Rail operator Northern says it's 'changed our position on penalty fares' as prosecutions 'paused'

Rail operator Northern has revealed it has 'paused' prosecutions on certain penalty fares after acknowledging cases concerning 'complex and complicated' ticketing.

All the cases are understood to involve passengers who used 16-25 railcard discounts during on-peak services. One, Sam Williamson, hit the headlines earlier this month, saying he feared getting a criminal record after he made a £1.90 underpayment for rail travel in an 'innocent mistake'.

Sam, 22, from Glossop in Derbyshire, was threatened with prosecution after using a 16-25 railcard discount on an 'Anytime' ticket. Because he was travelling on a fare under £12 before 10am on a weekday in September his railcard wasn't technically valid - but this was not stated anywhere on the Northern Rail app, where Sam purchased his ticket.

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His case has been resolved, with Northern dropping the matter, but he said plenty of others were still facing criminal convictions for similar errors. According to reports, 25 other similar cases are being reviewed.

Now the managing director of state-owned Northern, Tricia Williams, said the operator has 'changed its position'.

Ms Williams spoke after Northern was summoned to attend a Rail North Committee meeting to explain high levels of recent cancellations.

As reported, it was revealed at the meeting that Northern still uses fax machines to communicate with its staff and organise rotas - a fact leading Andy Burnham, who chairs the committee and is the mayor of Greater Manchester, to say the north 'needs better better than an unreliable, fax-driven railway in 2024'.

It was also revealed that Northern plans to 'amplify its replacement bus provision from next month, with a lack of a rest day working agreements and Sundays being voluntary continuing to cause widespread cancellations.

Mr Burnham today confirmed he has written to the Chancellor as a matter of urgency to ask for a pending agreement on rest day working to be finalised as soon as possible, saying the situation with cancelled Northern trains 'can't go on'.

Speaking at the meeting, the mayor said an 'ask' by Transport for Greater Manchester for Northern to use 'discretion' on penalty fares hadn't been granted.

But MD Ms Williams replied: "On penalty fares, we absolutely have changed our position on penalty fares. We have paused prosecutions on a number of penalty fares where we understand that the ticketing is very complex and complicated for customers. So we have done that - we have paused prosecutions on a number of issues.

"Clearly if somebody is trying to travel without a ticket then that is not acceptable in any situation and we will continue our process for that." Rail reform, she said, would bring simplified ticketing and the ability for passengers to use different train operating companies.

A Northern spokesperson said: "Doing the right thing for our passengers is at the centre of all we do. We remain firmly committed to tackling fare evasion, this has not changed. But we have reached the view that it is right to look again at the simplification of fares and ticketing and revenue enforcement processes across our train operators to ensure they are being implemented fairly and robustly.

"We will continue to work with DOHL, the DfT and the wider industry to ensure that we continue to put passengers first, with clear and easy to understand products and services."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "We expect Northern and all operators to ensure their policy on ticketing is clear and fair for passengers at all times. Northern are reviewing the details of these cases and will report back to the department. It is clear that ticketing is far too complicated, with a labyrinth of different fares and prices which can be confusing for passengers.

"That’s why we have committed to the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation, including simplifying fares to make travelling by train easier."