Buy your ticket before you travel—that’s our simple message, which we are reinforcing with more consistent ticket checking and easier ticket buying for everyone. William Higgins reports
You’re two minutes to departure and running to catch the train. You’ve slept through the alarm, it’s pouring down, your umbrella’s turned inside out in the wind—it’s not a good day.
You reach the station out of breath, take one look at the ticket queue and another at your watch. You can’t be late for that meeting. You panic, head straight for the platform and hop on board.
It may be tempting to do it at one time or another. “I’ll buy it on the train,” you think. “That’s all right, isn’t it?” Well, no. The National Rail Conditions of Carriage clearly state that all passengers must have a valid ticket or authority to travel for the journey they intend to make, unless a train operating company specifies otherwise. And now South West Trains will be enforcing this more consistently.
“We are committed to service improvements under the new franchise, as well as to delivering better value to the taxpayer,” explains Dave Morris, Head of Revenue Protection. “In order to deliver on these promises, we need to ensure that everyone who travels has the correct ticket for their journey.
“Our independent ticketless-travel survey shows that 11% of London commuter region and 4.5% of long distance journeys are made without the right ticket. Not only does that leave a big hole in our revenue, it is not fair on paying passengers.”
Under the terms of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, all passengers must purchase a valid ticket for their journey. Failing to have one before boarding means you are liable for the full single or return fare for your journey—off-peak tickets or Railcard discounts will not apply if bought on the train—which reinforces the mantra to buy before you board. In addition, South West Trains operates a Penalty Fares schemes across most of our network. If stopped by a member of revenue protection staff, you may have to pay a Penalty Fare of £20 or twice the single fare to the next destination at which the train stops, whichever is greater. You will then be required to purchase a new ticket for your onward journey.
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