Free Trains

[homedeeth]

There was a time in the 90s and 10s that i could get on the Leamington Spa to Birmingham New Street train and not pay the fare.There was no ticket man to be seen. Is there anyone out there that still dodges the fare and what routes are they?

[VHG]

Doesn't Leamington Spa go to Moor Street or Snow Hill not New Street (I may be wrong).

They have recently erected barriers at Moor Street (and I guess Snow Hill) so you cant get ON the station or OFF the station unles you have a ticket.

Good thing too.

[piggynose]

fare dodger!! isn´t the fine 30 quid these days?

[Buenchico]

Almost every staffed station in the UK now has ticket barriers, to ensure that you can't travel without a ticket. On many lines here in East Anglia a lot of the stations are unstaffed but there's a conductor who pounces on passengers within moments of them boarding, to check that they've got tickets or to sell them. Further, there are regular patrols from revenue officers, accompanied by British Transport Police, who operate a strict policy of taking court action against anyone who tries to cheat the system by travelling beyond the station on their ticket. (A couple of months ago I saw someone arrested and taken off the train in handcuffs for doing exactly that).

When I was 'trade plating', about 10 years ago, there was actually a photocopied handbook in circulation, entitled "A Plater's Guide to Train Jumping", which listed the easiest ways to avoid paying fares. (I never used it. On several occasions I actually walked the full length of a train, looking for a conductor, in order that I could pay the fare). I very much doubt that such a document still exists because nearly all of the loopholes in the system have now been closed.

Chris