- New data from the train operator has revealed the total recovered from revenue protection work totalled £3.4 million last year
- Unpaid fares cost the railway close to £240 million a year and new research reveals over three-quarters (76%) of Brits say that those who deliberately avoid paying the correct fare are exploiting the system and it's not fair to paying customers
- South Western Railway’s revenue protection team feature in a new documentary, ‘Fare Dodgers’, that premieres tonight (19th May) at 9pm on Channel 5
South Western Railway has revealed today that it recovered £3.4 million of taxpayer money in FY2024 thanks to its revenue protection policies.
The newly released figures come as the team behind these policies features in the new series of Channel 5’s behind-the-scenes documentary, ‘Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law’, which premieres tonight (19th May 2025) at 9pm.
The documentary follows the commitment and hard work of South Western Railway’s revenue protection teams and lifts the lid on its efforts to reduce fare evasion, making train travel fair for fare paying customers.
The launch coincides with new research from the train operator - one of Britain’s busiest - that shows over three-quarters (76%) of Brits say that those who deliberately avoid paying the correct fare are exploiting the system and it's not fair to paying customers.
Of the 153.2 million journeys that take place on South Western Railway’s network annually, around seven million are made without a valid ticket. These unpaid fares cost South Western Railway close to £40 million a year - money that would have been reinvested to deliver the best possible service and value for money if the correct ticket had been bought. According to the Rail Delivery Group, this figure rises to over £240 million a year for the whole of the rail industry.
Delving deeper into consumer sentiment, the poll of 2,000 UK adults conducted by YouGov on behalf of South Western Railway, revealed 68% disapprove of deliberate fare evasion and say that fare dodging is a serious problem that should be penalised. This was supported by 67% who believe railway companies should do more to catch those who intentionally avoid paying the correct fare.
Meanwhile, the most common reasons for Brits saying they should pay the fare included avoiding the risk of a criminal record (41%) or fine (47%), ensuring the railway has money to invest in its services (37%) and protecting taxpayer money (24%).
Thanks to South Western Railway’s revenue protection policy, the operator has identified persistent evaders and over the last year, recovered over £1 million from fraud cases. This includes an individual who owed over £49,000 for five years of dodging fares and the documentary shows how a fraud investigation found one customer owed more than £19,000.
Peter Williams, Customer and Commercial Director at South Western Railway said:
“Most customers on our network pay the correct fare and we understand genuine mistakes happen. But, there’s growing evidence of some systematically abusing the system - a criminal offence that deprives the railway of hundreds of millions of pounds each year. We have a responsibility to protect revenue from tickets so that money can be reinvested into delivering the best possible service.
“We’re proud of the work our revenue protection team does and the role they play in reducing fare dodging. By opening up our operations, we’re showing how effective our data-led approach and hard-working team are at identifying and deterring fare evaders, keeping travel fair for fare paying customers.
“Our specially trained teams work around the clock to check tickets on stations and trains. They face many challenges, but their efforts have helped cut ticketless travel by more than 40% since 2017 and recover millions of pounds of taxpayer money.”
The first episode of ‘Fare Dodgers’ will air tonight (19th May) at 9pm on Channel 5. Episodes will be available on demand on 5 app.
