Two 'fare dodgers' a day issued with rail penalty notices in Rotherham

As well as the 789 rail penalty notices, annual figures released by Northern from its Debt Recovery and Prosecutions Unit also revealed there were 365 travel incident reports – when an investigation is opened into the journey – equal to one a day.

Nationally, the train operator investigated 57,302 reports of attempted fare evasion on its network and issued 41,922 penalty fare notices between April 1 2023 and March 31, 202.

Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “The reality is that fare dodgers expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab for their journey – and that’s just not on.

“The rail industry receives a great deal of public subsidy and we have a responsibility to do everything we can to reduce that figure – starting by ensuring everyone pays their way.

“Clearly, with almost 97 per cent of people boarding our trains doing the right thing and buying a ticket for their journey, they are with us on this issue.”

Ticket checks carried out by conductors on-board trains and the growing use of physical ticket gate-lines at major stations had “reassured customers that Northern takes fare evasion seriously”, he said adding: “In cases of persistent fare evasion, there is often an element of anti-social behaviour to deal with, too.

“By tackling the root cause and keeping those responsible for that behaviour off our trains we can create a safer environment for our customers.”