New ticketing system for the London Underground

Automatic fare collection was first used on the London Underground in the early 1960s. Further development of the present system is limited, however, by the technology used and lack of reliability. The paper describes the new ticketing system for the London Underground, which was tested in public service between November 1982 and July 1983, at Vauxhall station. The new system is now being installed and will become operational over the whole of the London Underground in December 1988. The specifications and design and development of the system are described, along with the computer and communications systems.