TRAIN operator c2c has announced that its work to crackdown on fare evasion across the route continues to be a great success - with approximately £130k received in fines and penalty payments so far this year - including one persistent fare evader being caught and ordered to pay £10k* in historic unpaid fares dating back to 2019. 

Iain Palmer, c2c's Head of Revenue Protection & Security, said: "Fare evasion, whether deliberately or inadvertently, is a criminal offence and c2c will always look to prosecute those who attempt to cheat the system. 

"We have recently increased the number of Revenue Protection officers patrolling our stations and trains, especially during the off-peak, and we now have more eyes and ears monitoring and closing in on customers who frequently travel without a valid ticket." 

Fare evasion costs the rail industry millions of pounds every single year and is also a key contributor to anti-social behaviour across the rail network.  

*A customer recently travelling through one of c2c's London stations was asked to present their rail ticket to a Revenue Protection officer as part of a routine inspection. The customer in question did not have a valid ticket for the full length of the journey they had just made, and on further investigation it was found that the customer had been making this same trip and cheating the system for nearly 5 years. 

Operating in partnership with the British Transport Police, c2c's Revenue Protection and Security Teams are out on the route, seven days a week - from first trains until last - working to catch and apprehend those who do not have a valid ticket for their journey. During 2023, the work of these teams led to over £315k being received in penalty fares and fines.  

Mr Palmer added: "Our work to crackdown on fare evasion isn't just about catching and issuing penalty fares to customers who travel without a ticket, the intelligence provided by our digital sales channels and ticket barriers also help us identify those using c2c services without a valid ticket for the entirety of their journey.

"There is absolutely no excuse for travelling on c2c without a ticket!"