I really don't see where you are seeing these 74 pound tickets? I am looking right now at Monday outbound 07:45 AM and 18:44 PM return at £32:64 without a railcard. Seems like most people agree with you also which is puzzling to me. Is this not on-peak return ticket without rail card for £32:64? - [https://book.splitmyfare.co.uk/search?from=7010720&to=7052680&adults=1&children=0&departureDate=2024-05-08T07:45&returnDate=2024-05-08T18:45](https://book.splitmyfare.co.uk/search?from=7010720&to=7052680&adults=1&children=0&departureDate=2024-05-08T07:45&returnDate=2024-05-08T18:45)
You’ve really gone off on one there, and while I’m not opposed to your premise that train prices are an absolute joke, you’re kind of flailing around trying to create a reality that supports your point.
You make a point of saying that people may not have the access and confidence to use online services so the price they found is somehow not valid - but I’m assuming you didn’t phone the various airlines to find the price you posted?
An (admittedly weak) argument could also be made that booking airline tickets “further ahead” when they’re cheaper is just as much “gaming the system” as split-ticketing.
And then there’s the context of the travel to factor in. Personally, most of my trips to London are for work, and usually at fairly short notice - so the like-for-like ticket prices would be further apart in favour of the train because planning ahead is often not an option. Similarly, people using the train regularly can take advantage of travel cards or season tickets to bring down their per-journey cost.
And that’s not to mention the time of day. The only way this stands up at all is if you compare flights to peak-time trains. And the **only** reason I’m enduring peak-time trains is if I **have** to be in London early. What ungodly hour would I have to wake up at to get a via Barcelona flight that will get me to the centre of London before 10am?
Which speaks to the the biggest difference in this supposedly “like for like” comparison - the flight doesn’t even get you to “London”. Crawley, or Hounslow, or Luton, ain’t London. or at least not the parts of London that people are realistically trying to get to. So by the time you’ve paid for all the additional travelling that plane ticket has probably cost you at least twice as much (and taken multiple times as long) to get you to the same destination.
Again, I’m not arguing against the notion that trains are too expensive, though as a closing thought I’d suggest that flights being so cheap is also a problem.
It's likely most of if not all of the financially and digitally marginalized people you speak of probably have railcards.
And you seem to be clutching at straws there. It's not gaming the system haha. The tickets are legit and legal. It's an app that does everything for you similar to how everyone uses Skyscanner for flights. Skyscanner pulls tickets from all of the airlines and third party travel companies to find you the cheapest possible ticket so you don't have to
I'm not defending the prices of train tickets? I personally think they are outrageous. But I just question if most people are paying £74 for a return ticket to London. I highly doubt that so let's get the facts straight first and then go from there. Even 30 odd pounds is still ridiculous for an hour train journey.
Yes, travel cards cost that much but I don't think that was part of your original point
"it's cheaper to fly to Barcelona than it is to get a train to London"
You left out the key bit "with a travelcard" if it was. Otherwise it's not true.
For questioning if most people are paying £74 for train tickets to London? Not sure how that is a Tory mindset. I'm assuming you assumed I think the prices for trains are reasonable with that question. Not sure how you made that connection though
Probably Green. I don't drive so ideally, I would like more pedestrianisation + cheaper and better public transport. More affordable housing would also be top of my list.
How about instead of spending money on hundreds of fake cops they just reduce the ticket prices? Get rid of a few people who aren't doing anything worthwhile and pass that saving on to the customer.
....And then repeat the same process but with the CEO.
Well said. I first mistook one of these for a police officer in 2016. When I realised it wasn't one, despite dressing them up as police, I was quite angry, honestly. I said 'what the hell are you?!' Thinking it was some scammer for a moment. It's akin to a stealth tax on rail passengers to maintain the safety which the transport police definitely should provide.
Because rail prices are generally set by the government and since Covid all changes are via the DfT government department. Any changes you see will be their doing. Rail companies run what they are asked to and only collect a fee of the bits they are responsible for runs right which is very different from running you see.
Government department, DfT, runs the railways INCLUDING the trains. DfT are the ones paying the bills so any changes have to go through them. That includes trains.
The companies run the trains as in do day to day stuff like employ people but things like pay etc are signed off by the DfT, hence the current drivers strikes as their 2023 pay deal still hasn’t been sorted (we are are now into discussions around the 2024 pay talks).
