Question 1

What is an eTicket?

Accepted Answer

An eTicket is a form of digital ticket provided as a QR code, that can be downloaded and presented on a mobile device or printed at home. The ticket doesn't need to be activated prior to travel.

Question 2

What tickets are available as eTickets?

Accepted Answer

Most non-season tickets are available as an eTicket including Advance tickets, Singles and Returns.

*Kent Rover, Travelcards, Boundary Zone tickets and journeys that allow travel on London Underground are not available as Southeastern eTickets.

Question 3

Why are there some stations where eTickets are not available?

Accepted Answer

eTickets are available for journeys between all Southeastern stations, and most journeys across the UK.

However, there are restrictions with some journeys that involve TfL travel. Tickets for these journeys are still available either on the Key, or on paper for collection at a station of your choice or posted out to you.

Question 4

How do I purchase an eTicket? Is it available at my local station or only available online?

Accepted Answer

eTickets are currently only available to be bought online — it's not possible to print or collect eTickets at our stations.

Where available, the option to use an eTicket will be shown as a ticket collection option during the purchase process. Once bought, the eTicket will be sent to you by email.

Question 5

How long will it take for an eTicket to be available for use after purchase?

Accepted Answer

You should receive an email with the eTicket within 5 minutes of purchase.  Please note, it'll be sent to you as a separate email from your booking confirmation. You may need to check your junk mail folder, in case the eTicket doesn't show up in good time.

Question 6

Can I buy eTickets for more than one person?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can. Each person will receive a separate eTicket for travel. You can easily forward the ticket onwards by email.

Question 7

How will my eTicket be inspected?

Accepted Answer

You'll need to show your eTicket's QR code to one of our colleagues when asked. They'll then scan the ticket to validate it.

The QR code will need to scanned on a gateline reader to enter or exit the station. You may need to turn up the brightness of your phone screen to make it easier to scan.

Question 8

How can I get an eTicket if I don’t have a smartphone?

Accepted Answer

eTickets aren't just for smartphones. You'll be sent a copy of your eTicket separately to your purchase confirmation, and it can be printed off at home to be carried with you when you travel.

If you have chosen to have your ticket posted to you, you will receive it as a printed eTicket if it is available for that journey.

Question 9

I have purchased an eTicket, but I haven’t received a confirmation email. What do I do?

Accepted Answer

Your eTickets will arrive as a separate email from your booking confirmation email. Check your junk mail in case they've been filtered there by mistake.

You can also access your eTickets directly through your online account, from where you can print or download them.

If you paid using Paypal, your eTickets may be delivered to your Paypal email address. If you're still struggling to access your tickets, please contact us at Customer Services.

Question 10

My phone won’t allow me to display my eTicket. What do I do?

Accepted Answer

You must be able to present a valid ticket upon request when travelling on our services, otherwise you may be treated as travelling without a ticket and may be issued with a Penalty Fare Notice.

Make sure your phone has enough charge to be able to show your ticket otherwise you may need to purchase a new ticket before boarding the train. We're refurbishing our fleets to come with plugs and charging sockets, so this may help.

If this is a general issue, eTickets can be printed at home, to be shown to our colleagues or used at gatelines.

Question 11

Can I access my eTicket if I have no signal on my phone?

Accepted Answer

Your eTicket is sent to you by email or accessible through your online account. If you've already stored your eTicket in your phone's Wallet or saved it to a location on your phone accessible offline, then you don't  need signal to use it.

Question 12

Can I store my eTicket in my Google/Apple Wallet?

Accepted Answer

Yes, eTickets can be added to your Apple Wallet (iOS) or Google Wallet (Android).

Question 13

I have a paper ticket, but want an eTicket instead, can I exchange it?

Accepted Answer

Sorry, it's not possible to change a paper ticket to an eTicket after it's been sold.

Question 14

Can railcard discounts be applied to eTickets?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Railcard discounts are available on eTickets, just as for paper or on The Key, within the Railcard's terms and conditions.

As ever, please remember to have your Railcard to hand, alongside your discounted eTicket, for ticket inspections, as otherwise you may be issued with a Penalty Fare Notice.

Question 15

What is the difference between an eTicket and a Key Card?

Accepted Answer

Both eTickets and The Key are forms of digital ticket.

An eTicket is issued as a QR code and sent to you by email, which can then either be printed onto paper or displayed on your phone to scan at a barcode reader at the station.

The Key is our contactless smartcard which can store multiple tickets for travel.

Tickets can be purchased online, ticket office or ticket vending machine and used by tapping the Key on the card reader on the gates. The ticket types available to buy as eTickets and for use on a Key card vary, but will be clearly displayed when purchasing online.

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