Northern saw 'significant drop' in penalty fares after fine was hiked to £100

The train operator said fare dodgers were hit with 41,234 fines between January 23 and December 23 last year, compared to 52,394 for the same period in 2022. That is a 21 per cent drop.

It came after the government increased the penalty for travelling without a valid ticket on rail services across the country from £20 to £100 in January 2023, as operators had claimed it was too low. It was the first increase since 2005.

Mark Powles, commercial director at Northern, said: “This is a significant and much welcomed drop in the number of penalty fares issued.

“The appetite for risking it has clearly taken a hit in the past 12 months – and the increase in the penalty fare is no doubt a factor.”

He added: “It’s worth remembering that upwards of 95 per cent of our customers do the right thing and buy a ticket before they travel.

“The reduction in attempted fare evasion is a victory for taxpayers who ultimately foot the bill for those that try not to pay.”

The latest figures from the Office of Rail and Road show Northern, run by the government’s Operator of Last Resort, recorded a cancellation score of 5.6 per cent between July and September last year and 60 per cent of its services arrived on time.

The operator’s Debt Recovery & Prosecutions Unit issued 53,344 Penalty Fare Notices in 2022/23, attended 301 court sittings, helped secure 14,072 convictions and recouped £2.9m (£2,851,883) of lost revenue for the taxpayer.

As almost 70 per cent of tickets are now bought online, the operator also has a Digital Fraud Investigations Team which works to catch those who submit fraudulent refund requests and false delay repay claims.

They are also cracking down on “short faring”, where people only purchase tickets for a portion of their journey.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, running around 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.