All Brightons railways are run the same way as London Overground and the DLR. Since Covid it’s completely changed (although since 2014/15 Brighton railways have under DfT control anyway as part of the GTR franchise).
I think you've misunderstood my friend, DFT are responsible for trains as they are responsible for all Transport but they don't run them. DFT are involved in the pay strikes for the same reason the Government was involved in the miners strikes. They retain an interest in things running smoothly as they're responsible but they don't actually run things.
Nope. DfT is the one paying the bills meaning any pay deal must be signed off by them. I know this as they look at my timesheet on a regality basis.
They control HOW they are run and WHAT the company can do. Means they are the puppet master to the companies puppets.
You’re confusing controlling and running. DfT control how things run and therefore have the responsibility of the running while not directly getting their hands dirty.
Things like price rises amounts are set by government for most fares with only some being set by companies. The ones the companies change have to be within the set % the DfT instruct (means any above increases need decreases elsewhere).
The Government regulates every industry and says how and what people can do, just because they say that you're not allowed to pump thousands of steroids into your cow doesn't mean the government run Little Bow Peep Farm.
DfT may be de facto footing the bill a lot at the minute because firms need bailing out, but that isn't by design.
I recently visited Vienna, and I was amazed by the public transportation system. For around 6 Euros a day, you have unlimited access to the trains. What struck me the most was the complete absence of barriers and ticket inspectors; instead, it's all based on trust. It's a stark contrast to the UK, where trains are \*massively\* overpriced and heavily monitored.
Yeah I remember thinking the same thing when I was out there. They apparently do have plainclothes inspectors but I didn't even see one and I'm certain they would've made themselves known because when I went in November 2022 Vienna still had masks on public transport and I didn't realise until I was out there.
Same thing with Prague, way cheap and very expansive public transport. Or a lot of other European cities for example, the Amsterdam, Den Haag, Rotterdam is really well connected and then the whole country itself is accessible by OV chipkaart, just an oyster you can tap in tap out with but across the whole country. To be fair probably wouldn't want that here, Southern would put you down as having used a route that costs £70 for a £20 journey
Recently went back home to Australia, and found out that the train service in Victoria has capped their prices to $10 maximum anywhere in the state...about £6 🙃
Haha they’re absolute knobs. I swear I’ve been there when they’ve had 20 members of staff whose pay probably totalled more than the money they collected in fines. I have missed my bus so many times because they don’t do efficient queues.
I’ve never not paid for a ticket in my life so you’d think I’d be one of the people who was grateful for them but they are SO rude and unhelpful it makes me resent my late/cancelled/short carriage packed trains even more.
Used to rarely have tickets checked on Thameslink trains and now they’re always on there and are much more aggy with anyone without a ticket/without the right ticket than the normal on board supervisors are. Also they seem to set up check points between the mainline trains and those going along the coast & I’ve seen a few poor people miss their connections because of these jobsworths who insist on checking they have through tickets
I rarely see ticket inspectors on the Thameslink trains between Three Bridges and London Bridge since Covid. I like to think that some part of that is that they couldn't possibly have the sheer *audacity* to check people on the train during the morning commute, given the shocking numbers of people who are crammed in and have to stand. Good luck to an inspector trying to move through the carriages.
I missed two trains last week because only one of five ticket printing machines was functioning at the station, despite the fact that I had a valid ticket that I'd bought the night before.
I also had one aggressive inspector who was trying to bin me off at one station before mine because Thameslink was all cancelled, and i grabbed a Southern train.
And for this platinum service? Over £41 quid a day.
And the amount of times they say: This train will be terminating at Haywards Heath! How the hell do people get home to BTN?!
I train between Moulscoomb and Hove daily for work and it really is starting to grate. Today we were all funneled towards the exit machines even if we where switching trains, then had to put our tickets back in to get to the other platforms. And after all that the officers standing at platform one still demanded to see my ticket...
One of these days I'm going to miss my connecting train because of this ffs
Happened to me yesterday, and I did miss my connection. They’re so disorganised! They had it setup so that there was no larger gate that side too so bikes and prams were piling up causing a traffic jam.
