9th place, though they sit outside of the play-offs only on goal difference in a tight and congested League 2 table.
Speaking after the game in his press conference, Robinson voiced strong frustration with the refereeing decisions by match referee Ross Joyce.
He said, “I think anybody in this stadium watching this game will say we were the better team.
“This referee shouldn’t referee for a long time. We speak at the top level about how bad refereeing is with VAR, so imagine what we have to deal with lower down because they’re not good enough. Somebody at some stage has to look at this.
“Today, he gave a penalty, and these were his words – we pulled him outside the box and then my number 22 (Adebola Oluwo) fouled him. It wasn’t my 22, he was nowhere near – Dan Udoh was the nearest player. He’s got the wrong player. So how can you tell me he’s got the decision right when he doesn’t even know what player committed the foul? That just shows you how bad he was in that decision.
“Then Kadeem Harris goes in and as he runs past, you can clearly see his right heel is clipped and he goes down. I’m not saying the contact for our penalty was really aggressive, but when you’re going to give minimal contact for a penalty against, that has to stay consistent.
“I’m telling my players to stay on their feet. We’re a club that try and be honest, we’re hard working, we don’t want to go down and seek to gain and we want to do the right things, but if we now have to play the game where we’re going to have go down and scream to get decisions, we might have to do things we don’t believe in. We want to be honest and hardworking – that’s what Salford’s all about. Today, we’ve been done by a refereeing decision.”
Reflecting on the game as a whole, Robinson felt his single biggest gripe was that his team couldn’t take a few chances that they had created along the way.
He said, “I said to my players afterwards that I can back you with the refereeing decisions but I think we missed some good opportunities to take our chances. That’s my only gripe with my team, same as last week in some ways that we were very strong in our shape and probably the best we’ve been out of possession in the last 2 games, but haven’t capitalised on them moments when I really need them too. From that perspective, I’m proud of them getting there. We need to take them that come along.”
Former MK Dons loanee Troy Parrott scored a hat-trick as Ireland beat Hungary 3-2 to book a World Cup play-off place.
Parrott’s hat-trick in Budapest, which included a 96th minute winner, was enough for Ireland to finish second in their group in World Cup qualifying, which will see the team enter the play-offs for a place at the World Cup in North America next summer.
One-time Don Parrott, who now plays for AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, was a big hero for the Irish after he scored five goals in two games in the current international break. Parrott had previously scored both goals as Ireland beat Portugal 2-0 in Dublin in their previous match.
Parrott scored his first with a 15th minute equaliser from the penalty spot after the Hungarians had taken a third minute lead. After Hungary took the lead for a second time less than ten minutes before half-time, Parrott would grab a second equaliser in the 80th minute to set up a dramatic conclusion.
With only a victory enough for Ireland to take a play-off place, the visitors piled on pressure and after coming close with several chances, Parrott scored again. The striker was in place to grab a dramatic winner in the sixth minute of added time as he poked the ball past Hungarian keeper Denes Dibusz to grab Ireland victory at the Puskas Arena and leapfrog Hungary to take second place in Group F.
Ireland will now be in the World Cup play-offs as they vie to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2002, and the fourth time in the nation’s history. The draw for the play-offs will take place on Thursday (20/11), with all teams that enter knowing they will need to win a single-leg tie to set up a single-leg showdown with another opponent to take one of the 4 UEFA places that will be decided in the play-offs.
Parrott previously spent the 2021/22 season on loan with MK Dons from previous club Spurs, playing regular football for a side that finished third in League One that season.
He scored 10 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions, including a late equaliser against AFC Wimbledon and a goal on his final appearance for MK Dons in the play-offs against Wycombe Wanderers.
Paul Warne was pleased to mark his 450th game as a manager with victory against Salford but the MK Dons boss looked for better performances.
Warne spoke after the Dons managed to grind out a win over a Salford side that had also started brightly in the early stages of the League 2 season, with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Callum Paterson scoring the goals that did the honours.
Despite the win, Warne felt his MK Dons side didn’t play at their best, and while he praised the opposition for causing them bother, he said it gave him things to think about.
He said, “In 10-15 minutes time, it’ll probably feel great. When you’re not at your best and can win, it’s a really good sign. I just think there’s a few more gears in our team. Fair play to Salford, they made it difficult for us, got a lot of second balls, put a lot of balls in our box. I never felt massively threatened in our penalty area but they did seem to have more control in the second half than we did.
“When you’ve got a 1-0 lead, you feel a bit edgy, they have nothing to lose and have to keep attacking. It’s disappointing then we got the ball back, we never took the sting out of it or took an extra pass or anything like that.”
Warne also revealed that both Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing went off early with injuries, but praised the impact of his squad as a whole for getting things over the line.
He said, “We took Rush off as he felt his hamstring, which doesn’t sound good, we took Mendez-Laing off as he’s done his groin or his groin was tightening up, so we had to take him off, but in fairness, the subs went on, done well and got us 3 points. I’m really pleased with the points and they’ll feel better in about 20 minutes and great tomorrow, but that level of performance, we need to improve. It’s on me.”
Warne said he felt it was a curious game where the two sides were closely matched and accepted his side could’ve easily come away with a different result.
He said, “Weirdly, I was buzzing after the Barnet game as I thought the second half looked like my team. I just didn’t think we looked enough like my team today. I didn’t think we had enough energy and character about us. Prior to the last couple of games, I think we’d started to go in the right direction.
“Maybe the opposition have just done a really good job on us as it felt at times like both shapes just quietened each other off, if you know what I mean. There wasn’t much in either goal area. That’s probably what happens when two good teams play each other.
“I’ve seen many a Premier League game where both teams end up with nothing. Today, we were fortunate to come off with a win.”
Luton Town and Rotherham United shared the points following a 0-0 draw at Kenilworth Road.
The Hatters did extend their unbeaten run to 5 outings in all competitions, but the match would see two in-form sides in League One ultimately cancel each other out as neither could find a breakthrough moment.
The point sees Jack Wilshere’s side now sit 8th in the third tier table. They are 3 points behind Stevenage in the final play-off position, albeit a Boro side that have two games in hand.
Luton had been set for a test against the Millers, with Rotherham arriving in Bedfordshire on the back of 6 consecutive matches unbeaten in the league stretching back to late September.
It was the visitors with the first chance of the afternoon, as Jordan Hugill saw a header denied by home goalkeeper Josh Keeley.
The hosts struggled for chance creation for much of the first half, with the best opportunity seeing a hit by Lamine Fanne drift wide of the mark.
During the second half, Luton began to see a few half-chances arise. Substitute Gideon Kodua had a strike saved by away keeper Cameron Dawson, before Jerry Yates saw a strike go wide, with his claims it was deflected wide not heeded by the referee.
Two more Hatters subs would come close, but neither Zack Nelson nor Jacob Brown could hit the target as the game drifted to a scoreless conclusion.
Luton are next in action next weekend, when they travel to Yorkshire for a clash with Barnsley.
