If you’ve ever taken a train into New York City, you know what a hassle it can be if you’re running behind schedule and you have JUST enough time to make the train…only, you forgot to buy your ticket. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just buy your ticket on your handy smartphone? For the procrastinators and smartphone app lovers, Metro-North Railroad is testing an app just for you. New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the railroad, will be rolling out a mobile-ticketing app next month.

The app will be expanded to customers if the test goes smoothly and will be offered on iPhones, Androids and BlackBerrys.

“We are as excited to begin testing the next generation ticket-selling technology as we were when we introduced ticket vending machines a quarter of a century ago,” Metro-North President Howard Permut said in a statement. “The latest test is intended to ensure that the newest technology will be equally easy to use, as well as secure and reliable.”

The MTA is working with the U.S. branch of London-based Masabi Ltd., which developed the mobile-phone ticketing technology used by 13 transit agencies in the U.K. Masabi is also working with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to introduce a similar system this year.

The e-tickets will show an image a conductor can validate with a barcode scanner. The initial pilot will include a time measurement study to compare electronic purchases with on-board transactions and inspection efforts. The MTA will also keep an eye on anti-fraud measures before deciding whether or not to expand this program to all riders.

“Smartphones have the potential to transform the public transit systems across the United States,” Giacomo Biggiero, director of Masabi U.S. Ltd., said in a statement. “Passengers will be able to quickly and easily find, buy and display tickets on their phones wherever they are without having to worry about carrying cash or waiting in line.”

Masabi’s technology also supports contactless near-field communications which allow tickets to be checked or gates opened when phones are waved over a sensor.

That technology, though not yet widely used, is similar to a New Jersey Transit program that lets some commuters pay for fares using sensors set up by Google (News - Alert). The third-largest U.S. transit system became the first to partner with the company on its Google Wallet “tap-and-pay” system last year, joining retailers including The Container Store, Foot Locker and Macy’s.

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