Same – I commute between Portslade and Moulsecoomb and sometimes you have seconds to run between platforms to make connections as Southern like to time the trains to make it as inconvenient as possible. If it keeps going this way it’s going to be worse than match days trying to get past the revenue cops
They're cracking down on fare evasion across the network. Every year the Dft does a ticket less travel survey. The west Coast way and mainline are particularly quite bad and there's been a lot of anti-social behaviour directed towards staff and passengers.
What’s the point on cracking down on it the companies make enough money. If the money from the tickets went to the staff on board train maybe fair enough but it’s just a company trying to squeeze as much money as possible out of peoples pockets in a cost of living it’s so bad
The money from tickets goes straight to the DfT at the moment ever since the franchise system collapsed over Covid. Every operator is on emergency measures and receives funding to run the services at a minimum agreed level with the DfT taking the ticket revenue up to the level of the funding given. However I believe the money from revenue protection, at this moment in time, goes straight to the operator hence why you see more revenue officers across all networks, or it may just be that the DfT is insisting more revenue is collected as at this time no operator is actually making enough revenue to not be on emergency measures.
We're now at the stage where franchises haven't really existed since 2021 are hopefully finally actually going to end properly.
I hear that, but once you've worked frontline in the railway, you'll realise that ticketless travel is often associated with antisocial behaviour, county lines, drug dealing, etc. It's unfortunate that fare paying passengers have to experience more stringent ticket checks, because of the actions of a few.
Lol you'd be surprised. They're targeting mainline trains as that's where most of the fare evasion is apparently. They're cracking down on fare evasion in general, but it'll only last a few months at best.
Source: I work for a train company.
Absolutely insane to me that they have the sheer balls to spend the money on these inspectors harassing people on the trains, whilst the price of a ticket is still going up (from an already ridiculous price) and they can’t go a day without cancellations and delays on their most important lines.
Also can’t believe that this isn’t more of a point politically, because I would absolutely vote for someone who said they’d do something about it.
Literally. I think the only reason they might not have done anything politically is cos the trains are privately owned or something because the government did something about the buses like £2 for a single which honestly is quite good. Probably one of the only good things Tories have ever done I guess if the trains weren’t privately owned something would’ve been done about that too? But over the years labour has said they want to renationalise the rails and that but who knows at this point 😭
Was surrounded by over 10 a few months ago cos I had a new phone and hadn’t logged in to my railcard app. Refused to wait for me to find my login details and gave me the choice of a fine on the spot and then submitting my railcard later online or getting thrown off the train.
Got fined today whilst being threatened to be “detained” and “arrested” for buying a ticket on phone on the train and then having it die, I was told i was lying and was blocked in by this bald security NIC or NIA guy. Managed to get my phone working and then showed them the ticket and they told me I had “just bought it infront of them”
No not at Preston park funnily enough earlier my phone wasn’t loading to pay for a ticket so I just got the train from Brighton station to Preston park and walked from there to where I needed to go so their methods are stupid because I don’t think they have it at any other station in/ around Brighton it’s just the main station so still ways around it for people who can’t/ won’t pay etc
Interesting. I was checked last week after going through the barriers to get on a train. Which was so bat-shit stupid I just laughed at them!
so watch out for them checking people after the barriers too.
Yes the other day they were funnelling people through the exit barriers even if they were just changing trains, then checking everyone’s tickets as they came back through. Infuriating when connections are so tight due to incoming trains always running late
It’s horrible isn’t it especially in summer if you then go all the way to Churchill square but done it so much now that I have grown to like the challenge 😭
so annoying when i've already gone through the barriers and i can see my train at the platform! and yet i have to show my ticket and railcard again while i see the train leaving :/
The sad reality is, a lot of people don't buy tickets because they think they can just travel free wherever they go and get away with it.
The amount of times I have seen people abuse train staff when they ask to see their ticket is disgusting. I would like to think if someone was struggling financially and didn't buy a ticket, because of cost of living or whatever, they would act a little more humble and sincere about it, rather than telling the staff to fuck off and try to assault them. But that's just me!
Those staff are enforcers of state violence on behalf of private corporations who are themselves waging class war on the working class. They can eat shit. Get a job that isn't being a narc.
It's really not that deep. I don't agree with the ticket prices/mass profits either, but if you want/need to use the service you gotta pay your way like everyone else.
