Northern rail introduce on the spot fines for Sheffield to Lincoln route

Northern Rail is set to roll out penalty fares on a popular Sheffield route. Â

On the spot fines will be enforced on the Sheffield to Lincoln line from next week.

A fare of £20 or double the cost of a single fare will be charged to passengers caught travelling without a ticket, depending on which is greatest.

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The fines were introduced to Northern's routes earlier this year after a successful trial in West Yorkshire.

Other lines to be effected are:

Blackpool stations to Liverpool via Preston, Wigan and St Helens Preston to Manchester via Buckshaw Parkway, Bolton and Salford Wigan Wallgate to Manchester via Hag Fold and Swinton Manchester to Leeds via Ashton under Lyne and Huddersfield.

Penalty fares are designed to discourage people from travelling on trains without first paying for tickets.

Most stations on penalty fare routes have a ticket office or vending machine to allow customers to purchase tickets before they travel.

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If these facilities are not available at stations, offices are closed or machines are out of order, passengers will still be able to buy a ticket from the on-board conductor.

Tickets may also be bought before boarding a train through the Northern App.

For passengers who want to pay with cash but ticket machines are card only, a '˜promise to pay' notice can be obtained from a ticket machine which can be presented to the conductor.

Northern Rail is investing in more than 600 new ticket machines across the network and has developed its website and mobile app to make purchasing easier.

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The company has said authorised collectors will use their discretion for other circumstances in which customers are unable to buy tickets.

Rail passengers who believe they have been fined wrongly can appeal through an independent process used across the country. 

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