Fare dodging: More than 40,000 penalties issued by Northern to passengers dodging fares including on Yorkshire routes

The annual figures were from Northern’s Debt Recovery and Prosecutions Unit and despite ticketless travel accounting for as little as three per cent of journeys on its network during the last 12 months (April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024), the lowest on record, during the same period the train operator had to investigate 57,302 reports of attempted fare evasion.

Northern also issued 41,922 Penalty Fare Notices and attended 172 court hearings which helped to recover nearly £4,000,000 (£3.97 million) of lost revenue for the taxpayer.

Commercial and customer director at Northern, Mark Powles, said: “The reality is that fare dodgers expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab for their journey – and that’s just not on.

“The rail industry receives a great deal of public subsidy and we have a responsibility to do everything we can to reduce that figure – starting by ensuring everyone pays their way.

“Clearly, with almost 97% of people boarding our trains doing the right thing and buying a ticket for their journey, they are with us on this issue.”

In January 2024, Northern reported a 20 per cent decrease in the number of penalty fares issued in the first year since the government increased the fine for those travelling without a ticket to £100. That 20 per cent reduction has remained into a second year with the figures released today (April 23, 2024).

Ticket checks carried out by conductors onboard their trains and the increasing use of physical ticket gatelines at major stations have reassured customers that Northern takes fare evasion seriously.

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Mr Powles said: “In cases of persistent fare evasion, there is often an element of anti-social behaviour to deal with too.

“By tackling the root cause and keeping those responsible for that behaviour off our trains we can create a safer environment for our customers.”

Northern has invested in the largest network of digital ticket infrastructure of any train operator in the country, which makes it easier to buy a ticket via the app, website, one of more than 600 ticket machines across the network and ticket offices too.

Fare dodgers are protected under the provisions of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 and the Railway Byelaws made pursuant to the Transport Act 2000. In cases of ticket fraud, perpetrators are prosecuted under the Fraud Act 2006.