RAIL company c2c has vowed to roll out contactless “tap and go” payments as soon as possible after weeks of issues with ticket machines causing huge queues and delays for commuters.

The train firm announced on Friday that upgrading to London-style contactless payments is its number one priority – including all 15 stations across south Essex – to tackle commuters woes.

Commuters have been plagued by problems in the past month, leaving them hugely frustrated, with regular reports of broken ticket machines and problems with smartcards and the mobile app.

c2c bosses hope the new payment method will resolve many of this issues.

Rob Mullen, c2c managing director, said: “Our work to introduce contactless pay as you go at all c2c stations across the network is nearing completion as we enter the final stages of rigorous technical and operational testing.

“We are working closely with our digital partners to ensure that all ticket and card readers fitted to barriers at stations are configured and ready to accept contactless pay as you go, and with our retail teams to get the required changes to payment systems in place.”

As announced by the Department for Transport (DfT) in July, c2c is one of five train operators working to introduce contactless pay as you go.

This work forms part of the first phase of the government’s initiative to extend contactless payments across the country to make train stations smoother and simpler.

Mr Mullen added: “We know that customers have recently experienced issues with the c2c app, purchasing smartcards and at our ticket machines, and while we have worked hard to fix these issues as quickly as possible, we know this isn’t good enough.

“Ensuring we have a reliable retail offering is of utmost importance, and as part of our ongoing commitment to making c2c a more attractive and comfortable railway for all.

“I believe that the introduction of contactless pay as you go across our entire network giving customers greater choice, flexibility and simple and easy to understand ticketing and payment options will make travelling with c2c better and easier than ever before.”