Discretion urged over train fines (BBC News)

[RF News]

A rail passenger watchdog has urged train companies to use discretion when issuing fines after a study on ticket office queuing times.

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[bramleyman]

What a load of tommy-rot? It will not work for the simple reason staff do NOT just board just at a terminus as I well know having DONE the job. the people who suggest these scatty ideas should get out there and try it themselves. Rant over.

[hstudent]

As passenger numbers are rising TOCs should look at having more staff at stations at peak times. Is one person selling tickets really enough when there is a train in one direction a few minutes after one on the other? Also, if a ticket machine breaks and there is only one at the station then it's means no-one can buy before they board and a conductor may decide to phone the station if people claim they weren't able to buy a ticket at the station, consequently meaning they are going to ask less people on the train for tickets.

Also, penalty fares may work effectively on Manchester Metrolink when there is at least one ticket machine per stop. However, if someone tries to exit the Merseyrail system without a ticket and they say they boarded at Capenhurst they can't be charged a penalty (as Capenhurst is unstaffed) even if they boarded at a staffed station.

[pavorossi]

I don't know how they do things on Merseyrail, but on the East Lancs we have two unstaffed stations. At these stations it's the ticket inspectors duty to see if there is anyone boarding. I believe it would be a reasonable assumption to presume that this is how they would get round the problem.

[bramleyman]

At Downham Market in Norfolk, there are two trains passing within 5 minutes almost every hour and only the one window of the booking office open at any one time, plus two Quickfare ticket machines, one on either platform which a number of people have failed to use, boarded the trains and so ended up in court after their journeys. GOOD!