Blogging is often seen as a lonely furrow but I don’t know how. Through the excellent London Blogger’s Meetup I have met many of my contemporaries at the edge of Citizen Journalism and not met a lonely soul amongst them. People often ask how do you find the time. Why? Nobody asks people how they find time to go to the hairdresser, play golf, go to happy clappy churches, pubs, concerts, Rugby clubs, or work late at the office destroying human lives. Why pick on Bloggers? In fact Bloggers are altruistic, edgy, interesting people with something to share. They also represent Freedom from the Press – an important concept as our media gets taken over by malevolent vested interests with far from hidden agenda.
Sure there are the strange ones in this unfiltered land. I don’t do rants or attempt character assassination as life is short and we owe it to ourselves and others to behave with decency. But Internet land is full of Blobs of Bile who are like demented alcoholics transferring their own self loathing onto others. Then there are dark obsessive’s out there. There is the sad sex stuff largely generated by the second biggest industry in the US. I did a short Blog in support of Brooke Magnanti better known as by her blogging nom de plume “Belle de Jour” and sure enough in piled the prurient. Then there are the wacko conspiracy theorists that seem to always end up in the cul-de-sac of anti Semitism. So for the short piece I did on Gerry Rafferty when he died (Catholic, Irish father, Scottish mother) in piled the searches *Gerry Rafferty Jewish?*. Until the Saddo Firewall is invented leave them to it I say.
So before presenting my Blog Awards this is time to reflect on the success of the Daithai C Blog. First what would I do differently? Well not have a stupid name for a start which means nothing to readers – my name in Gaelic but spelt slightly wrongly so as to make it easy to register on bookmarking and repeater sites! Seemed clever at the time! Also Blogs tend to be specialist to align with readers and advertisers but this one at its kindest must be described as non-specialist! It covers my first love Architecture but also Travel, Transport, Politics and Irish affairs, and then some! It started off in 2007 because I was curious and ignorant about blogging and was fed up being in conversations which I didn’t quite understand.
So I took some travel guides I had done and slapped then on to see what would happen, the first one being the Ibis Moussafir in Marrakech in August 2007. Now over 550 contributions later it has been something of a phenomenon. Over this weekend alone over 2,000 people will have read something from the Blog. It is followed on Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, Digg, Multiply and much more. It is referenced, blogrolled, backlinked and quoted on many other sites. And as I believe in the concept of an open Internet there are no copyright or ownership claims on the site, all the material is freely available to link and quote. It has reached not just the mainstream but places at the very end of the known world such as Ulan Bator and Wolverhampton.
So in the principle of caring and sharing and inspired by my Blog Buddy MuMu Daithai C now makes his very first Blog Awards on to Blogs which I like, reference and which keep me going. Thanks again for all your encouragement, comments, feedback and kind words of support over the years.
Here are the lucky winners of the DC’s inaugural Lovely Blog award.
2. http://www.thegirlinthecafe.com Ingrid is Dutch, an old bloggy buddy was living in London, is obsessed with Bill Nighy and captures the zeitgeist of Cafe Society in her always stylish blog with her own wonderful photography. She has now relocated back to Holland but we look forward to The Girl still being part of our life.
3. http://www.photopol.com Póló is an inhabitant of my home town of Dear Dirty Dublin and a genuine authority on much of interest. Photopol started off as a photo blog but now you will find history, politics, a religious (sic) blog and even a Gaelic language blog, An Cnagaire! (The Knocker)
Now each winner can pass it on to 3 other blogs…Enjoy!
And for the versatile blog award:
1. http://quiz.eblana.eu/ A Parisian phenomenon! My buddy Páraic Maguire is Mr Quiz in Paris and runs the best little Pub Quiz in Paris at The Green Linnet, 8 avenue Victoria, 75004 Paris (metro Hôtel de Ville or Châtelet) every Wednesday, 9.30 pm. It is a phenomenon in a land where such things are unknown and the Quiz like the site is in both English and French.
4. http://mumugb.blogspot.com/ MuMu’s perspective on being a French Yummy Mummy who loves living in London but finds the natives strange!
5. http://secondaryadventures.blogspot.com/The iPad Polyanna of Pimlico is the daughter of MuMu the aforementioned Yummy Mummy and both writes and perceives beyond her tender years.
6. http://www.smileforlondon.com A stylish site by creative people who are bringing art, the web and media together in new and exciting ways.
The Last day of the Chesham Shuttle card showing a Metropolitan saddle tank engine pulling into Chesham Station.
Today was a day when railway history was marked on the Chesham Branch of the Metropolitan Railway when the last shuttle from Chesham departed after running for 118 years since 1892. Up to today for most of the day a 4-car train operates as a shuttle service to and from Chalfont & Latimer station, on the main line to Amersham and Aylesbury. In February 2009, following a consultation the previous year, Transport for London announced that Chesham would have a regular through service to central London from Sunday 12th December 2010.
