Chiltern Is Raising the Bar on Fare Dodging, Literally

Chiltern Railways has become the first train operator in the UK to install taller ticket gates, fitting the new barriers at High Wycombe station. The move follows a trial in July and is the first visible step in a national push to make it harder to slip through a station without paying.

The gates are the FEnx model, designed by Cubic Transportation Systems. They have been installed at both entrances serving platforms one, two and three at High Wycombe, so the change affects the station’s main passenger flows rather than a single side entrance.

Behind the installation sits a Department for Transport scheme worth £33.4 million aimed at combating fare evasion. The programme will roll out taller barriers across the national network, which makes the High Wycombe installation something of a preview of what many commuters will see at their own stations over the coming period.

Chiltern’s interim managing director, Tony Baxter, said the gates should improve the experience for customers travelling through the station. For ordinary passengers, the practical test will be whether the taller design cuts evasion without slowing the morning rush at the barriers.

Sources: Rail Business Daily, Rail Business Daily news roundup