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# Thousands of passengers without valid tickets hit with increased penalty fares, train operators say
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/thousands-of-passengers-without-valid-tickets-hit-with-increased-penalty-fares-train-operators-say/
- Published: 2023-02-24T14:37:38.000Z
- Updated: 2023-02-24T14:37:48.000Z
- Description: Train operators say thousands of passengers have been caught travelling without valid tickets since new penalties were put in place.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Transport, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:07, News

Train operators say thousands of passengers have been caught travelling without valid tickets since new penalties were put in place.

Those found trying to dodge their fares face a minimum £100 penalty charge following the introduction of the changes on 23rd January.

Now figures released by West Midlands Railway, which operates cross city line services in Lichfield, show that 2,014 people have been issued with a penalty fare since.

On London Northwestern’s services, 1,198 people have been hit in the pocket.

Annamaria Izzard, head of revenue protection for both operators, said:

> “The increase to the penalty fare was brought in to help protect hundreds of millions of pounds of vital revenue for the railway which is lost through fare evasion every year.  
>  
> “The number of penalty fares we have issued show how seriously we take fare dodging and although the vast majority of our customers do the right thing and purchase before they travel, I hope the penalty fare scheme will encourage everyone to think twice about ticketless travel and attempting to evade the fare.”  
>  
> Annamaria Izzard

The new penalty fare of £100 plus the price of a ticket represented a significant increase to the previous charge of £20 or twice the full single fare to the next station.

The new charge applies across the rail network and followed a national consultation by the Department for Transport.

Those who could be forced to fork out include passengers who:

- Travel without a valid ticket
- Can’t show an appropriate Railcard for a discounted ticket
- Travel in First Class with a Standard Class ticket
- Are travelling on a child ticket, but are 16 or over
- Travel beyond the destination on their ticket