The double track line from Rickmansworth to Chalfont Road (now Chalfont & Latimer) and the single line beyond to Chesham were opened in July 1889. In 1892 the double track was extended from Chalfont Road through Amersham and Great Missenden to Aylesbury, albeit to a temporary terminus in Brook Street as the GWR refused access to its station until 1893. At Aylesbury the line joined the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway which the Metropolitan had acquired in 1891. However this line was not doubled until 1897 when the Metropolitan started to run services from Baker Street to Verney Junction.
The first Metropolitan train at Chesham, July 1889
As I have pointed out before it is probably true to say that there is no Tube Station on London Underground which its community more closely identifies with than this branch line to Chesham. So much so that in 1889 when the railway opened the townspeople raised the funds to have the line built an extra half mile into the centre of town. It meant that this small Buckinghamshire town straddling the valley of the River Chess which gives it its name is directly connected to the West End and City of London; indeed it had its own direct fast trains, the Chesham Flyers, which ran “fast” into the City. Today Chesham has a population of 20,000 and won’t grow any further as it is surrounded by hills which are “Green Belted”, where development is prohibited to maintain green space around London. Indeed, as all the roads into Chesham are steeply sloping there are times in icy winter when the almost 4 miles of the “Chesham Branch” have been its lifeline to the outside world.
Chesham Station
So today at midday an assorted crew of aficionados, local residents, railway enthusiasts and London Underground personalities gathered on the platform at Chesham Station to bid farewell to the shuttle on its last official round trip from Chesham to Chalfont and Latimer. The Chesham Shuttle has been a unique service on this Branch Line and has reinforced the town’s identification with the Underground. Because it has been operated by a small pool of drivers they have a rapport with the residents many of who they know personally. After 118 years the new 8 Car S Stock Trains being introduced in 2011 mean that the 4 car EMU shuttle based on the existing A60 Metropolitan Line Stock is being retired. The new stock consists of 8 connected walk through carriages which cannot be accommodated in the bay at Chalfont and Latimer Station at the other end of the branch. So instead of the shuttle Chesham will have two direct trains an hour into London and Amersham which currently has 6 per hour will reduce to 4 per hour plus the stopping Chiltern Railway services.
The "Last Shuttle" entering Chesham
The current shuttle is designated A60 stock (A for Amersham and 60 representing 1960 their year of planned fleet release). The doorplates on the carriages have the name of their Sheffield manufacturer “Cravens” and the year 1961 but in fact this “1960” stock was only introduced on the Branch in 1962 when sufficient numbers were delivered. These units are the largest trains on the Underground. They are now almost 50 years old and whilst the whole fleet was extensively refurbished in recent years they are operating well beyond their design life, they must have clocked up an incredible mileage.
Interior of A60 Stock
Doorplate on A60 Stock
The new trains which will replace the A60 stock from 2011 are officially called 'S Stock' and they're very different to the Metropolitan's long-serving 1960s workhorses. They will serve around 40 per cent of the Tube network on the sub-surface lines, will have comfort cooling, walk-through carriages with CCTV coverage in each one, plus improved accessibility. The Metropolitan Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines are known as sub-surface lines because underground sections run just below street level rather than in deep level tunnels.
The new London Underground Sub-surface Stock
The front of the new trains is red, with the destination displayed electronically. The doors are red too, with a button on each which looks like it needs to be pressed to gain entrance. But no, the doors pull apart automatically on stopping at each platform, and with a definite swish rather than a clunk. Oh, and there's only one carriage. Technically speaking there are eight, but they're all joined together to create one long articulated snake allowing passengers to walk all the way from one end to the other if they so wish.
S Stock showing inter-carriage connector
Once aboard passengers will be struck by the space. Traditional Metropolitan line carriages are full of places to sit, and these new replacements most definitely aren't. Most of the seats run along the edge, facing away from the windows, and there are only a handful of 4-somes where family groups might choose to locate. Several of the seats flip up to make way for wheelchairs or pushchairs, or to provide additional standing room if things get too crowded. There are only 30 seats in each new carriage, compared to more than 50 in the old, which is a significant reduction of approximately 150 places to sit in each S Stock train. That's not a problem in the centre of town where journeys are brief and crowding is high. But on the commuter run to Amersham, or Uxbridge, or Watford, not having anywhere to sit for up to an hour is going to frustrate hundreds of post-work travellers daily so it will be interesting to see the reaction of the denizens of Chesham to this feature.
The characteristic London Underground Moquette seat covering for the S Stock
Another innovation inside the carriages may be more welcome - scrolling displays which tell you the train's destination, and which station's coming up next, and whether the train's fast, semi-fast or not. Automated voice messages will played too, which customers on the Met have never previously had to experience. The seats have smart new Moquette, covered in regularly-spaced pairs of pink/purple and yellow/green rectangles. But there are no longer any racks on which to stash your briefcase, nor any hooks on which to hang your overcoat. People of Metroland, your new trains are no longer middle class, they're 21st century egalitarian.
