Train passengers have been hit with £154 fines for boarding trains EARLY. A TikTok user has gone viral after receiving a financial reprimand after making the mistake while boarding a train service in England this week.
Jack Taylor was furious that he was made to “feel like a criminal” despite having a valid ticket. He wrote: “Do NOT take any earlier trains. I HAD A TICKET. I felt like a criminal.” He explained that he had paid £100 for his ticket to London and added: “Point of view: watching me get fined for taking an earlier train.”
He said, “Fifty pounds?” but the inspector corrected him: “154 pounds, sir.” He then asked, “Do you feel mean by doing this?” The inspector replied and told the passenger cruelly, “No, sir. Everyone else on this train has paid exactly the same price.”
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Jack was forced to “get off the train” and wait “for an hour and a half.” In response, one train passenger who saw the video said: “He didn’t have a valid ticket if he got on a train that the ticket wasn’t valid for.” And another said: “Rules are rules.”
“I’m confused. Did you get on a train you didn’t book a ticket for? Because if you booked a ticket for one flight, you can’t expect to get on an earlier flight, right?” another asked. Another mocked: “God, why do they care SO MUCH if you get an earlier ticket?”
“They still get the money, it’s not like you got on for free.” The penalty is £100 plus the full single fare price applicable to the intended journey. However, if paid within 21 days, the penalty fee is reduced to £50 plus the applicable single fare price.
The station where you get off the train will not necessarily be the end of your journey, as a penalty fare collector may ask you to get off the train at any station.
