Fines and convictions for minor mistakes – how rail tickets confuse passengers

A report published earlier this year suggested that a simpler ticketing system would help restore public faith in railways and generate more revenue which could be reinvested in the network to make it better.

It was commissioned by the Rail Industry Association, which represents a variety of companies including train manufacturers, signal makers and ticketing firms.

Sam Bemment, who wrote the report, says the technology for a simple ticketing system already exists but that historically there hasn’t been enough political willpower to put it in place.

“The railway has essentially been a political football,” he explains. “The political cycles mean there has been no leadership or direction as to what we want ticketing to look like.”

He points at London’s contactless payment system for tickets – which works across local railways, the underground and buses – as being a world-leading example of how a good ticketing system functions.

He says such a system might be possible under Great British Railways, even if the body just allows tickets to be used across different rail companies – it doesn’t necessarily need to nationalise them.

“I think when we move to GBR, if we can bring everything under one roof, then you as the passenger have a relationship with the railway instead of all these many corporations.”

The arrangement could mean that all tickets are bought from, and all complaints dealt with, by one organisation – a simpler system than the current one.

“Government and infrastructure move slowly,” adds Mr Bemment. “But this right now seems to be picking up a bit of speed and momentum.”