South Western Railway clamp down on fare dodging in Portsmouth

Extra staff have been posted at Fareham and Cosham stations, both of which are barrierless stations, to check tickets during the morning and evening commute since Monday, July 2. 

Commuters are asked to show their tickets to the workers when arriving at and leaving from the stations, as South Western Railway clamp down on ticketless travel. 

The rail franchise operator have been deploying '˜intelligence-led' teams to crack down on fare dodgers at its stations. 

A South Western Railway spokesman said: '˜We know that fare evasion is a concern for our fare-paying customers, who value seeing tickets being checked both at stations and on our trains.

'˜Since taking over the franchise we have reviewed our revenue protection approach and now deploy teams in a more efficient, intelligence-led way, and as a result have reduced ticketless travel by a quarter.' 

Under South Western Railway's current penalty fare policy if you are caught travelling  without paying the right fare, you may be charge you a penalty fare '“ for not having the right ticket.

This will be £20 or twice the full single fare to the next station, whichever is more.

A Collector is the only person who can give you a penalty fare, if another staff member '“ like a guard '“ checks your ticket, they can't give you a penalty fare.

But you will have to buy a full single or return ticket for the journey you've made or want to make. You won't get any discounts (for example with your Railcard) or any other special terms.

Before you travel, buy a ticket for your journey from the ticket office or one of our ticket machines, and check it's the right one before you get on the train.

If you're not sure if you have the right ticket, just ask at the ticket office or give South Western Railway a call on 0345 6000 650.