£7,000 in train fines issued in 90minutes

MAGISTRATES handed out over £7,000 in fines to Arriva Trains Wales passengers who failed to show a valid ticket – in just one 90 minute session last month.

In an hour and a half, £7,028.30p worth of fines were awarded by magistrates at Cardiff and the Vale Magistrates’ Court against 14 passengers on March 24.

Arriva Trains Wales customer services director Lynne Milligan said the fines were an effective deterrent to make sure that passengers pay for their tickets and limit the company’s losses.

One man from Rhondda Cynon Taff was fined £619 for a journey that would have cost him £5.70.

The fine level is made up of a number of court-ordered payments including compensation, costs and surcharges and a punitive fine.

The lowest fine awarded was £243. The fines increase for repeat offenders, those who failed to attend the court and those with higher incomes.

Pleading guilty saw fines brought down considerably.

One passenger was initially issued a fine of £617, which was dropped to £244 after his guilty plea – the journey itself would have cost him £3.40.

The fines issued by magistrates are mostly made up of courts’ charges, with Arriva Trains Wales receiving only the cost of the tickets and a victim compensation charge of around £40.

Ms Milligan said: “When anyone is stopped leaving the railway network without the correct ticket for their journey by one of our revenue protection team they have breached the National Rail conditions of travel.

“People have at least three opportunities to respond with any mitigating information which is then reviewed by a senior manager within Arriva Trains Wales.

“We certainly don’t want to see people ending up with large fines and we would strongly encourage anyone who has been stopped to engage with us so we can resolve a case before it even gets to court.”

Ms Milligan said people must buy a ticket at the first possible opportunity to avoid getting a fine.

“It’s really important that people buy a ticket at the earliest opportunity they can – not sit passively and wait until they are asked,” she said.

“That could mean buying it on our app, at a station, from a machine or by going to see a conductor when you first get on a train.

“There is a conductor on every train and they are visible – so you should actively make your way to the conductor.”