Fines for people caught dodging train ticket fares on South Wales Mainline start today

From today penalties will be introduced for people dodging fares on the South Wales mainline.

If you're caught without a valid ticket you'll be given a penalty of £20 or double the fare - whichever is more.

The new penalties will be enforced on journeys between Severn Tunnel Junction and Carmarthen on Transport for Wales (TfW) services.

There'll be a three-week grace period where anyone caught travelling without a ticket will be given information about the potential consequences.

Transport for Wales say this is to tackle an estimated £10m in lost revenue each year due to fare evasion and fraud.

This is TfW’s second Penalty Fares scheme on the Wales and Borders network following the first roll-out between Shrewsbury and Birmingham.

The scheme will be rolled out to the rest of the network over the coming months.

Alexia Course, Chief Commercial Officer at TfW, said "not only is not paying for tickets unfair on fellow passengers, but it also costs TfW millions each year in lost revenue.

“TfW is a not-for-profit organisation with no shareholders, and all revenue is used to fund the running of the services and future improvements.

“We will be using the initial three-week period to educate customers about the new scheme and we encourage all passengers to buy before they board."

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