S Stock interior
One feature of the new trains which Bozza Johnson has trumpeted but which I would take issue with is “Air Conditioning.” Well the S Stock spec, according to the manufacturers, calls for the ambient temperature inside the carriage to be 2 degrees Celsius less than the external air temperature when in “cooling mode.” So this is more properly described as “Comfort cooling” rather than air conditioning and as it has to be achieved in a box with three double doors opening every 2 minutes in the central area it is particularly wasteful technology. It also adds weight to the trains which is reflected in the motive power usage and extra complexity which will be reflected in maintenance. For these reasons the new stock has the same carbon footprint as the stock it is replacing, not a great leap forward in energy efficiency after 50 years? There is a lot of media hype each year as lazy editors send pup journalists out to do “meltdown on the Tube” stories but this is a short lived problem and mainly on the deep tube lines where trains can not be “air conditioned.” How does “cooling the Tube” compare as an investment priority with the clear legal obligations and moral imperative to make the system more accessible to the 10% of the population who are disabled or mobility impaired? Air conditioning is inherently wasteful technology developed in days of carbon irresponsibility and the world needs to look for better more sustainable low energy solutions – compare the greedy energy use of Dubai, that fallen icon of vulgar conspicuous consumption, with the city of Chandigarh in India designed by Le Corbusier where every building has its climate controlled without the use of air conditioning.
S Stock trial run on Metropolitan Line
Metroland was the term coined by Metropolitan Railway and taken up by the poet Sir John Betjeman to describe the new green suburbs made possible by this railway – indeed he used a speeded up trip on the Chesham Branch for the opening title sequence of his famous documentary. A century ago, the Metropolitan Railway had been extended from a profitable base in central London through the sparsely populated countryside to the north-west of Buckinghamshire, by Sir Edward Watkin, a contentious Victorian entrepreneur. This push through the Chilterns was part of his ambitious scheme to link Manchester by rail to Paris. Although Watkins’s plans failed with his death, a number of the untoward consequences of his actions fortuitously put his successors at the 'Met' in a unique position to exploit the surplus land adjacent to their lines, under the banner of 'Metro-land'.
The driver of the Last Shuttle
This aspirational promotional campaign created the image of an idealistic post-war lifestyle being based upon the concept of affordable housing of an individualistic character, set in pleasant countryside and yet within easy reach of London by the 'Met'. The propagation of the 'Metro-land' brand led to its wide adoption by the media and incorporation in our culture as epitomising a way of life. Indeed, it was so successful that the Met had to embark on a continuing programme of improving capacity to match the resulting growth in commuting. Set in a convenient countryside, these commuters were catered for by a varied and fascinating railway and the estates it created as part of Metro-land, were immortalised by John Betjeman - becoming part of our heritage.
Dr. Clive Foxell CBE
Well there is no better example of this ideal than the country market town of Chesham nestled snugly in a Chilterns valley and connected to the “Big Smoke” by this historic branch. We were fortunate on the last shuttle to have a commentary from Dr. Clive Foxell CBE on the storied history of the branch. Clive is a former MD of BT and author of many railway and history tomes including “Rails to Metroland.” Being born in Harrow, living in Chesham and having started his career as a railway apprentice he is the Sage of Metroland. After the last official shuttle returned to the platform at Chesham from its trip to Chalfont and Latimer a raffle was held for one of the commemorative headboards with the money raised going to the “Railway Children” charity which London Underground supports. The other headboard is fittingly going to the excellent Chesham Museum. Thanks to Angela Back, General Manager, Stuart Burnett, Performance Manager, and all the Metropolitan Line staff who ensured the end of the shuttle after 118 years was properly marked.
Rails to Metroland
As for Chesham from tomorrow they can look forward to the convenience and comfort of quicker direct trains to the West End and the City of London with step free access at Chesham and no awkward change, delay and exposure to the elements at Chalfont and Latimer. And when the swish S Stock is introduced in 2011 they will have a smoother more comfortable trip again. Maybe a new age of Metro-Land dawns?
Memories and photos being shared at Chesham Station
The subject of this piece has a connection to the previous one about the first Country House in the Moderne style, High and Over 3 miles away in Amersham-on-the-Hill and Sir John Betjeman’s Metroland as they both featured in that famous documentary. Chesham is at the end of the title sequence for this is where the “Met” train comes to a halt at the end of the opening sequence.