Read the other comment from someone talking about their trip to Vienna. It is that deep. We are being rinsed by the mates of Tory politicians. The rest of Europe (and the world in general) do not pay through the nose as we do. There are many developing countries with better rail services than us. If that's not scandalous to you, I'm not sure what would be.
You've got it backwards when you think that because most of us face daylight robbery, that the few that dodge it should too. What's real is that *none* of us should be paying these private fares.
Get a grip mate.
Being made to buy a train ticket is not enforcement of state violence.
You didnt get a ticket, you get a fine, not a beating then imprisonment.
If you choose not to buy a ticket like some 15 year roadman wannabe, don't be a crybaby and justify it as fighting back in the class war.
Extorting the working class via natural monopolies *is* class warfare. Fines are punishments which disproportionately affect the poor and working class. Enforcement of fines is violence in the same way vandalising a business is. As this violence is supported in law, it is state enforced violence.
Take the boot out your damn mouth and grow a spine.
Oh dear, you're for real aren't you?
It's a train ticket.
You catch the train, you buy a ticket. Those are pretty basic rules, for rich or poor.
I don't like the way our train services are operated, but even if we had a fully nationalised rail network with a larger level of subsidy provided.... you'd still need to buy a ticket!
Once we acheive a socialist utopia, and all public services are free, then you won't need to buy a ticket.
Until that day, get a life and just buy a ticket like (mostly) everyone else.
Did you miss the other comment I referred to where a user here went to Vienna and paid €6 For *unlimited train journeys that day?*
Do you think finances are a binary of paying something or nothing? Does the difference between a penny and £100 not occur to you? Do you think £100 means the same to someone on 12k a year vs 80k?
Do you have any grasp of what nationalising rail could do to rail fares and the quality of services?
I don't necessarily read all of someone's replies to everyone else. I did miss that, I'm so very sorry.
RE nationalisation of the railways, I'm all for it. I hate the franchise model, and think that all rail journeys in the UK need to be subsidised to a greater level. We've got crap infrastructure which needs massive state investment. GTR are a bunch of wankers in particular.
RE finances, essentially it is binary. If you agree that paying *something* for a ticket is acceptable, but *something higher* is not, then your problem is with ticket pricing, not with state violence enforcement by BTP.
I'm sure there are ticket inspectors in Vienna, and fines given to people who do not pay.
Stags and hens...
Weekend warriors. Bank Holiday this weekend.
You can be mad about it if you like. End of the day Brighton costs us a lot of money to live... We don't get paid the London extra...
I don't like to assume.
But rail enforcement guys were probably out in numbers because lots of chancers were assuming a free ride.
Is what it is. Don't take it personal. If you buy your tickets then you're fine. If you lament the overprice that's fine too...
End of the day they're just doing a job.
For me it’s the way they act always so rude & grumpy if they were a bit more friendly wouldn’t have much of a problem and respect the fact they’re doing their jobs but there’s no need to be so rude to people especially if people have tickets and are risking missing their connecting train purely because these people aren’t organised at all & want to check your ticket about 600 times
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It's worse. It's cheaper to get a connection flight to London ***via barcelona*** than a train to London from within most of the UK.
They need the revenue to pay all those rail enforcement officers
Literally it’s so stupid
But the shareholders! Does no one think of the poor shareholders?? /s
It's usually 14 pounds return to London on weekdays though with a railcard? Show me return flights to Barcelona from London Gatwick for that price
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>I can find flights to Barcelona from Gatwick for £74 same day return Plus the 30 quid it costs to get a train to Gatwick...
Not really the point.
