Northern clamps down on digital tickets fare dodging as new phone charging scheme launched

The train operator said conductors have no option but to issue a blanket approach to national penalty fares as staff are unable to distinguish between genuine customers caught without power and those attempting to dodge fares.

They added that “I’ve got a ticket but my phone has died” is an increasingly popular excuse given by passengers who are unable to produce a valid ticket.

Northern said in the last 12 months it has installed more than 11,800 plugs and 17,200 USB sockets on board its trains.

It has now begun a trial with mobile phone charging company BattPoint to provide power packs at stations for those travelling without a charger or power cable.

They cost 99p for the first 10 minutes or £3.99 for the day and come with Micro USB, Type C and iOS adapters – making it suitable for a range of devices.

The whole process is contactless and no app download is required.

Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “Customers not only have a duty to buy a ticket before they board one of our trains, but also to be able to present it for inspection.”

Since 2005, the Government’s penalty fare had been £20. This was raised to £100 in January as it was deemed the fine was “too low” and “no longer an effective deterrent”.