If you're not familiar with the county of Buckinghamshire, it's something of a surprise to arrive at a small country town and find signs for the London Underground - the instantly recognisable roundel, a circle with a line running through it. At Chesham's charming little station you can board a tube train and travel 25 miles (40.2km) to Aldgate in the City of London via places like Finchley Road, Northwood Hills, Wembley Park and Pinner - the heart of Metroland.The Chesham branch of the Metropolitan Line is as far removed from city life as is possible to get on London Underground.
Chesham Town Clock in the Market Square
Chesham High Street
Chesham is a market town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 11 miles south-east of the county town of Aylesbury. Chesham is also a civil parish designated a town council within Chiltern district. It is situated in the Chess Valley and surrounded by farmland, as well as being bordered on one side by Amersham and Chesham Bois. The earliest records of Chesham as a settlement are from the second half of the tenth century although there is archaeological evidence of people in the area from around 8000 BC. The town is known for its four Bs, usually quoted as:- boots, beer, brushes and Baptists, . Chesham's prosperity grew significantly during the 18th and 19th centuries with the development of manufacturing industry. Chesham Building Society, the oldest such society in the world opened for business in 1845.
Along the platform
It is probably true to say that there is no Tube Station on London Underground which its community more closely identifies with for the people of Chesham raised the funds to have the station built into the centre of town. It means that this small Buckinghamshire town straddling the valley of the River Chess which gives it its name is directly connected to the West End and City of London; indeed it has its own direct fast trains, the Chesham Flyers, which run “fast” into the City. Today Chesham has a population of 20,000 and won’t grow any further as it is surrounded by hills which are “Green Belted”, where development is prohibited to maintain green space around London. Indeed, as all the roads into Chesham are steeply sloping there are times in icy winter when the almost 4 miles of the “Chesham Branch” have been its lifeline to the outside world.
Chesham Shuttle formed of 4 carriages of Metroplitan A Stock
The line to Chesham was for a while the terminus of the Metropolitan Railway. When the Met pushed out from Harrow and Rickmansworth in the 1880s, Chesham was the destination. There were proposals to link on from Chesham to the main London Euston to Birmingham line around the Tring area. Indeed, some land north of Chesham station was acquired for this purpose. I wonder if Watkin the then Chairman of the Met had a wry smile to himself when the people of Chesham actually raised funds to locate the station in a more central location as opposed to the proposed station in the Waterside area. If Watkin already had plans to extend beyond Chesham, he must have been delighted to receive the funds from the good folk of Chesham to extend the railway to central Chesham. The line from Chalfont Road (now Chalfont & Latimer) was single track, it being double up to Chalfont. When the main line was diverted through Amersham to Aylesbury, the line to Chesham became a branch line.
London Underground's Metropolitan Line today Click for a larger image
Chesham lies at the end of a branch of the Metropolitan Line, which opened in 1889. Together with nearby Amersham, it's one of London Underground's furthest outposts. Work began on extending what was then known as the St John's Wood Line beyond central London during the latter years of the 19th century. By the mid-1880s the railway had become known as the Metropolitan, running 17½ miles (28km) from Baker Street. The plan was to continue the line all the way to Aylesbury, but financial problems restricted its extension at that time to Chesham. Chesham is in Travelcard Zone 9 (previously zone D). It is situated 25 miles (40.2km) North West of Charing Cross, making it the furthest station out from Central London anywhere on the London Underground network (using Charing Cross as a central point). It is also both the northernmost and westernmost London Underground Station. Chesham replaced Ongar as the farthest station when the latter closed in 1994.
The Ticket Hall
Most of the land for the new sections of railway was acquired from the Duke of Bedford and Lord Chesham, but the land for the final half mile (800m) of the Chesham branch was presented to the railway by local residents to enable a station to be built in the centre of the town instead of on the outskirts, as was originally planned. In May 1889 the people of Chesham were invited to inspect the branch and afterwards entertained to a banquet. Seven weeks later, the line from Rickmansworth to Chesham was opened. For the next three years, until the main line from Chalfont and Latimer Station to Amersham and Aylesbury was opened in 1892, Chesham was the Metropolitan's most northerly terminus.
Chesham Signal Box
There were many plans to link the Town of Chesham with the railway network, including a branch by the LNWR off the main London to Birmingham line from Tring, but all these come to nothing. So it was left Edward Watkin, Chairman of the Metropolitan Railway to deliver the rail connection which the town needed. It also built a branch to Chesham in 1889 an important destination in its own right as well as aiming at an eventual link to the LNWR at Tring. Because of the plans for extension the station and the presence of the goods yard, Chesham used to have no fewer than three tracks (though only two platforms) and all three tracks remained well into the seventies (long after the yard was closed) as rather useless sidings. This three track layout may be clearly seen (in the early seventies) at the end of the opening credits of Metroland. Today there is only one platform and one track, the empty space that used to be platform one has now become a floral display.
