Wellingtonians can finally say goodbye to paper tickets and will be able to use contactless Snapper cards to catch the train.

Previously, Snapper had only been used on buses. Cash payments were taken on board trains or paper tickets could be purchased ahead of a trip.

But after a successful trial on one train line, Snapper was officially launched across Wellington’s entire rail network at an event this morning.

Greater Wellington Regional Council deputy chairwoman Adrienne Staples said it was a “momentous occasion”.

Staples said she would be framing the final paper ticket she used on the Melling line last week, marking the end of a 137-year-old paper ticket system.

The council’s chairman has campaigned on electronic ticketing since the last millennium, Staples said.

Transport Minister Michael Wood said more people needed to travel by public transport to decongest cities and reduce carbon emissions.

He said being able to use Snapper on trains would help make public transport easier to use for people with busy lives.

“When I talk to people about New Zealand’s public transport system, people have still sometimes expressed some disbelief to me that we still do paper tickets on a critical part of our public transport system in our nation’s capital.”

The launch was held at Wellington’s central train station, which was busy and loud with commuters wandering in and out. Wood joked the speakers hired for the event looked like they came from the last ACDC concert, but he was pleased everyone in the station could hopefully hear what they were talking about.

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The rollout of Snapper cards on trains does however comes with a catch- the electronic ticketing system isn’t integrated.

It means some people travelling by train will miss out on free bus connections because the system doesn’t register transfers between different modes of public transport.

The system has been labelled a missed opportunity and unfair to train users because transfers between buses can be made for no extra cost.

Metlink general manager Samantha Gain said electronic ticketing was an important first step and once it had time to bed in, the council would look at integrated ticketing.

Gain said they would need to see how long it might take, considering the introduction of a National Ticketing Solution.

This solution will create one single payment system when travelling on buses, trains and ferries nationwide.

It’s due to start being rolled out in Canterbury in 2024 and will mean people can pay for public transport using contactless debit or credit cards, as well as digital payment methods like Apple Pay or Google Pay, while still offering the option of using a prepaid transit card.

Snapper chief executive Miki Szikszai said the company supported integrated fares.

“We are standing by to support Metlink should they decide to extend the integrated fares policy to the rail network in due course.”