Train operator Northern to target 'persistent fare dodgers'

Northern said it will prosecute persistent fare dodgers

"Persistent evaders" who are caught dodging train fares will be prosecuted for "historic" evasions as well as the current one, a train operator has said.

Northern said it was targeting those with a "proven pattern of behaviour" and would look to show courts "the full scale of the perpetrator's deception".

It said as about 70% of tickets were now bought online, it could scrutinise suspected fraud "in much more detail".

The aim was to catch people "who try to outsmart the system", it added.

Commercial and customer director Mark Powles said some people were using "a complex process of fraudulent refund requests, delay repay claims and a process known as 'short faring'" - which sees travellers only pay for part of their journey - to avoid paying fares.

"What those people might not realise is that, as with any electronic transaction, our systems are able to identify suspicious activity and bring it to the attention of our specialist investigators," he said.

In 2022, the operator installed a system across its network within station barriers at "known hotspots" which automatically detect whether a ticket is valid.

A representative said the operator was issuing "a warning to persistent fare evaders" that once identified, they should "expect to be prosecuted for historic cases of fare evasion as well as the journey for which they were caught".

They said that where there was "a proven pattern of behaviour", its debt recovery and prosecutions unit would "build a case for the courts that outlines the full scale of the perpetrator's deception over many years".

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