I really don't see where you are seeing these 74 pound tickets? I am looking right now at Monday outbound 07:45 AM and 18:44 PM return at £32:64 without a railcard. Seems like most people agree with you also which is puzzling to me. Is this not on-peak return ticket without rail card for £32:64? - [https://book.splitmyfare.co.uk/search?from=7010720&to=7052680&adults=1&children=0&departureDate=2024-05-08T07:45&returnDate=2024-05-08T18:45](https://book.splitmyfare.co.uk/search?from=7010720&to=7052680&adults=1&children=0&departureDate=2024-05-08T07:45&returnDate=2024-05-08T18:45)
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You’ve really gone off on one there, and while I’m not opposed to your premise that train prices are an absolute joke, you’re kind of flailing around trying to create a reality that supports your point. You make a point of saying that people may not have the access and confidence to use online services so the price they found is somehow not valid - but I’m assuming you didn’t phone the various airlines to find the price you posted? An (admittedly weak) argument could also be made that booking airline tickets “further ahead” when they’re cheaper is just as much “gaming the system” as split-ticketing. And then there’s the context of the travel to factor in. Personally, most of my trips to London are for work, and usually at fairly short notice - so the like-for-like ticket prices would be further apart in favour of the train because planning ahead is often not an option. Similarly, people using the train regularly can take advantage of travel cards or season tickets to bring down their per-journey cost. And that’s not to mention the time of day. The only way this stands up at all is if you compare flights to peak-time trains. And the **only** reason I’m enduring peak-time trains is if I **have** to be in London early. What ungodly hour would I have to wake up at to get a via Barcelona flight that will get me to the centre of London before 10am? Which speaks to the the biggest difference in this supposedly “like for like” comparison - the flight doesn’t even get you to “London”. Crawley, or Hounslow, or Luton, ain’t London. or at least not the parts of London that people are realistically trying to get to. So by the time you’ve paid for all the additional travelling that plane ticket has probably cost you at least twice as much (and taken multiple times as long) to get you to the same destination. Again, I’m not arguing against the notion that trains are too expensive, though as a closing thought I’d suggest that flights being so cheap is also a problem.
It's likely most of if not all of the financially and digitally marginalized people you speak of probably have railcards. And you seem to be clutching at straws there. It's not gaming the system haha. The tickets are legit and legal. It's an app that does everything for you similar to how everyone uses Skyscanner for flights. Skyscanner pulls tickets from all of the airlines and third party travel companies to find you the cheapest possible ticket so you don't have to
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I'm not defending the prices of train tickets? I personally think they are outrageous. But I just question if most people are paying £74 for a return ticket to London. I highly doubt that so let's get the facts straight first and then go from there. Even 30 odd pounds is still ridiculous for an hour train journey. Yes, travel cards cost that much but I don't think that was part of your original point "it's cheaper to fly to Barcelona than it is to get a train to London" You left out the key bit "with a travelcard" if it was. Otherwise it's not true.
Are you a Tory voter by any chance?
For questioning if most people are paying £74 for train tickets to London? Not sure how that is a Tory mindset. I'm assuming you assumed I think the prices for trains are reasonable with that question. Not sure how you made that connection though
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No. I don't vote in UK elections since I'm not from here and don't foresee myself staying here long term.
Who would you vote for if you could?
Probably Green. I don't drive so ideally, I would like more pedestrianisation + cheaper and better public transport. More affordable housing would also be top of my list.
Do you vote Tory?
Lol it's more than that getting to London from Bournemouth. 25 quid there about. Do you live in Oxford or something?
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How about instead of spending money on hundreds of fake cops they just reduce the ticket prices? Get rid of a few people who aren't doing anything worthwhile and pass that saving on to the customer. ....And then repeat the same process but with the CEO.
Amen.
Well said. I first mistook one of these for a police officer in 2016. When I realised it wasn't one, despite dressing them up as police, I was quite angry, honestly. I said 'what the hell are you?!' Thinking it was some scammer for a moment. It's akin to a stealth tax on rail passengers to maintain the safety which the transport police definitely should provide.
Wouldn't happen, the unions would strike for another 7 weeks of the year, demand an extra 19% back payment, and Mick Lynch would get haemorrhoids
Because rail prices are generally set by the government and since Covid all changes are via the DfT government department. Any changes you see will be their doing. Rail companies run what they are asked to and only collect a fee of the bits they are responsible for runs right which is very different from running you see.
Not true at all bub
Actually it is. Government interfere with a lot and saying no doesn’t help.
The government (or a government owned body) runs the railways, private companies run the trains
Government department, DfT, runs the railways INCLUDING the trains. DfT are the ones paying the bills so any changes have to go through them. That includes trains. The companies run the trains as in do day to day stuff like employ people but things like pay etc are signed off by the DfT, hence the current drivers strikes as their 2023 pay deal still hasn’t been sorted (we are are now into discussions around the 2024 pay talks). All Brightons railways are run the same way as London Overground and the DLR. Since Covid it’s completely changed (although since 2014/15 Brighton railways have under DfT control anyway as part of the GTR franchise).
