West Midlands Railway clamps down on ticketless travel and antisocial behaviour on the Chase line

Tuesday, 22 January 2019

West Midlands Railway has been clamping down on ticketless travel and antisocial behaviour on the Chase line.

On Friday (18 January), a total of 25 revenue protection managers were stationed at six locations on the line between Bloxwich and Rugeley Town from 1500 until 1830, as well as at Walsall station from 1200 until 1500.

It is the first time in nearly two years that the train operator on the route has put revenue checks in place at multiple stations on the line simultaneously.

During the exercise, 83 penalty fares were handed out. The team also issued six prosecution notices for repeat offenders and fraudulent travellers.

The exercise came in response to increased and ongoing concerns, not only about fare evasion, but persistent antisocial behaviour and assaults to railway staff on the route.

West Midlands Railway has recently recruited an additional six revenue protection and security managers across the West Midlands region, to help tackle ticketless travel, antisocial behaviour and other issues reported to the team.

Steven Fisher, head of on board experience for West Midlands Railway, said: “We want to send a clear message to the minority who have been causing persistent issues on the line between Walsall and Rugeley – that we will be tackling fare evasion and antisocial behaviour, and that we have increased our staffing to enable us to do this more effectively. At the same time, we want to reassure our fare paying passengers that we are doing all we can to make sure everyone has a ticket when travelling on our trains and that all customers and staff can travel safely across our network.

“Where there is evidence that an individual has deliberately sought to fare evade, we can and do prosecute through the court system. This can result in a hefty fine and a criminal record for repeat offenders.”

The train operator is advising all passengers to purchase a ticket before travelling – either from station staff, ticket vending machines, online, or via the West Midlands Railway app. Passengers who don't buy a ticket before travelling from a station where ticket buying facilities are available, may be issued with a penalty fare.

Penalty fares are £20 or twice the full single ticket price for a journey, whichever is greater.

ENDS

About West Midlands Trains

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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 mainline to and from London Euston.

• West Midlands Railway services operate to destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street.

For more information on these services visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk or londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk

The West Midlands Trains franchise started on 10 December 2017 and will run until 2025/26.

West Midlands Trains operates 1,300 services a day, manages 150 stations and provides over 70 million passenger journeys a year. Over the course of the franchise, West Midlands Trains will be investing £1 billion into the rail network to deliver new trains, improved routes and station upgrades. This will include 400 new train carriages across the network and space for an extra 85,000 passengers into Birmingham and London at peak times.

The franchise is a joint venture between Abellio (70.1% share) and East Japan Railway Company / Mitsui & Co., Ltd (29.9% share in a 50:50 split). Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. In the UK, Abelllio operates ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, Merseyrail services in a joint venture with Serco and buses through Abellio London. For more information visit www.abellio.com

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