Oyster cards are still coming to Epsom despite missing the September deadline, Epsom and Ewell's MP has said.

September 2014: Oyster Card is coming to Epsom - official 

Chris Grayling said transport ministers were in ‘intensive negotiations’ to sort out the problems.

Last year Southern Railways - which manage Epsom station - announced a start date of this month, but Transport for London (TfL) tweeted on September 9 that there were no longer plans for Oyster to be extended to Epsom station this year.

Mr Grayling described this as ‘misleading’ today, saying complications in fare calculations had caused a delay, rather than a cancellation.

TfL said it was ‘not responsible for bringing Oyster to Epsom Station’ and that the tweet was only sent because no start date has been set, even though it had no authority over the matter.

Mr Grayling said: "The problem is not to do with Epsom, but rather with the complicated fare calculations for Thameslink services that run all the way to Gatwick.

"It’s very disappointing, but I have been assured Southern Railways and Department for Transport ministers are in intensive negotiations every week to resolve the matter.

"We all know this is a very important issue for Epsom residents and we’re all working very hard to bring in Oyster cards as soon as possible.

"And in fact I’ve urged both sides to use Epsom station as a leader in their expansion of the Oyster scheme, rather than doing it all in one go."

Southern Railways declined to confirm a start date for the scheme, simply saying that discussions to roll out the scheme were ‘continuing’.

However, Mr Grayling suggested it would be unlikely to begin before the end of the year.

It is also unclear if the expansion will also see Epsom become part of Zone 6 - for which this newspaper and Mr Grayling have campaigned over the past three years.

Epsom and Ewell Residents' Association councillor Clive Woodbridge said: "It’s incredibly disappointing it’s being set back - this is an incredibly popular initiative with residents and we all feel the frustration.

"Oyster cards are so ubiquitous these days and because we don’t have them at Epsom station it causes a great deal of inconvenience.

"All we can do as a council is champion this on behalf of the residents by pressuring Southern and the Department for Transport."

What do you think of the delay? Leave a comment below, tweet @EpsomGuardian or email Ben Weich at ben.weich@london.newsquest.co.uk