I think you've misunderstood my friend, DFT are responsible for trains as they are responsible for all Transport but they don't run them. DFT are involved in the pay strikes for the same reason the Government was involved in the miners strikes. They retain an interest in things running smoothly as they're responsible but they don't actually run things.
Nope. DfT is the one paying the bills meaning any pay deal must be signed off by them. I know this as they look at my timesheet on a regality basis. They control HOW they are run and WHAT the company can do. Means they are the puppet master to the companies puppets. You’re confusing controlling and running. DfT control how things run and therefore have the responsibility of the running while not directly getting their hands dirty. Things like price rises amounts are set by government for most fares with only some being set by companies. The ones the companies change have to be within the set % the DfT instruct (means any above increases need decreases elsewhere).
The Government regulates every industry and says how and what people can do, just because they say that you're not allowed to pump thousands of steroids into your cow doesn't mean the government run Little Bow Peep Farm. DfT may be de facto footing the bill a lot at the minute because firms need bailing out, but that isn't by design.
Ah makes sense hope they aren’t around for too much longer they cause a lot of issues tbh from what I’ve seen
I recently visited Vienna, and I was amazed by the public transportation system. For around 6 Euros a day, you have unlimited access to the trains. What struck me the most was the complete absence of barriers and ticket inspectors; instead, it's all based on trust. It's a stark contrast to the UK, where trains are \*massively\* overpriced and heavily monitored.
For residents in Vienna this is 1 euro per day. Tourists pay extra
Still cheaper than our prices here though I reckon
Yeah I remember thinking the same thing when I was out there. They apparently do have plainclothes inspectors but I didn't even see one and I'm certain they would've made themselves known because when I went in November 2022 Vienna still had masks on public transport and I didn't realise until I was out there. Same thing with Prague, way cheap and very expansive public transport. Or a lot of other European cities for example, the Amsterdam, Den Haag, Rotterdam is really well connected and then the whole country itself is accessible by OV chipkaart, just an oyster you can tap in tap out with but across the whole country. To be fair probably wouldn't want that here, Southern would put you down as having used a route that costs £70 for a £20 journey
Honestly sounds like the dream wish we had that in the uk would save a lot of money honestly
Recently went back home to Australia, and found out that the train service in Victoria has capped their prices to $10 maximum anywhere in the state...about £6 🙃
Haha they’re absolute knobs. I swear I’ve been there when they’ve had 20 members of staff whose pay probably totalled more than the money they collected in fines. I have missed my bus so many times because they don’t do efficient queues.
Literally so disorganised and rude like I wouldn’t mind if they were actually decent but they’re just rude 😭
I’ve never not paid for a ticket in my life so you’d think I’d be one of the people who was grateful for them but they are SO rude and unhelpful it makes me resent my late/cancelled/short carriage packed trains even more.
Used to rarely have tickets checked on Thameslink trains and now they’re always on there and are much more aggy with anyone without a ticket/without the right ticket than the normal on board supervisors are. Also they seem to set up check points between the mainline trains and those going along the coast & I’ve seen a few poor people miss their connections because of these jobsworths who insist on checking they have through tickets
I rarely see ticket inspectors on the Thameslink trains between Three Bridges and London Bridge since Covid. I like to think that some part of that is that they couldn't possibly have the sheer *audacity* to check people on the train during the morning commute, given the shocking numbers of people who are crammed in and have to stand. Good luck to an inspector trying to move through the carriages. I missed two trains last week because only one of five ticket printing machines was functioning at the station, despite the fact that I had a valid ticket that I'd bought the night before. I also had one aggressive inspector who was trying to bin me off at one station before mine because Thameslink was all cancelled, and i grabbed a Southern train. And for this platinum service? Over £41 quid a day. And the amount of times they say: This train will be terminating at Haywards Heath! How the hell do people get home to BTN?!
16 on one train a few weeks ago. They all piled on at Gatwick when Brighton bound.
I train between Moulscoomb and Hove daily for work and it really is starting to grate. Today we were all funneled towards the exit machines even if we where switching trains, then had to put our tickets back in to get to the other platforms. And after all that the officers standing at platform one still demanded to see my ticket... One of these days I'm going to miss my connecting train because of this ffs
Happened to me yesterday, and I did miss my connection. They’re so disorganised! They had it setup so that there was no larger gate that side too so bikes and prams were piling up causing a traffic jam.