Metropolitan Railway tank loco at Chesham
There is no station starter signal at Chesham. A set of co-acting signals are at the start of the Chesham branch. One theory [as to their installation] is that they replaced the single line token and this means only one train at a time is allowed on the Branch. The branch has no intermediate stations and has the longest distance between adjacent stations on the network at 3.89 miles (6.26 km). Chesham station is the least used station on the Metropolitan Line at 429,000 passengers per annum. It is a popular starting station for those participating in the Tube Challenge. Chesham is in Travelcard Zone 9 (previously zone D). It is situated 25 miles (40.2 km) north west of Charing Cross, making it the furthest station out from Central London anywhere on the London.
The Shuttle on the Branch
Chesham takes an inordinate pride in the “Chesham Flyers.” There are two 8-car through trains to Aldgate (during the morning rush hour) and two returning through trains in the evening rush hour but for most of the day a 4-car train operates as a shuttle service to and from Chalfont & Latimer station, on the main line to Amersham and Aylesbury. In February 2009, following a consultation the previous year, Transport for London announced that Chesham would have a regular through service to central London from 2011.
When steam was replaced on the Branch the then new A60 stock formed the rolling stock for the line (although other electric stock made an appearance in the early days of the electric service). A four car unit was used to form the shuttle to and from Chalfont. A new bay platform was built at Chesham to allow the shuttle train to be at Chesham when a through 8 car service was operating in the rush hour. This bay platform has been removed which means that if the through trains are late, the shuttle has to wait at Chalfont for the line to clear.
Leaving Chesham
Today the approach to Chesham is up from the High Street along an unprepossessing Station Road. The station buildings are small with a bench in the sheltered ticket hall and toilets and a bicycle store for commuters. London Underground’s obsession with “Capital” projects rather than staffing can be garnered from this short single platform boasting no less than 11 CCTV cameras. Whilst the station staffing hours are limited the shuttle drivers know many of the locals and have a definite bond with the line and the town. Indeed the friendly driver that day offered me a cab ride down to Chalfont and Latimer which unfortunately I couldn’t take up.
There are many relics of days gone by looking around the station. There are the derelict sandbox buffers on the abandoned bay siding, the water tank recalling when the steam trains filled up here and for a station without signals a very splendid “signal box.” But the eye is drawn down the track to the throat out of the station under a bridge and disappearing around the curve and this holds the secret of Chesham, a charming small town which is good to live in and grow up in connected to the “Big Smoke” by this unique, special, historic and still essential branch line.
Penalty fares - 20 years old this month - began life under British Rail as a reasonable deterrent to fare-dodging. But for some of the privatised rail companies, these £20 fines for not having a ticket have become nice little earners in their own right. One operator made £32 million from them last year alone. Another, Stagecoach's South West Trains, sparked outrage when it started judging its guards' job performance by the number of penalty fare warnings they issued.
A confidential memo, seen by The Times newspaper, suggested that South West Trains is planning to introduce a system under which guards are judged according to the amount they collect in penalties. The memo, headed "commercially sensitive, please do not circulate", instructs guards to treat passengers as fare dodgers even if they ask to buy a ticket on the train. As well as being bad for customers and guards alike, the policy is legally dubious. Rail companies have to rely on the penalty fare rules 2002, made by the then Department of Transport, to levy such charges. These rules are explicit. A penalty fare may not be charged if there were "no facilities to issue the appropriate ticket". This, at least arguably, means there must have been a window at which there is no queue. In plain English, a person is not available if he is serving a queue. Nor is a machine available if it is in use. SWT says its policy is to sell a ticket within, at most, five minutes of waiting. Although, that does not tie in exactly with the concept of "availability".
Indeed the Department of Transport’s own guidance recognises that the burden of proof rests squarely with the Rail Operator rather than the Passenger;
“3.2 A penalty fares scheme reverses the normal 'burden of proof' which would apply if a person was prosecuted for not paying their fare. In that case, the train operator would have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant intended to avoid paying their fare. Under a penalty fares scheme, anyone found without a valid ticket must normally pay a penalty, if they have previously been given the opportunity to buy a ticket and have passed the penalty fares warning signs. In this case, the passenger would have to show that they had a valid reason for not having a ticket. For this reason, we see our main role as making sure that the interests of honest passengers are protected, both in the way existing schemes are run and in the contents of any new schemes which we approve.”
In an attempt to get around the problem, the train companies have come up with "conditions of carriage". These don't incorporate the rules' wording, but say a penalty fare is payable if there is no window open and no working machine. It is doubtful that a passenger who has bought no ticket, and hence made no contract with the rail company, could be subject to any conditions. The conditions are invalid if they do not follow the DoT's rules. Many passengers complain of a "take-no-prisoners" attitude, even where travellers have good reasons for not buying a ticket and every intention of paying. They say they are being penalised for train companies' failure to provide adequate station ticket offices, with staff and opening hours cut even as passenger numbers have risen.
