When travelling with Chiltern Railways we require you to have a valid ticket or authority to travel for the journey you intend to make before you board the train or enter a Compulsory Ticket Area unless one of the following circumstances applies at the station you depart from:

• there were no facilities for the issue of your required ticket or other authority to travel because there was no ticket office open or a self-service ticket machine was not in working order, or would not accept your only available payment method (card or cash); or
• there was a notice at the station permitting you to start your journey without a valid ticket; or
• an authorised person gave you permission to travel without a valid ticket (including where the station is staffed, and you are specifically permitted to board a train service by an authorised member of staff, or you have received a written notice or heard an audible announcement to this effect); or
• you have a disability and ticket purchasing arrangements at the station where you started your journey were not accessible to you.

In the circumstances listed directly above, you must buy an appropriate ticket to complete your journey as soon as you are reasonably able, either onboard from a member of the train staff or as soon as you leave the train and before you exit the station at your destination.
 

If you need to collect a ticket from a station purchased through our app or online or purchase a ticket from a ticket office or ticket machine at a station then you must do so before you start your journey and it is your responsibility to ensure you get to the station with plenty of time to allow for the purchase or to collection of  your ticket.

If your journey is in the contactless or Oyster pay-as-you go areas, or your ticket is held on a smartcard, you must touch in at the ticket gateline or on the platform validator before you board the train and touch out at the end of your journey. If you do not complete these actions you may be deemed to be travelling without a valid ticket.

If you’re using a flexi-season ticket, you must activate your ticket before starting your journey. If you do not activate your ticket you may be deemed to be travelling without a valid ticket.

If you’re using a smartphone or other electronic device to display your ticket, then it’s your responsibility to make sure that your device is working and has sufficient battery remaining for your entire journey until you leave your destination station. If you are unable to display your ticket on your electronic device due to device malfunction or insufficient battery and do not have any other means of providing your ticket you may be deemed to be travelling without a valid ticket.

If your ticket has restrictions (for example Advance, Super Off Peak, Off Peak) then you must follow them.  Your ticket will tell you how to find out about any restrictions that apply to it. If you do not adhere to your ticket restrictions you may be deemed to be travelling without a valid ticket.

Children under five travel free if accompanied by an adult.  Child tickets can be used by children aged 5-15 years.  Customers aged 16 years or older require an adult ticket and cannot travel using a child ticket. Anyone aged 16 or over travelling with a child ticket may be deemed to be travelling without a valid ticket.

Please remember your Railcard, you aren’t entitled to any Railcard discounts if you can’t show us your Railcard when we ask to see it or if you attempt to use your Railcard in contravention of any applicable Railcard restrictions. You can find out more about Railcards at Railcard.co.uk or from staffed ticket offices.

We cannot accept a screenshot or picture of your railcard as its validity cannot be verified by our staff. If you can’t show us your Railcard when we ask to see it or if you are travelling in contravention of any applicable Railcard restrictions may be deemed to be travelling without a valid ticket. 
 

For further information on how and where to purchase tickets to travel with Chiltern Railways, please see our Buy Before You Board Policy, the National Rail Conditions of Travel and nationalrail.co.uk 

We have staff specially trained to deal with fare evasion and revenue protection. Our train managers, station staff and revenue protection staff check tickets at our stations and on our trains so please keep your ticket readily accessible for inspection at all times.

There are times when our staff run special exercises where they work in plain clothes, therefore they may not be obviously identifiable as staff, however all staff checking tickets carry identification which they will be happy to show you if you ask.  You can ask to see identification before you give any personal details.

If you do not have a valid ticket for your journey in contravention of this policy, the National Rail Conditions of Travel, Railway Byelaws 2005 or Regulation of the Railways Act 1889, what happens next will depend on which member of staff asks to see your ticket.

If you are stopped by revenue protection staff, they may:

• charge you a full price Anytime ticket for your journey (with no discount);
• charge you a Penalty Fare;
• give you an Unpaid Fare Notice;
• report you to Chiltern Railways’ Revenue Protection department, which could mean you are interviewed under caution and may have to go to court.

If you are stopped by a train manager or station staff, they may:

• charge you a full price Anytime ticket for your journey (with no discount);
• give you an Unpaid Fare Notice;
• report you to Chiltern Railways’ Revenue Protection department, which could mean you have to go to court.
   

Our staff can ask you for your name and address if they think you have not paid the right fare. Please give them the right details, it’s against the law to refuse or give the wrong details.   

If you systematically or persistently travel without a ticket or without a valid ticket in contravention of this policy, the National Rail Conditions of Travel, Railway Byelaws 2005 or Regulation of the Railways Act 1889 we may escalate this to the British Transport Police for further action. 

