Press release -
West Midlands Railway: More than 2,000 passengers issued penalty fares in first month since charge increased
Rail passengers are being reminded not to try and dodge their fare after West Midlands Railway (WMR) revealed a total of 2,014 people have been handed a Penalty Fare in the first month since the penalty charge increased.
Rail users must purchase a ticket before boarding a train and as part of a national drive to deter ticketless travel, the Penalty Fare increased to a minimum of £100 last month. This is reduced to £50 if paid within 21 days – plus the price of a full single fare applicable.
In the run-up to the change WMR carried out an extensive publicity campaign to warn passengers of the upcoming increase. Since the change, WMR revenue officers have stepped up ticket checks across the network to ensure fairness for paying customers as well as safeguarding revenue for the railway. WMR is also tackling digital fraud as well as carrying out in-person checks.
Since the level of the penalty fare increased on Monday 23 January, WMR has issued an average of 67 penalty fares every day. Among the stations where the most penalties were issued were Birmingham New Street, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham Snow Hill and Redditch.
Annamaria Izzard, head of revenue protection at WMR, said:
“The increase to the Penalty Fare was brought in to help protect hundreds of millions of pounds of vital revenue for the railway which is lost through fare evasion every year.
“The number of penalty fares we have issued shows how seriously we take fare dodging and although the vast majority of our customers do the right thing and purchase before they travel, I hope the Penalty Fare scheme will encourage everyone to think twice about ticketless travel and attempting to evade the fare.”
The new Penalty Fare of £100 plus the price of a ticket represented a significant increase to the previous Penalty Fare of £20 or twice the full single fare to the next station, whichever was greater. The new charge applies across the rail network and followed a national consultation by the Department for Transport.
The national scheme means passengers could have to pay a Penalty Fare if they:
- Travel without a valid ticket
- Can’t show an appropriate Railcard for a discounted ticket
- Travel in First Class with a Standard Class ticket
- Are travelling on a child ticket, but are 16 or over
- Travel beyond the destination on their ticket
For more information on penalty fares, visit Penalty fares policy | West Midlands Railway
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About West Midlands Trains
For further information on this release, email press.office@wmtrains.co.uk
West Midlands Trains operates both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services.
- London Northwestern Railway services operate between Liverpool and Birmingham, and on the West Coast Main Line to and from London Euston.
- West Midlands Railway services operate to destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Snow Hill.
For more information on these services visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk or londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk
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