COMMUTERS using the c2c line will be the first to use tickets similar to the Oyster card in London as part of a £2.85million project.

The company will upgrade its ticket machines at all its stations on the London to Fenchurch Street line, allowing commuters to use the new paperless ticketing technology.

The pilot scheme, which starts in January, is the first major step in the Government’s £45million South East Flexible Ticketing scheme, which has been launched to promote seamless and convenient travel across the region.

The trial is costing £2.85million to implement at 26 railways stations serving 90,000 passengers daily.

Commuter Paul Ilett, 43, of Lovelace Gardens, Southend, welcomed the scheme as a quicker more efficient way of travelling.

He said: “I use an Oyster card in London and travel on the Fenchurch Street line for work. Anything that makes it easier and quicker to get through the gates can only be a good thing and I will definitely use one.”

Julian Drury, c2c managing director, said: “We’re delighted passengers on c2c will be the first to benefit from the Government’s expansion of smart ticketing across the South East.

“We are already the first train company to have ticket barriers in place at every single station, and we’ll be working closely with the Department for Transport over the next few months to ensure c2c passengers can enjoy a simple and flexible ticketing system which lets them beat the queues and makes their journeys easier from early next year.”

The Department will evaluate the results of the pilot as part of Government plans to roll out smart ticketing across the entire South East region by the end of 2015.

Transport minister Norman Baker said: “Smart ticketing is the passport for more efficient and flexible travel for passengers and I want to see this technology rolled out as far and as quickly as possible.”