It seems that revenue protection is a key target for the HM Government as it moves to control the public rail network with new ticket gates for stations across England.
As part of the government’s rail reforms, new ticket gates will be installed at stations and platforms across England, targeting fare-dodger hotspots to crack down on deliberate ticketless travel.
The new gates – valued at £33.4 million – will support the rollout of a range of gate types at stations which currently have none, including new taller gates to prevent barrier jumping and more of the standard waist-high gates currently used across Great Britain and on the London Underground.
According to the government, fare evasion puts up to £400 million of rail revenue at risk each year.
Operators allocated funding to support the delivery of new gates include:
- Avanti West Coast: Stafford, Liverpool Lime Street
- East Midlands Railway: Market Harborough
- Greater Anglia: Witham, Rayleigh, Ware, Hertford East and Manningtree
- Thameslink Southern Great Northern: Royston, Stevenage, Elephant and Castle, Worthing and Gipsy Hill
- TransPennine Express: Manchester Piccadilly
- West Midlands Trains: Tamworth, Nuneaton, Worcester Foregate Street and Worcester Shrub Hill
The new ticket gates will have passengers in mind with options to scan digital tickets, insert paper tickets or ‘tap out’ where contactless travel is available and follow wider changes coming in across the railway to improve ticketing and stop fraud.
In Quotes
The Rail Minister, Lord Peter Hendy, said:
Fare evasion is not a victimless crime – it undermines confidence in the railway and means passengers lose out on millions in revenue, which should be invested to improve services for everyone.
By stopping fare dodgers before they reach the platform, we’re protecting taxpayer cash, supporting investment in the network and ensuring the railway works better for the millions of passengers who do the right thing every day by paying their way.
As we deliver significant reform across our railways in the lead-up to Great British Railways, we are creating a truly joined-up railway, which is more accountable and better equipped to deliver the reliable, modern railway passengers deserve, to create jobs, growth and homes.
It’s all too easy…
Outside of the main centres, it is far too easy to get on a train without crossing a barrier, riding, getting off and not purchasing a ticket.
Train companies over the years have removed humanpower from train stations as they sought to reduce costs (and that can be seen with modern stations only having Ticket Vending Machines, as opposed to staffed ticket booths).
If there is no barrier, people will take the chance to save a quick penny – even if there are penalty fares in play and that tickets are getting easier to buy with lots of different options (for example, your author uses Uber Trains for simple trips, and other split-ticketing tools for longer, more complex trips).
Having taller barriers will put off some people in locations where there are signs of higher-than-usual fare evasion; however, it goes without saying that the sense of entitlement to use something for free and be aggrieved when payment is demanded needs to be addressed too.
And may be the bigger problem to address. Fines and Court threats only go so far.
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond. Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver.
Our Social Media pool has expanded. You can find us across most networks as @economybeyond on BlueSky, Threads, Mastodon and Instagram!
Also, remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world
Leave a Reply