But what most people do not know - and what the train companies are understandably reluctant for us to find out - is that more than a few demands for penalty fares are arguably illegal. The railways' new, hard-line approach is essentially a gigantic bluff, relying on our ignorance of our rights and our unwillingness to make a fuss when collared.
ORR has no remit in dealing with penalty fare notices and penalty fare schemes. In the first instance you should follow the instructions on the penalty fares notice and make an appeal to the Independent Penalty Fares Appeal Service (‘IPFAS’) within 21 days. It is important to observe this deadline.
IPFAS considers appeals on two grounds – inappropriate use of discretion by the member of staff charging the penalty fares and a failure by the train operators to comply with the requirements of the DfT's Penalty Fares Rules, the Penalty Fares Regulations or the provisions of the train operator’s own penalty fares schemes. However, if you have general comments or concerns about the operation of a penalty fares scheme, you should write to the train operator concerned. If these are not addressed satisfactorily, you may write to Passenger Focus or to the Department for Transport (DfT), which approves and regulates penalty fares schemes.
The value proposition on Britain's railways
The horror stories are many. The pensioner physically dragged, crying, off a crowded train by two "revenue protection" goons because she had forgotten her senior citizens railcard. The passengers stung for £20 because there was a queue at the ticket office and they had to hop on without paying or miss the train. The people bullied into paying unfair penalties by empty threats of prosecution and a criminal record. Because you do, in fact, have quite extensive rights not to be charged penalty fares, many of them set out in law. Rights designed, in the words of the Government, to "make sure that the interests of honest passengers are protected".
The chances are that if you have a reasonable excuse not to pay a penalty fare, you do not have to pay it - whatever a train company's staff may claim. If you are prepared to quote your rights and call their bluff, you will usually prevail. You might be surprised to know that the Rail Staff are incentivised to charge you Penalty Fares and get a commission on what they collect. To quote from the Department of Transport’s own guidance;
“4.26 Authorised collectors and other staff who sell tickets on trains often receive commission on the value of the tickets they sell. Some operators also pay staff a small amount of commission (typically 5%) on the value of the penalty fares charged. We have no objection to this, as long as the percentage is small and the relevant instructions about the use of discretion and the circumstances in which penalty fares may or may not be charged are strictly followed.”
Provided always that you do pay the normal single fare, the chances are that any threats made against you, particularly of criminal prosecution, are hollow. Richard Colbey, a barrister at Lamb Chambers, told the Guardian: "The policy is legally dubious. Penalty fares are not enforceable unless a court orders it - and a court would be unlikely to do so with someone prepared to make a fuss. There has been no reported case of a train company suing in this way - the last thing the rail industry would want is a pronouncement by a judge on its levying of penalty fares." The DoT’s own guidance says;
“4.31 Minimum payment. The instructions must remind authorised collectors that passengers do not have to pay all of the penalty fare immediately. Authorised collectors may require the passenger to make a minimum payment that is equal to the normal fare payable for the journey which the passenger is making. However, passengers have 21 days in which to pay the rest of the penalty fare. The instructions must give authorised collectors the discretion not to require this minimum payment, but to allow passengers 21 days in which to pay all of the penalty fare. It may be appropriate to use this discretion towards season-ticket holders who have failed to carry their ticket (see paragraph 4.29), as well as towards people who are at risk.”
Another leading rail industry lawyer said he had himself been threatened with prosecution for not paying a penalty fare. "I wrote them a very polite letter explaining why I had not got a ticket," he said. "I told them to have a go if they felt like it and heard nothing more."
So here is a summary of your rights - and advice on avoiding unfair penalty fares.
10 RULES FOR BEATING THE TICKET INSPECTOR
This advice is for National Rail services only. TfL has different rules with fewer safeguards.
1. Make a reasonable effort to buy a ticket before you get on.
It will weaken your case if you start from a station where there is a functioning ticket office or machine but make no attempt to use them. This does not, however, mean that you have to wait in a long queue and miss your train. See Rule Eight for the Government's guidance on what constitutes a reasonable waiting time.
2. If asked for a penalty fare, check that you actually have to pay one.
There are several non-penalty fare locations in London and the South- East - most importantly, Stansted airport. If your journey started at one of these locations, you cannot be charged a penalty fare. This probably applies even if you changed trains on to a penalty-fare service en route (see other box for full details). There are other lines on which one operator has penalty fares and another does not (see box). If, for instance, you are asked for a penalty fare at the excess fares office at Euston and you have arrived on a train run by Virgin, not London Midland, you do not have to pay the penalty.
If you forget your season ticket, you do not have to pay a penalty fare. You may be issued with a "nil fare" penalty notice and asked to send in a photocopy of your season, or asked to buy a normal single ticket (which you can then get refunded at a ticket office on production of your season). You can only do this twice a year. If you have a ticket between two places with multiple rail routes (eg London-Southend) but it is not valid for the route you are using, you cannot be charged a penalty fare - only the difference in price between the routes.
