Station swoop on the fare-dodgers

Twelve staff from rail operators Northern Spirit staff checked commuters' tickets between the 7.30am to 9.30am peak period with back-up support from four British Transport Police officers.

Hundreds of commuters travelling from all destinations into the station were stopped and eight people were found to have paid the incorrect fare.

The swoop is the start of a crackdown across Yorkshire and the North East on Northern Spirit's lines on ticket fraud which costs the company tens of thousands of pounds in lost revenue every year.

Northern Spirit spokesman Howard Keal said: "The vast majority of our customers wouldn't dream of fare dodging but this operation is to detect the small minority who do.

"Forster Square is a very busy station and we are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of passengers who use it every day. In fact the number of passengers who use it has gone up by ten per cent since last year. That is why it's the first station to be targeted in Bradford."

The eight passengers who were suspected of fair dodging had a statement taken by the ticket inspectors and asked to give their written version of events.

Northern Spirit's specialist prosecutions unit, set up in March 1997, will then decide whether to take them to court.

Howard Keal said: "Last year there was somewhere between 200 to 250 people taken to court with a 98 per cent success rate for conviction. This year we expect that figure to increase as a result of the new operation.

"We routinely take the offenders to court when anyone is found to be fair dodging however big or small the offence is. Last year a woman who was caught dodging a fair of 70 pence in Leeds had to pay £255 in fines and court costs." He said the swoops on Bradford's stations would continue throughout the year.

Northern Spirit carries 100,000 passengers a day on its 1,600 trains.

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