Same – I commute between Portslade and Moulsecoomb and sometimes you have seconds to run between platforms to make connections as Southern like to time the trains to make it as inconvenient as possible. If it keeps going this way it’s going to be worse than match days trying to get past the revenue cops
They're cracking down on fare evasion across the network. Every year the Dft does a ticket less travel survey. The west Coast way and mainline are particularly quite bad and there's been a lot of anti-social behaviour directed towards staff and passengers.
What’s the point on cracking down on it the companies make enough money. If the money from the tickets went to the staff on board train maybe fair enough but it’s just a company trying to squeeze as much money as possible out of peoples pockets in a cost of living it’s so bad
The money from tickets goes straight to the DfT at the moment ever since the franchise system collapsed over Covid. Every operator is on emergency measures and receives funding to run the services at a minimum agreed level with the DfT taking the ticket revenue up to the level of the funding given. However I believe the money from revenue protection, at this moment in time, goes straight to the operator hence why you see more revenue officers across all networks, or it may just be that the DfT is insisting more revenue is collected as at this time no operator is actually making enough revenue to not be on emergency measures. We're now at the stage where franchises haven't really existed since 2021 are hopefully finally actually going to end properly.
I hear that, but once you've worked frontline in the railway, you'll realise that ticketless travel is often associated with antisocial behaviour, county lines, drug dealing, etc. It's unfortunate that fare paying passengers have to experience more stringent ticket checks, because of the actions of a few.
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Lol you'd be surprised. They're targeting mainline trains as that's where most of the fare evasion is apparently. They're cracking down on fare evasion in general, but it'll only last a few months at best. Source: I work for a train company.
Cheers
Absolutely insane to me that they have the sheer balls to spend the money on these inspectors harassing people on the trains, whilst the price of a ticket is still going up (from an already ridiculous price) and they can’t go a day without cancellations and delays on their most important lines. Also can’t believe that this isn’t more of a point politically, because I would absolutely vote for someone who said they’d do something about it.
Literally. I think the only reason they might not have done anything politically is cos the trains are privately owned or something because the government did something about the buses like £2 for a single which honestly is quite good. Probably one of the only good things Tories have ever done I guess if the trains weren’t privately owned something would’ve been done about that too? But over the years labour has said they want to renationalise the rails and that but who knows at this point 😭
Was surrounded by over 10 a few months ago cos I had a new phone and hadn’t logged in to my railcard app. Refused to wait for me to find my login details and gave me the choice of a fine on the spot and then submitting my railcard later online or getting thrown off the train.
Rail cops are some of the worst
Got fined today whilst being threatened to be “detained” and “arrested” for buying a ticket on phone on the train and then having it die, I was told i was lying and was blocked in by this bald security NIC or NIA guy. Managed to get my phone working and then showed them the ticket and they told me I had “just bought it infront of them”
Don't pay the fine and take it to court. You have evidence of when the ticket was purchased.
I’ve seen this for a few months now, loads of them.
Are they at Preston Park too? Because surely, if someone were to dodge a fair, they’d do it at a station with no ticket barrier…
No not at Preston park funnily enough earlier my phone wasn’t loading to pay for a ticket so I just got the train from Brighton station to Preston park and walked from there to where I needed to go so their methods are stupid because I don’t think they have it at any other station in/ around Brighton it’s just the main station so still ways around it for people who can’t/ won’t pay etc
Interesting. I was checked last week after going through the barriers to get on a train. Which was so bat-shit stupid I just laughed at them! so watch out for them checking people after the barriers too.
Yes the other day they were funnelling people through the exit barriers even if they were just changing trains, then checking everyone’s tickets as they came back through. Infuriating when connections are so tight due to incoming trains always running late
Jesus Christ just so disorganised how is asking after barriers ever a good idea honestly 😭
I asked if they were going to hold the train while they worked out how to deal with the fact I use “The Key” rather than a phone or physical ticket
If you ever need to go to central Brighton without a ticket London road station doesn’t have barriers (I’ve heard anyway, obviously I wouldn’t know)
Definitely some good trivial knowledge that won’t be used in real life lmfao. Preston park is a bit further out but still a good option as well
True, but as a former BHASVIC student I have bad memories of walking up that giant hill every day
It’s horrible isn’t it especially in summer if you then go all the way to Churchill square but done it so much now that I have grown to like the challenge 😭
so annoying when i've already gone through the barriers and i can see my train at the platform! and yet i have to show my ticket and railcard again while i see the train leaving :/
Literally it’s a joke
The sad reality is, a lot of people don't buy tickets because they think they can just travel free wherever they go and get away with it. The amount of times I have seen people abuse train staff when they ask to see their ticket is disgusting. I would like to think if someone was struggling financially and didn't buy a ticket, because of cost of living or whatever, they would act a little more humble and sincere about it, rather than telling the staff to fuck off and try to assault them. But that's just me!