We will only process your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection legislation and our Privacy Policy.

A Penalty Fare is an exceptional fare charged if you do not comply with the normal ticket purchasing rules without good reason. It is not a fine.

A Penalty Fare is £100 plus the price of the full single fare applicable, or £50 plus the full price of the single fare applicable if paid within 21 days from the day after the date of issue.

The full single fare applicable is the full single fare for the journey in question from the boarding station to the station that the penalty fare authorises you to travel to. This fare relates only to the train that you are on and if you are required to change trains to complete your journey, then you must also buy a ticket for the remainder of your journey or face the risk of receiving further sanctions.
 

You have 21 days in which to pay the Penalty Fare. The 21 days starts from the day after you were issued with the Penalty Fare. The Penalty Fare will tell you how you can make payment of a penalty fare.

Unless you’ve submitted an appeal, if you don’t pay a Penalty Fare within 21 days from the day after the date of issue, the sum you will have to pay is £100 plus the full price single fare applicable. We will also give you another 14 days to pay from the date of expiry of the 21-day period. If after this period you still haven’t paid, then we may begin legal action to recover the sum. This may result in further administration charges being applied and could also result in you being summonsed to court.
 

If you want to appeal, you must do so within 21 days starting the day after you were given the Penalty Fare.  The Penalty Fare notice will tell you how to submit your appeal.

If you make an appeal you should include details of:

• why you could not show a valid ticket or authority to travel when we asked you;
• the station you started your journey;
• the time and date of your trip;
• any other information relevant to your appeal.
   

An Unpaid Fare Notice is an invoice that a customer will need to pay for travel they have completed.  It may be issued when someone has travelled from a station without having bought a ticket and is genuinely able to do so.

If we issue an Unpaid Fare Notice it will tell you:

• how to pay the fare owing;
• how you can dispute the liability to pay.

If you don’t pay the Unpaid Fare Notice within 21-days from the date after you were issued with the notice, then we can bring legal action against you to recover the sum.  This will result in administration charges being applied to the original Unpaid Fare Notice and could also result in you being summonsed to court.
 

Prosecution can have serious consequences on your personal and professional life. So, if you don’t pay your fare, we will do everything we can to avoid taking you to court. We’ll probably send you an offer to settle out of court, usually asking you to pay an amount to cover the fares you’ve avoided and our costs.

Where fares go unpaid, we will consider recovering sums owed through a civil recovery process.  This can add additional administrative costs and may result in a County Court judgement being recorded against you.
 

Prosecution is normally a last resort, and we look at every case individually. But there are times when we prosecute without trying to settle out of court first depending on the facts of the matter. This is usually when a customer has been reported to our Revenue Protection department before or if you have been violent or abusive towards our staff.  We may prosecute under the Railway Byelaws 2005 or the Regulation of the Railways Act 1889.

Where appropriate we will seek to divert vulnerable and young people away from the Criminal Justice System.  However, in applying this policy we will not compromise on the safety of our customers or our employees.  This aspect of a case involving a vulnerable or young person will form part of our consideration when deciding whether to prosecute.

If you are found guilty of fare evasion in the Magistrates Court, you will receive a sentence from the Magistrate in line with the legislation you are prosecuted under. If you are found guilty under the Railway Byelaws 2005, you may have to pay a fine of up to £1,000. If you are found guilty under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, you may have to pay a fine of up to £1,000 and/or go to prison for up to three months. When determining your sentence, the Magistrate will consider the offence, the evidence relied on by Chiltern Railways and any evidence and/or explanation provided by you.

We never take our decision to prosecute lightly. We will only go ahead if there is a high chance of a conviction and it is in the best interests of justice.

You will get a court summons before the date of your hearing in court. This will include:

• the details of the court hearing;
• a copy of the evidence we will rely on for the court hearing;
• forms you can send to the court to tell them how you plead to the charges.

If you receive a criminal conviction for fare evasion this could make it difficult for you to get a job, as well as other things like credit, insurance and visas for foreign travel.
 

People who persistently travel on our trains without a valid ticket may be subject to further and more detailed criminal investigation for offences of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006. If convicted for a fraud offence you could receive a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine. Chiltern may refer matters to the British Transport Police for consideration of prosecution under the Fraud Act 2006.

Whenever we go to court, we seek to recover our costs as well as claiming compensation for the unpaid rail fares. We aim to make sure our genuine and honest fare-paying customers are not affected by the costs of tackling fare evasion. If our claim is successful, the court may order you to pay our costs.