Over 527 passengers have been fined a collective sum of £42,215 by the Essex Magistrates Court after being found travelling on Greater Anglia trains without valid tickets. The culprits identified were dealt with in four court sessions held in August 2023. These passengers were caught between January and March 2023 by the vigilant Greater Anglia Revenue Protection team.
The main objective of the Revenue Protection officers is to identify and handle passengers who travel without a ticket and exhibit no interest in purchasing one. These officers are well-informed about the status of ticket machines and employ discretion while performing their roles. To enhance their efficiency in ensuring fare compliance, Greater Anglia also deploys plain-clothed Fraud Investigation Officers and uses the latest technology.
Greater Anglia advises passengers of the importance of ticket possession when using their services. They also caution passengers that Contactless and Oyster cards are not accepted beyond specific zones: Shenfield on the Great Eastern Mainline and Broxbourne on the West Anglia Mainline. Moreover, these cards are not permissible for journeys connecting to or from Stansted Airport.
Kim Bucknell, head of revenue protection at Greater Anglia, said: “We have a team of revenue protection staff – both uniformed and plain clothes – who regularly go through our trains checking passengers' tickets.
“The majority of our customers are travelling with the right ticket, but when we come across people without a ticket or the wrong ticket, then we will take action.
“It is easy to buy a ticket, either from a ticket machine, online or via our app, so there is no excuse for travelling without a ticket. It's only fair that everyone buys the right ticket for the journey they are making, and the railway conditions of carriage have always required all passengers to do so.
“We have a range of great value fares and offers available – especially if you book in advance, and it's cheaper to buy a ticket than pay a fine.
“The railway is now entirely funded by the government and so ultimately taxpayers. By not buying a ticket, it means fares go up further for everyone and there is less money to invest in the railway.”
As someone who lives overseas I was a bit puzzled by this ” The railway is now entirely funded by the government “. I thought railways in Britain had been privatised a long time ago. What am I missing?
Are these ticket barriers on the exit or entrance to the platforms ?
Surely on the entrance side (as on other European countries) would make it impossible to travel on a train without a ticket?
And some stations are easy targets including at Wickford and Rayleigh that don’t have enough station staff and don’t have ticket gate line as other stations do. Including at Southend Victoria, Southend Airport and Billericay.