'Mind-boggling': My grandad worked on the railways and he'd be furious at how passengers are treated today

Just last week, I had a request from an elderly relative asking for help to book a ticket between Sheffield and London. It should be so easy but they were scared not only of how eye-wateringly expensive trains can be, but also that it would be so crowded they would be forced to stand the whole journey. Surely we can do better than that?

At the other extreme, a young relative was absolutely livid recently when she felt forced to intervene as a ticket controller terrified a teenage traveller who didn’t have the correct ticket. He had a ticket, it cost the same price, had been purchased by his mum and he was on a very short journey to meet her - but that wasn’t enough to stop this particular employee from threatening to force him off the train at the next stop. Many in that carriage watched on in disbelief at the behaviour. Only one felt able to step in and offer to buy the correct ticket for the boy. Surely we can do better than that?

My grandfather was a station master. He was so proud of the service he offered, of Britain’s great trains and of the kindness that he naturally gave to travellers who just needed a little bit of support. He would be turning in his grave at how passengers are treated today. He would also, probably, be terrified at buying the wrong ticket, accidentally, like so many people I know.

If we are wanting to encourage people onto public transport and protect our environment, why was it cheaper for me to book a flight between Glasgow and London last month, rather than a train? How have consecutive governments allowed our railways to become a national joke? They are the kind of joke that brings tears to your eyes. Nobody expects trains to be on time, affordable or comfortable. What a terrible indictment of our times.

A new report out today which confirms what all train users already now and what we are reminded of every time we travel - buy the wrong ticket, no matter how much you have paid, and you will be punished as well as possibly being told to get off the train.

Train operators are taking “disproportionate action” against passengers who do not hold a valid ticket, according to the inquiry which criticised Britain’s “complex” fares system.

The regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), published a report that found travellers face “inconsistent treatment and outcomes” for similar ticketing issues across the railway.

It was commissioned by then-transport secretary Louise Haigh in November last year to review how the industry handles revenue protection and fare evasion, after cases where passengers were being prosecuted over small amounts of money were highlighted in the media.

The ORR noted one case where a passenger was threatened with prosecution for accidentally selecting a 16-25 railcard discount when they held a 26-30 railcard, which provides the same discount. The case was eventually dropped after their MP became involved.

The ORR found there are “a range of circumstances” in which passengers may innocently travel without a valid ticket, such as forgetting their railcard or simply making a mistake.

But the regulator warned the same reasons can be used by passengers who “deliberately choose” to underpay or avoid their fare, and it can to difficult for rail staff to determine their intent and decide how to handle the situation.

The report stated: “Making this more challenging is the railway’s complex fares and ticketing framework. This has grown more complicated over time.”

The inquiry found that rail staff described how “fare evasion is becoming normalised among certain passenger groups”, and it is becoming “increasingly more challenging to tackle”.

The ORR noted that under railway byelaws, it is an offence not to be able to present a valid ticket for a journey, regardless of the passenger’s intent, which means “disproportionate action can end up being taken against some passengers”.

The inquiry made a series of recommendations to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and the Department for Transport, such as ensuring passengers have “clearer information” about tickets, and creating consistency in how passengers are treated when ticket issues arise, particularly in relation to prosecutions.

ORR director of strategy, policy and reform Stephanie Tobyn said: “Effective revenue protection is essential for a sustainable railway, but it must be fair and proportionate for passengers. Our recommendations aim to protect both industry revenue and support passenger confidence.

“Our evidence shows a system that has evolved over time where the legal framework and enforcement processes are increasingly complex and appear weighted towards industry, leaving some passengers who make innocent errors vulnerable to disproportionate outcomes.

“But meanwhile, fare evasion remains a significant problem, and rigorous action should be taken against those who intentionally seek to defraud the railway.”

Rail minister Lord Hendy said: “This report shows that decades of failed privatisation have created a mess of deep-rooted issues across our railways, which have been left unchallenged and are now causing chaos and frustration for passengers.

“Through the creation of Great British Railways, we’re bringing operators together to establish oversight and better standardise practices, putting an end to inconsistent prosecutions and making sure passengers are treated fairly.

“Deliberate fare-dodging costs the taxpayer up to £400 million annually – money which could be better spent on improving passenger experience – and must be dealt with, but ham-fisted prosecutions that punish people who have made an innocent mistake is not the way to do this.

“We will look at this report in detail and set out what we’ll be doing to address the issues raised in due course.”

A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators, said it welcomed the ORR’s “sensible recommendations”.

She continued: “The rail industry will work on implementing the recommendations in line with our plans to create a simpler, better-value fares system.

“We need to strike the right balance addressing genuine, honest mistakes made by customers and taking firm action against those who deliberately and persistently seek to exploit the system.”

Last week, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick posted a widely-viewed video on social media in which he confronted people who forced their way through the ticket barriers at Stratford station in east London.

My opinion is that we should not be in this terrible mess in the first place. We need better people in charge of running our railways and the aim needs to be great service at reasonable prices, designed to tempt as many people back onto trains as possible. We had it once and it was systematically destroyed. It wouldn’t be too difficult to bring it back, if only those in power really cared enough to take quick action.