Passenger's lobbying Lord Adonis, Transport Minister on rail fares
If you have a ticket for the right journey but it is not valid on the particular train you are using, this is a grey area. The Department for Transport's "Penalty Fares Policy" (clause 4.29) says you should not be charged a penalty fare, just the difference in price. But the National Rail conditions of carriage say holders of "some types of discounted tickets" can be charged a penalty. It is definitely worth arguing the point.
3. Check that the person asking for a penalty fare is an "authorised collector".
Under the Penalty Fares Rules 2002, sections 5 (2) and (3), only an "authorised collector ...individually authorised by or on behalf of the operator of that train" is allowed to collect penalty fares. Not all train guards and excess ticket office staff are authorised collectors. You have the right to ask them to produce the special identification document which proves that they are. (This also helps to return a measure of the "embarrassment factor", which some collectors use to get travellers to pay up.) The DoT’s own guidance states;
"4.25 Penalty fares may only be charged by staff who have been appointed as 'authorised collectors' (rule 5 of the Penalty Fare Rules). Under rule 5, authorised collectors must carry formal identification, which should include a photograph and identify the authorised collector by either name or number. To make sure that the form of identification is consistent between different operators, it must follow a code of practice approved by the SRA. ATOC has produced a code of practice which we have approved for this purpose.”
Check also whether the person asking you for a penalty has been authorised by the operator whose train you travelled on. At stations served by more than one Train Company, even where they both have penalty fares schemes, it may be that the people on the ticket barrier are authorised by one operator but not by the operator you used.
4. Even if they pass these tests, politely refuse to pay the penalty and simply pay the full single fare.
On the train or at the station, you have the absolute right to make only "a minimum payment that is equal to the full single fare which [you] would have had to pay for [your] journey if penalty fares had not applied." This is section 8 (2) of the Penalty Fares Rules 2002 - quote it if anyone tries to tell you different. (The full single fare means the fare without any railcard discounts, cheap offers etc.) Ignore any threats that may be made at this point if you refuse to pay the full sum - these are phoney and have no legal basis.
5. Never pay the penalty in the belief that you can recover it on appeal.
You are allowed to appeal against a penalty fare to one of two supposedly "independent" bodies. Most operators use the Independent Penalty Fares Appeals Service (IPFAS), others the Independent Appeals Service (IAS). But IPFAS is in fact owned by Southeastern Trains, is based at Southeastern's head office and all its staff are Southeastern employees. IAS was also until recently based in railway offices and its company secretary is a director of the company which runs the railways' ticketing system. In short, the appeal process is not independent of the rail operators, is not operated in your interests and is most unlikely to recover your money.
6. Give your correct name, address and journey details.
Once you have paid the single fare, the collector will then ask for your name and address so that they can send a demand for the rest to be paid within 21 days. They can check names and addresses while you wait with the electoral roll database. The only criminal offence in the whole penalty fares legislation is refusing to give a name and address, or giving a false one. So give the right details.
7. Once you have paid the minimum, they will hand you a form.
Check this carefully. It must show the authorised collector's name and identity, your correct details, the details of the journey you have taken and how much you have paid. Collectors are often careless. If any of these details are omitted or are wrong, and you can prove it, it is game over.
8. When the letter demanding the rest arrives, write back politely, again refusing to pay, and explaining why you were unable to buy a ticket before travelling.
This is where the most useful part of the Penalty Fares Rules comes in - Rule 7 (4), which states that a penalty fare must not be charged "if ... there were no facilities available for selling the appropriate ticket or other authority for the journey the person wanted to make".
The Rules themselves do not define what "no facilities available" means. But in separate guidance on penalty fares ("Penalty Fares Policy") issued by the Department for Transport, it is made quite clear, in clauses 4.2 and 4.11, that passengers must be given "sufficient opportunity" to buy a ticket and that regular queues over three minutes (off-peak) and five minutes (peak) breach the definition of what is "sufficient". It is not clear whether this definition has any legal force - but if you quote it in your letter back to the train company, you are unlikely to be bothered again.
The Penalty Fares Policy also tells companies to "use discretion" towards the elderly, pregnant women, people who have enough money to buy a ticket "but not in the form needed to use the [ticket] machine" and "all passengers when the train service is severely disrupted". Once again, if you can truthfully quote any of these, you are unlikely to be bothered.
9. Remember: penalty fares are a civil, not a criminal-matter.
Train companies often scare people into paying up by threatening prosecution and a criminal record. However, the legislation establishing penalty fares, the Railways Act 1993, section 130, states that apart from failing to give your right name and address, "nothing in this section creates, or authorises the creation of any [criminal] offence". The Penalty Fares Regulations 1994 state that "the recovery of a penalty fare is a civil debt". So even if after reading your letter the company still decides it wants the money, it has to sue you - probably not worthwhile for such a small sum.
