Delays in Oyster card improvements are costing Richmond’s commuters dearly, it has been claimed.

South West Trains (SWT) issued an apology this week after delays in upgrade work for top up machines meant train passengers were still unable to top up their Oyster cards at the borough’s 15 stations, despite being promised the facility by May.

The news was criticised by Mark Walker, chairman of Twickenham Labour Party, who said the delay was costing people money.

He said: “This delay is unacceptable. People on the lowest incomes rely on pay-as-you-go, and it is unfair that Boris Johnson is forcing them to pay more for their journeys.”

The train operator said the delay was caused by the updating of card reader software, carried out by Transport for London’s (TFL) Oyster supplier Cubic, taking longer than expected.

A date for completion has been sought by Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and chairman of the London Assembly transport committee, but she claimed SWT was unable to give an answer.

She said: “It is bitterly disappointing that SWT passengers will have to wait even longer before they can finally top-up their Oyster cards at every train station.

“Both SWT and the Mayor of London have a direct responsibility to quickly sort out this problem and ensure passengers get the full benefits of Oyster as quickly as possible.”

Commuters hit out at the delay and claimed it was farcical people could not top up their Oyster cards at any of the stations in the borough.

Andrew Levinski, 50, unemployed, from Twickenham, said: “Everyone knows it’s a complete farce. There’s only one place near me and if that closes I’ll be spending money before I even get to the station.”

While Leah Southgate, 25, a nanny from Twickenham, said: “I’m a nanny so I take the little boy I care for on the train most days.

“It would be helpful if I could top up at the station but I mainly do mine online. Sometimes I forget and I have to pay for a ticket till I can top up.”

An SWT spokesman said it was working closely with Cubic to ensure the technical issues were resolved as quickly as possible.

He said: “We would like to apologise to customers who may be inconvenienced by this and we are working very closely with our suppliers to resolve the technical issue as soon as possible.”

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