Long journey without a ticket check.

[SoccerHQ]

Before you asked yes I did have relevant tickets for all parts of the journey!

Anyway got on the Marylebone to Snow Hill 14.40 today and there was no ticket check up to Banbury. Got off there as wanted to catch the XC to Coventy (10 minutes behind) and noticed a ticket person getting on at the rear. Nothing on XC , got off at Cov to get bite to eat and then got on a VT train an hour later which was rammed so no chance of anyone checking tickets even if they wanted to.

Was much the same going to Sutton Coldfield so I did London Marylebone to Sutton without one ticket check today. I was about to say it's possible to do it from Euston aswell but they obviously check the tickets before you board the train.

Anyway quite nice when one part of your ticket is an off peak return so I'll use that again in a few weeks time...

Interested to see the lengths people have to beat that, usually they're pretty sharp on XC so was surprised there was no check after Banbury (particularly as Oxford-Banbury is very congested part of the network).

 

[Master29]

I once went from Penzance to Paddington without a check although I had to use the barriers at Paddington. I can recount a few journeys from Cornwall to London without checks too. Other times they`ve checked up to 3 times on these trips.

 

[Ianno87]

Travelling Cambridge via Stevenage to Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago, first ticket check was whilst admiring the Northumberland coast somewhere near Berwick!

 

[SoccerHQ]

Travelling Cambridge via Stevenage to Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago, first ticket check was whilst admiring the Northumberland coast somewhere near Berwick!

Blimey, must be a good 300 miles in that! Obviously must've been a change of crew at Newcastle central. Pretty frustrating if you were doing split ticketing!

 

[trainmania100]

Brighton to Bedford and Cambridge, Horsham to Peterborough is all driver only operated.

 

[gazthomas]

Kings Cross to Inverness on the Highland Chieftain

 

[SoccerHQ]

Brighton to Bedford and Cambridge, Horsham to Peterborough is all driver only operated.

Good ones, don't think I've ever had a ticket checked on any Thameslink service.

 

[gazthomas]

Good ones, don't think I've ever had a ticket checked on any Thameslink service.

Believe it or not, I was on a 6.54am-ish service from St. Albans southbound last Saturday and had a ticket check. Remarkable!

 

[joncombe]

Carlisle to London a few times.

 

[baz962]

Good ones, don't think I've ever had a ticket checked on any Thameslink service.

Had mine checked today on the 11.49 Bedford to Brighton.

 

[185143]

I went from Liverpool South Parkway-Birmingham New Street-Newton Abbot-Paignton without a ticket check recently!

Also did Tackley-Birchwood a couple of years back with no check. Which was for the best given the "interesting" combination of tickets I had...

 

[Kite159]

Reading to Hayle in the sleeper seats (and again Reading to Liskeard in the seats).

Plymouth to Andover, no check from Plymouth to Exeter on the 150, then nothing to Westbury on a HST and nothing on the 158s to Andover (one of the random Sunday additional services which started at Frome)

 

[yorkie]

Brighton to Bedford and Cambridge, Horsham to Peterborough is all driver only operated.

Operation of the train is not relevant; the DOO trains in the Glasgow area see more frequent checks than any Guarded train; the OBMs on Southwestern High Speed are very proactive, but you won't be checked by a non commercial Guard (on SWR inner suburban services)

Anyway I did somewhere on the West Highland Line to London without a check once; it would be difficult to beat that.

Most evening journeys I do which involves Northern / TPE see no check, even including multiple changes of train. It's more of a surprise if a check does occur these days.

 

[_toommm_]

I did Edinburgh to Plymouth last month. After the guard had changed at Newcastle, there was no ticket check all the way down to Plymouth - just be a good 500 miles.

 

[03_179]

Went from Kings Cross to Leeds
Euston to Manchester Picc
Liverpool Street o Ipswich this year and not had a ticket check once

 

[Starmill]

London to Aberdeen on Cal Sleepers, in the seated area, shortly after the franchise changeover. No form of check-in or ticket inspection, and of course no barrier to boarding in London.

I went straight onto another train when I arrived in Aberdeen though, otherwise I probably would have needed a ticket to exit the gates.

 

[richw]

I did a 3 in 7 Freedom of Southwest and encountered 2 ticket checks in the whole 3 days using it pretty extensively. Both checks occurred on a round trip on the Barnstaple branch! Same member of staff!

 

[vlad]

Not quite what people are after but I did Crowthorne to Canary Wharf (via London Waterloo) without a ticket check, or even going through a barrier, in mid-September 2001. I'd have thought they'd have been at least slightly security conscious.

