LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Shares in Trainline were sliding on Monday, as it emerged that the UK government was planning to expand contactless pay-as-you-go travel across the country's railway network as part of the priorities for the new state-owned operator Great British Railways (GBR).

According to the I, transport secretary Heidi Alexander identified fare and ticketing reform as a key focus, with an initial rollout in the south-east of England, where 11 stations had already been announced.

Further expansion across the UK was expected to be outlined by the end of the year.

The I said the initiative followed calls from Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who wanted the government to support his proposal to integrate eight railway lines currently operated by Northern into the regional 'Bee Network', which would include contactless payment options.

It said Alexander was expected to address the Department for Transport operator's conference in Manchester, where she would reportedly stress that nationalisation alone was not a solution to the challenges facing the rail sector.

The Department for Transport had indicated that Alexander's plans for GBR would include greater integration of services, improved transparency through station performance displays, and fare reforms aimed at enhancing passenger convenience.

A wide rollout of contactless payments would likely impact sales of traditional single-trip rail tickets, of which Trainline is the largest independent retailer.

At present, tickets for any National Rail journey can be purchased from stations, as well as from any National Rail operator as well as third-party agents such as Trainline.

Trainline has been criticised by both users and industry insiders for charging booking fees on tickets where operators and some other agents do not, although it is also behind the technology that powers the booking system used by a number of train operating companies.

At 1134 GMT, shares in Trainline were down 5.44% at 383.18p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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