Train passengers who travelled without buying a ticket must now pay hundreds of pounds in fines and compensation. Several cases heard at Swindon Magistrates' Court recently involved prosecuting people who passed through Swindon and Wiltshire by rail while trying to avoid fares. Each passenger must pay a fine of £220 along with £180 in court costs plus £88 to fund victim services along with a varying value of compensation, which meant that some sentencings turned unpaid ticket costs of less than £10 into a total sum of more than £500.
Yasser Alsharani, 36, of Marsh Street in Bristol, must pay £205.30 in compensation for entering a train at Swindon’s station on February 20, 2024, with fees totaling £693.30.
Akam Amin paid for a journey from Reading to Swindon and then tried to travel further to Chippenham on February 15, 2024. The 28-year-old, of Mill Lane in Sindlesham, must pay £68.70 in compensation and £556.
70 altogether. Ali Anwar, 25, of Mill Lane in Sindlesham, was also caught in Chippenham on February 15, 2024, and must pay £86.40 in compensation - £574.
40 altogether. Tom Andrews, 26, of Alton Road in Bournemouth, travelled through Trowbridge on April 3, 2024, without paying a fare of just £7.90, which he must pay back in compensation - £495.
90 in total. Khrystyna Broshchak, 20, of Guarte Place in Grays, travelled at Swindon’s train station without paying a fare of £84 on March 19, 2024, which she must pay back in compensation as part of penalties tota.
