Northern Rail has created a fare system that nobody can understand - Yorkshire Post Letters

It comes as no surprise that Northern Rail has been told by the Department for Transport that it needs to review its ticketing policy and how it handles prosecutions. Northern Rail has already been forced to pay fines for using incorrect legal procedures against passengers.

Northern Rail seem more concerned about creating ways to fine passengers rather than ensuring they can purchase the correct ticket. If a ticket office is too busy for you to buy a ticket at the station you are travelling from then you are either fined by the conductor - even if you try to buy a ticket - or you are fined at the destination end while standing in a queue to buy a ticket on the platform.

I stopped travelling by Northern Rail when they introduced afternoon peak fare times. In order to travel off peak you need to know that you will be returning before 4pm otherwise you have to wait to travel after 6.30pm.

What is even worse is that you can leave a station e.g. Wigan Walgate at 2pm to travel to say Horsforth, but if the train from Leeds to Horsforth leaves after 4pm you still have to pay peak rate for the journey between Wigan and Leeds. If I ever catch a train I am worried that they will find a way to fine me.

Northern Rail have deliberately created a fare system that nobody can understand so that they can fine more customers.

What makes matters worse is that Northern Rail services are abysmal with 1,000 services cancelled during the recent half-term. How can you decide what ticket to buy if you don't know if the train is running or not or if it will be on time?