Some passengers may soon face fines for using trains without a ticket

People who illegally use trains without a ticket could be fined as much as £100 by Railtrack if officers catch them.

Operation Crabby seeks to inform passengers of this policy and also alerts officers in case they see someone using the system fraudulently.

Train companies have been told to expect more ticket inspectors on trains travelling up to and around Scotland over the summer and autumn and the campaign will see operation focussed on the capital’s rail network, following a surge in ticket dodging.

Busy periods to anticipate include during the Edinburgh to London underground run on August 11, when tickets are bought as passengers travel to Olympics Park for London Marathon, and during the regular St Pancras to London service which takes place between October 23 and November 17.

Peter Eriksson, head of project development at Railtrack, said: “Over recent months we have been seeing increasing numbers of ticket dodgers as we begin to play to our strengths, especially in creating an early warning system so that we know what is happening in our major urban railway network.

“Initiatives like this are about communicating to passengers that no one should attempt to beat the system when using trains. We want to find those people early and make sure they do not get on to the trains to keep safety of others at the top of the agenda.”

Other areas where passengers are urged to exercise more care and caution include journeys when there are less than 50 passengers, as well as use of the tickets window.

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