Passenger who avoided legal action over railcard error calls for change

A man who feared a criminal record over a £1.90 underpayment for a train ticket is urging the government to help others avoid similar mistakes by “simplifying ticketing fares”.

Sam Williamson, 22, from Glossop in Derbyshire, gained widespread attention after using a railcard at the wrong time on a Northern rail service last month.

The engineering graduate had purchased an “anytime” ticket on the Northern app, from Broadbottom, Greater Manchester, to central Manchester on September 5, using a railcard discount for passengers aged 16-25.

But after boarding the train at 7.20am he said a conductor told him his ticket was invalid as his railcard could not be used for discounts during peak-time hours.

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Before 10am on weekdays outside public holidays or in July or August, his type of railcard can be used only when the minimum fare is £12. The conductor proceeded to file a travel incident report.

Last week in a social media post seen by millions, Mr Williamson wrote that he had received a letter from Government-owned operator Northern threatening him with legal action.

But on Friday October 11, he said he was contacted again by the train operator notifying him that they will “be taking no further steps” against him.

Now that proceedings have been dropped Mr Williamson is calling on the government to help others avoid such mistakes.

“They have dropped the case for me. Whilst this is obviously great news for me, there are still cases going to court with Northern today on similar infractions of using a railcard before 10am,” Mr Williamson told the PA news agency.

“I’m urging the government to look into simplifying ticketing fares so that less people would make this kind of mistake.

“Most people, including myself, have no idea about this whole thing.”

He is also calling for a restriction on train operating companies such as Northern taking these kinds of cases to court.

He said that “fines in the hundreds and a criminal record are completely disproportionate” as train operators have “easier and better tools available to them”.

He continued: “It’s only because of the public pressure that they have caved at this moment, because in other cases where people have got them to drop it, it’s taken them to have to go and sit in a courtroom before it gets to that stage.”

A number of recent cases of Northern passengers being prosecuted for invalid use of a railcard have been highlighted on X, formerly Twitter, by Bolton News senior reporter Jack Fifield.

These include a 26-year-old man who was fined £462.30 over a £4.30 underpayment for a journey from Prescot, Merseyside, to Liverpool Lime Street.

A Northern spokesperson said: “We understand that fares and ticketing across the railway can, at times, be difficult to understand, and we are reviewing our processes for ensuring compliance with ticket and railcard terms and conditions.

“With regard to recent reported cases involving use of the 16-25 Railcard with fares under £12 before 10am, we are withdrawing any live cases and will also look to review anyone who has been prosecuted previously on this specific issue.

“We are actively engaged with government and industry to simplify fares to help customers.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We expect Northern and all operators to ensure their policy on ticketing is clear and fair for passengers at all times. Northern are reviewing the details of these cases and will report back to the department.

“It is clear that ticketing is far too complicated, with a labyrinth of different fares and prices which can be confusing for passengers.

“That’s why we have committed to the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation, including simplifying fares to make travelling by train easier.”