Train operator South Western Railway (SWR) and Network Rail Wessex (NR Wessex) have begun cracking down on ‘short-faring’, which involves passengers paying for a ticket only for part of their journey rather than for the full distance they travel.

Working together, the two organisations have analysed data and identified what they describe as ‘widespread misuse’ of barcode tickets and e-tickets by people who are deliberately avoiding paying the full fare. The operator estimates that up to 95% of barcode tickets bought between Vauxhall and London Waterloo are being used fraudulently, which represents a financial loss of up to £1 million.

The crackdown forms part of SWR’s wider revenue protection strategy, which has helped reduce fare evasion by more than two-thirds (67%) since 2017. In the past year, with SWR back in public ownership, fare evasion has fallen by a further 11%.

About 172 million journeys are made each year on the SWR and NR Wessex railway network, around 6.5 million of which are made by passengers without a valid ticket. SWR estimates that this costs it nearly £40 million a year. The Rail Delivery Group estimates the national figure at close to £400 million a year.

NR Wessex and SWR have promised that money recovered will be reinvested into the railway.

SWR’s revenue protection team features in the latest series of Channel 5’s behind-the-scenes documentary, ‘Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law’, which premiered yesterday (3 August 2026). The team also featured in last year’s series.

“The overwhelming majority of our customers pay the correct fare. However, there’s growing evidence of some people deliberately exploiting the system – a criminal offence that deprives the railway of hundreds of millions of pounds each year.

“We know our customers don’t like seeing blatant fare evasion, whether that’s tailgating through ticket gates or simply travelling without a ticket. But we’re also tackling the less visible forms of fare fraud, including short-faring and misuse of e-tickets.

“Every fare avoided is money that can’t be reinvested into improving the railway and delivering the best possible service. We have a responsibility to protect revenue and our specially trained teams work around the clock to check tickets on stations and trains to improve fairness for the millions of customers who do the right thing.”

Matthew Winnie, South Western Railway & Network Rail Wessex Chief Customer and Commercial Officer