Railway companies sometimes threaten people with the main criminal law against fare-dodgers, the Regulation of Railways Act 1889. But this says there has to be "intent to avoid payment". You could argue that you haven't intended to avoid payment because you have, in fact, paid the full single fare.
10. Don't abuse the system.
The safeguards provided in the law and the regulations are intended for people who want to pay the proper fare but occasionally fall foul of inadequate facilities. If you constantly board trains without buying a ticket, or if you lie to train company staff, this could be construed as intent to avoid payment and the chances of criminal prosecution will rise.
In summary;
Those who couldn't buy a ticket should politely refuse to pay the penalty. The guard is entitled to a name and address and to know where they got on, and will get off. Mentioning paragraph 7.4 of the penalty fare rules is likely to win the argument, at least on the train.
If the guard issues a penalty notice anyway, there is 21 days to appeal to the company. However even if there is no appeal, or the appeal is not allowed, the company is not automatically entitled to its money. It first has to sue in the county court. Judges hearing such claims would not give judgment for the penalty sum unless the company could justify it.
There has been no reported case of a train company suing in this way. The last thing the rail industry would want is a pronouncement by a judge on its levying of penalty fares.
The other great imbalance is that no matter how bad the service, no matter how many cancellations or closures for “Improving your Railway” (Translation; Cutting THEIR cost of maintenance and renewal) there is No question of getting a cash refund from a rail operator. Take the chaos after New Year 2009 when the mainline rail into Euston was shut for a week. However, if you were affected by delayed or cancelled trains then you should take the time to claim compensation from your train operators.
Each rail company has a Passenger Charter, which sets out your entitlement to compensation for travel problems. Andrew Adonis, transport minister, says: “I strongly urge passengers who suffered from a series of different incidents that disrupted their journeys to claim what they are entitled to. Compensation forms are available at stations, and for passengers from Euston these can also be downloaded from the Virgin and London Midland websites as appropriate."
Most of the train operators offer at least a partial refund in cash or rail vouchers if your trains run late. The refunds normally start after a delay of an hour or more but the emphasis is always on the commuter to remember the scheduled arrival time and the actual arrival time so that they can fill in the claim forms. Even then they don’t make it easy. For instance if you look around a Chiltern Railway station all you see are “Customer Comment” forms – you need staff to tell you you use these to claim a refund.
Despite inflation-busting price rises on rail fares announced for the New Year, some train operators are far from generous when it comes to giving customers refunds for lengthy train delays, says Which? The consumer organisation checked the refund and ticketing policies of 22 train companies and found that while a 30 minute hold-up on First TransPennine and London Overground trains would result in a full refund, passengers on Merseyrail would get a refund of just 20% for a delay of three hours. Ticketing policies were also a postcode lottery. Most train companies only allow ‘anytime’ fares to be bought on board, with no discount for railcards. But customers on First Hull (London to Hull), Grand Central (London to Sunderland), and Wrexham & Shropshire (London to Wrexham) can use railcards and buy off-peak tickets on board, which can make a huge difference to the fare.
Which? also checked prices on five intercity routes over a 12-week period and found that buying in advance could slash the cost of a journey by up to 80% although you have to travel on a specific train. The cheapest prices were generally available from 10 weeks ahead of departure. Good savings were still available on off-peak services until at least two weeks ahead of departure, and on peak services until the day before departure.
Nikki Ratcliff, Head of Services Research, Which? magazine, says: “The price of walk-up tickets on peak time train services can be eye-watering. The good news is that buying your ticket in advance can result in big savings, but you may have to book a long way ahead to get the best price, you won’t be able to change your travel plans or get a refund, and there’s no guarantee that a cheaper ticket won’t become available at a later date. Depending on the train company you travel with, you could get surprisingly little back even if there’s a long delay to your journey or you need to cancel your booking, so check with your train operator before you book.” Here are the policies of the various UK Rail Operators which once again begs the question for the harassed and abused UK rail user “Who represents the customer?”
Train fare refund
Train Operating Company Admin charge for refund on unused ticket >30 min delay % of single fare refunded >60 min delay % of single fare refunded >120 min delay % of single fare refunded >180 min delay % of single fare refunded
. One theory [as to their installation] is that they replaced the single line token and this means only one train at a time is allowed on the Branch. The branch has no intermediate stations and has the longest distance between adjacent stations on the network at 3.89 miles (6.26 km). Chesham station is the least used station on the Metropolitan Line at 429,000 passengers per annum. It is a popular starting station for those participating in the Tube Challenge. Chesham is in Travelcard Zone 9 (previously zone D). It is situated 25 miles (40.2 km) north west of Charing Cross, making it the furthest station out from Central London anywhere on the London.