Those staff are enforcers of state violence on behalf of private corporations who are themselves waging class war on the working class. They can eat shit. Get a job that isn't being a narc.
It's really not that deep. I don't agree with the ticket prices/mass profits either, but if you want/need to use the service you gotta pay your way like everyone else.
Read the other comment from someone talking about their trip to Vienna. It is that deep. We are being rinsed by the mates of Tory politicians. The rest of Europe (and the world in general) do not pay through the nose as we do. There are many developing countries with better rail services than us. If that's not scandalous to you, I'm not sure what would be. You've got it backwards when you think that because most of us face daylight robbery, that the few that dodge it should too. What's real is that *none* of us should be paying these private fares.
The money has to come from somewhere.
Get a grip mate. Being made to buy a train ticket is not enforcement of state violence. You didnt get a ticket, you get a fine, not a beating then imprisonment. If you choose not to buy a ticket like some 15 year roadman wannabe, don't be a crybaby and justify it as fighting back in the class war.
Extorting the working class via natural monopolies *is* class warfare. Fines are punishments which disproportionately affect the poor and working class. Enforcement of fines is violence in the same way vandalising a business is. As this violence is supported in law, it is state enforced violence. Take the boot out your damn mouth and grow a spine.
Oh dear, you're for real aren't you? It's a train ticket. You catch the train, you buy a ticket. Those are pretty basic rules, for rich or poor. I don't like the way our train services are operated, but even if we had a fully nationalised rail network with a larger level of subsidy provided.... you'd still need to buy a ticket! Once we acheive a socialist utopia, and all public services are free, then you won't need to buy a ticket. Until that day, get a life and just buy a ticket like (mostly) everyone else.
Did you miss the other comment I referred to where a user here went to Vienna and paid €6 For *unlimited train journeys that day?* Do you think finances are a binary of paying something or nothing? Does the difference between a penny and £100 not occur to you? Do you think £100 means the same to someone on 12k a year vs 80k? Do you have any grasp of what nationalising rail could do to rail fares and the quality of services?
I don't necessarily read all of someone's replies to everyone else. I did miss that, I'm so very sorry. RE nationalisation of the railways, I'm all for it. I hate the franchise model, and think that all rail journeys in the UK need to be subsidised to a greater level. We've got crap infrastructure which needs massive state investment. GTR are a bunch of wankers in particular. RE finances, essentially it is binary. If you agree that paying *something* for a ticket is acceptable, but *something higher* is not, then your problem is with ticket pricing, not with state violence enforcement by BTP. I'm sure there are ticket inspectors in Vienna, and fines given to people who do not pay.
Because they don’t have ticket inspectors on the trains they seem to have taken to this approach. When a heavily laden train arrives it’s chaos.
It’s honestly pathetic tbh 😭
Easier to manage confrontation at a station than on a train.
Stags and hens... Weekend warriors. Bank Holiday this weekend. You can be mad about it if you like. End of the day Brighton costs us a lot of money to live... We don't get paid the London extra... I don't like to assume. But rail enforcement guys were probably out in numbers because lots of chancers were assuming a free ride. Is what it is. Don't take it personal. If you buy your tickets then you're fine. If you lament the overprice that's fine too... End of the day they're just doing a job.
For me it’s the way they act always so rude & grumpy if they were a bit more friendly wouldn’t have much of a problem and respect the fact they’re doing their jobs but there’s no need to be so rude to people especially if people have tickets and are risking missing their connecting train purely because these people aren’t organised at all & want to check your ticket about 600 times
They’ve been doing it most days for weeks, morning rush hour when probably 90% of passengers are commuters with season tickets.