Virgin Train Manager gets Police to remove Fare evader from train

Police remove ticket dodger from train
11:43am Thursday 15th August 2013

Transport police at Bank Quay station Transport police at Bank Quay station

POLICE were sent to Bank Quay station following reports a man had refused to pay for a ticket.

Officers from British Transport Police escorted the 39-year-old man from the train at around 11.15am today, Thursday.

The Glasgow resident had been travelling on the London to Glasgow Virgin Trains service.

He was not arrested but will be have to pay a minimum fare of around £125.

However, the ticket dodger faces paying a much heavier fee as train ticket prices increase when bought on-board.

A spokesman for British Transport Police said: “Officers have been dealing with a man travelling without a ticket.

“A request had been made by the train manager to meet the train at Bank Quay station and remove him.

“The outstanding ticket will be dealt with by civil debt recovery ordered by Virgin.

“The man has now left the station.”

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http://www.thisischeshire.co.uk/new...rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

So he was travelling to Glasgow but ejected at Warrington but not arrested and left the station? What's the probably he went back and got on a later train?

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

London - Warrington is £144.50, while London - Glasgow is £169.00, so where does the £125 come from, and if they're prepared to issue an unpaid fares notice for £144.50, why not £169?

Also if he was being accused of fare evasion, why is he not facing prosecution? It sounds like he isn't being accused of fare evasion, but the newspaper alleges that he is.

It also sounds like he got the 09:30 train from Euston which means an Off-Peak ticket would have been valid so it couldn't have been they were asked to excess to the price of an Anytime ticket by travelling at peak time on an off-peak ticket.

For some reason when I tried London-Warrington return I get a 5p fare greyed out!

I'm amazed that an 'incident' like this is considered newsworthy! Incredibly slow news day in Cheshire, heh?

yorkie said:

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

London - Warrington is £144.50, while London - Glasgow is £169.00, so where does the £125 come from, and if they're prepared to issue an unpaid fares notice for £144.50, why not £169?

Also if he was being accused of fare evasion, why is he not facing prosecution? It sounds like he isn't being accused of fare evasion, but the newspaper alleges that he is.

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You seem to be assuming the newspaper has a clue.

Discard this assumption and all becomes clear.

jb said:

You seem to be assuming the newspaper has a clue.

Discard this assumption and all becomes clear.

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And you seem to assume it doesn't

Steve Ford said:

And you seem to assume it doesn't

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I assume that too!

When do newspapers have clue?

the sniper said:

I'm amazed that an 'incident' like this is considered newsworthy! Incredibly slow news day in Cheshire, heh?

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Don't know, maybe it was in Lancashire.

I would suspect that, if and when this story makes it into the Warrington Guardian, it won't look all that out of place.

yorkie said:

Also if he was being accused of fare evasion, why is he not facing prosecution? It sounds like he isn't being accused of fare evasion, but the newspaper alleges that he is.

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Is it unusual for police to be called in a situation such as this for this type of alleged offence, then to let the person accused free ?

Paul Sidorczuk said:

Is it unusual for police to be called in a situation such as this for this type of alleged offence, then to let the person accused free ?

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I remember seeing a documentary which included an incident where a Merseyrail guard called the Police after he discovered a teenager on board with no ticket and no means to pay. He was ejected from the train, had his details taken but then they actually allowed him to continue his journey ticket-less (on a later service) as he was something like 15 miles from his home address. The policeman explained that after his details had been taken allowing him to continue his journey by train was the best course of action as otherwise the police would have been required to look after him until someone else could pick him up or take him home themselves.
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jb said:

You seem to be assuming the newspaper has a clue.

Discard this assumption and all becomes clear.

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There is a grammar error in the sentence that says £125 so that doesn't exactly suggest the article was properly checked before being published.

£125 is the Off-Peak Single price from London to Glasgow. Someone without a good knowledge of rail fares may have assumed £125 is the fare that would be charged if you got on the train without a ticket and it is more expensive than the cheap Advance tickets that are available.

Paul Sidorczuk said:

Is it unusual for police to be called in a situation such as this for this type of alleged offence, then to let the person accused free ?

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He does seem to be getting off rather lightly doesn't he? Assuming he left the train as soon as the police asked him to, what criminal offence could they have charged him with, though?