 

[yorkie]

Went from Kings Cross to Leeds

Do you mean you showed something other than a ticket at the barrier at Leeds? It's very rare that the gates are unmanned, I've seen it in fewer than 1% of my journeys to/from Leeds

Euston to Manchester Picc

Recently? If so that's a bit surprising given there are usually barrier checks at Euston and Piccadilly, though it depends which way you exit at Piccadilly.

Liverpool Street o Ipswich this year and not had a ticket check once

I find that very difficult to believe; I've never seen the gateline at Liverpool Street left open.

 

[Peter0124]

Preston to Glasgow Central

 

[Tim R-T-C]

Only seem to get checks on Leeds to London services about half of the time.

Went from Bristol to Leeds on XC in November without a check (barriers open at Bristol, caught a local at Leeds, don't recall if that had a check)

 

[03_179]

Do you mean you showed something other than a ticket at the barrier at Leeds? It's very rare that the gates are unmanned, I've seen it in fewer than 1% of my journeys to/from Leeds

Recently? If so that's a bit surprising given there are usually barrier checks at Euston and Piccadilly, though it depends which way you exit at Piccadilly.

I find that very difficult to believe; I've never seen the gateline at Liverpool Street left open.

Leeds: Never left the platform area.

Liverpool Street the man that was on the barrier never looked but I had my BR Boxes to show if asked .. I walked through.

Manchester: Same as Leeds almost but the lady on the barrier allowed me through as I asked where the toilet was. Never asked for a ticket.

 

[SoccerHQ]

Only seem to get checks on Leeds to London services about half of the time.

Went from Bristol to Leeds on XC in November without a check (barriers open at Bristol, caught a local at Leeds, don't recall if that had a check)

Quite surprised at that. Even in peak times 3/4 of the crowd usually get off at Cheltenham so pretty much always a check in the 40 minutes from Chelt to New Street and usually one before that. Then change of train crew in Birmingham and you usually get a check at some point before Sheffield.

 

[gg1]

I've been on a few Bham New Street to Euston journeys where there have been no ticket checks either on the train or at the Euston barriers. The New Street barriers may well have been in operation at the time but as my journey always started at either Longbridge, Northfield or Sandwell and Dudley, I didn't pass through them. It's only ever happened southbound though, I've never boarded a train at Euston without having my ticket checked beforehand.

 

[CHAPS2034]

I've come back from Euston to Stockport in the off peak evening a couple of times in the last month or so and on neither of the occasions was there a ticket check prior to boarding at Euston.

I had a ticket check on one of the the trains but not the other. Barriers at Stockport unmanned -or should that be unpersonned - at that time of the evening as well.

 

[tgrb]

Fairly often, I can do Chippenham to Paddington and returns, no checks and no gates, I do tend to travel early or late so that means gates are open a Chippenham and on a non-gated one at Paddington or just touch in with Oyster to tube, or even better or potentially problematic across the platform onto a TFL service!

Saturday Chippenham to Cardiff via Bristol TM and returned, gates open at Chippenham in both ends of the trip (and not silly times) no checks on trains, but gates at Cardiff.


Twice last year we did Chippenham to Plymouth/Falmouth - one direct GWR, one change at Bristol for XC, 4 of us in first, not a check, but fully catered (if you can call it that!!) no gates at Chippenham at the time, I think they were open at Plymouth and Falmouth... well..

I would never intentionally travel without a ticket though, it’s stressful enough when the machines aren’t working to collect prepaid and the staff advise you to board!!

 

[B37Nth/B48Sth]

Not long journeys but no ticket checks on yesterdays jaunts- some from unattended/TVM stations. Also gates open at Stockport all day
( I had a GM Wayfarer)

Macclesfield- Stockport- Poynton- Cheadle H- Ald Edge- Holmes Chap- Chelford- Goostrey- Stockport-Woodsmoor- Hazel Gr- Stockport- Handforth - Stockport- Macc.

At Poynton the chap from the ticket office checked the tickets of pax leaving the station.

 

[DanTrain]

Did Sheffield to Oxford with no effective ticket check - barriers didn't accept e-tickets at New Street or Oxford so staff just waved me through with a glance - I could have had any old ticket on there! XC guards didn't seem to think it was worth their time checking tickets on a Sunday.

 

[Cletus]

Yesterday I did the following without a ticket check:
Preston - Carlisle - Lockerbie
Lockerbie - Carlisle
Carlisle - Glasgow Central

(No-one on the slope at Preston, all weekend)
(Arrival in Glasgow at ungated platform)

 

[route101]

Yesterday I did the following without a ticket check:
Preston - Carlisle - Lockerbie
Lockerbie - Carlisle
Carlisle - Glasgow Central

(No-one on the slope at Preston, all weekend)
(Arrival in Glasgow at ungated platform)

VT northbound lack checks when ive travelled