New fare dodging crackdown will target railcard and refund scams on trains

Fare dodgers and railcard scammers will find it harder to game the ticket system when new measures launch.

Avoiding paying for train journeys can take many forms, from accidental to chronic free loading that has seen individuals rack up nearly £20,000 in unpaid fares.

The practice is sure to enrage other passengers, who are paying a lion’s share of their income on travel, while it also costs rail operators in lost revenue and resources.

Now the government has revealed a host of new measures designed to stamp out fare dodging, and make it easier for people to claim compensation when trains are delayed.

They are part of the creation of the Great British Railways, a new train operator that will bring back into public ownership previously privately run train operators.

Here is a breakdown of what’s coming up for fare dodging and how delay repay will be revamped.

Railcard checks confirmed

In a bid to curb fare dodging, which is estimated to cost £350 million every year, railcard users will face checks as part of a trial.

The test checks will start later in the year, and if it is successful, users of any of the nine main railcards will have to complete a ‘simple validation check,’ the government said.

The validation checks will ask customers to enter their railcard number when buying the ticket online or scan it when purchasing tickets from a machine, Metro understands.

When Great British Railways, including a new ticketing app, is fully up and running later this year, railcards and validation checks will be housed under one roof ‘to make it all extra streamlined,’ a government source told Metro.

This could save taxpayers around £20 million annually, the Department for Transport said.

Crackdown on ticket refund fraud

The second measure, which is being brought in within weeks, will change the way you can claim a refund on an unused ticket.

Unused tickets will be eligible for a refund only up to 23:59 on the day they became valid for travel.

This change will officially start from April 1, 2026, and it is designed to block people from requesting fraudulent refunds when they have actually used a ticket.

Last year, two students were jailed after tricking a train company into paying around £140,000 in compensation for delayed trains they never travelled on, using fake identities, email accounts and international bank transfers.

How is delay repay changing?

At the moment, when your train is delayed more than 15 minutes, you have to make a compensation claim directly with the train company.

This means you first have to decipher what the operator was, then find their delay repay and how you can make a claim as the systems can vary.

But under the Great British Railways, you can make a delay repay claim under one app or website, or choose a third-party retailer like Trainline.

What has the reaction been?

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said passengers should be able to ‘easily claim the compensation they are owed’ when trains are delayed.

She said: ‘These necessary changes will ensure people can claim Delay Repay compensation more quickly and the industry can invest taxpayers’ money in the things that really matter for passengers; freezing fares and delivering train and station upgrades, rather than losing out to fare dodgers and fraud.’

Campaign for Better Transport’s CEO Ben Plowden said simpler fares and ticketing systems confuse passengers, so the changes are ‘welcome news for passengers and potential passengers.’

Meanwhile Trainline, which will collaborate with the delay repay changes, said making compensation easier for people ‘is a win for passengers.’

Jacqueline Starr, the executive chair and CEO of Rail Delivery Group, representing train companies, said: ‘The government’s plan to develop a consolidated Delay Repay service will make it easier for all customers to request compensation, regardless of where they bought their ticket, with a more consistent process for reviewing and processing all claims.’

However, the new measures unveiled today, have faced some criticism.

Richard Wellings, an economist, said on X: ‘Ministers are focusing on the relatively trivial problems of fare evasion and tinkering with delay repay when bloated bureaucracy, crony contractors and ruthless rail unions are literally leeching billions from taxpayers every year.

Natalie Bennett, a Green Party peer, said: ‘A single Delay Repay website is welcome — many of us rely on it far too often. But the real goal must be clear: a railway that is reliable enough that passengers don’t need compensation at all.’

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