Railcard Prosecutions

Recently there have been reports in the news and on social media about the way we have dealt with a small number of customers who used the 16-25 Railcard to travel with us. We want to explain what has happened and the changes we are making to make sure we treat our customers fairly.

There are specific terms and conditions for using the 16-25 and 26-30 Railcards which means customers should not travel before 10am for fares under £12. Some customers had not fully complied with these conditions, and we had therefore followed a process which ultimately resulted in them being taken to court.

We are withdrawing any live cases connected to these specific terms and conditions and will also review anyone who has been prosecuted previously. In total, it is less than 25 cases since 2020. We’ll contact any customers affected once we’ve completed these reviews.

Frequently asked questions

What will happen to live prosecutions?
We’ve already started withdrawing the small number of prosecutions that were underway on the specific terms and conditions for using the 16-25 and 26-30 Railcards and we will have withdrawn all live cases by the end of October.  

What will happen to previous prosecutions?
There are fewer than 25 previous cases and we will review each one of these with a view to the convictions being quashed. We will contact all customers affected following these reviews.

Why are you only reviewing cases from 2020?
We can only review cases from when Northern Trains came into existence in March 2020, when the franchise moved in to public ownership. We do not hold information from the previous franchises.

Where can I find more information about ticket restrictions?
Find out more about ticket restrictions on the National Rail website and on our  website.

What will Northern do for future incidents where conditions of tickets / railcards are not being met? 
Our staff seek to distinguish between deliberate fare evasion and customers who have made a genuine mistake. We are looking at how we apply all railcard T&Cs and not just the 16-25 and 26-30 Railcards. This includes continuing to work with the industry to address the simplification of terms for customers.