Penalty Fares Scheme

Penalty Fares Scheme West Midlands Trains Ltd 10 December 2017 West Midlands Trains Operating Route December 2017 1. Introduction 1.1 We, West Midlands Trains Ltd (WMT), give notice, under Rule 3.2 of the Penalty Fares Rules 2002 that WMT wish to operate a Penalty Fares Scheme with effect from 10 December 2017. This Scheme will operate over the same geographical area covered by the West Midlands Franchise. This document describes our Penalty Fares Scheme for the purposes of the Penalty Fare rules. From this point onwards when we refer to Rules we are quoting/referring to the Penalty Fare Rules 2002. 1.2 Penalty Fares have been in operation throughout the London Midland Route since the Penalty Fares regulations were introduced in April 1994. WMT has decided to continue to operate a Penalty Fares scheme in this area. It has proved to be the most effective way of protecting revenue and in the interests of fare-paying passengers, whilst causing the least inconvenience. The franchise operates frequent, heavily used commuter and leisure services in urban and suburban areas . Most of our Penalty Fare stations do not have automatic ticket gates or permanent ticket inspectors. 1.3 We have prepared this scheme taking account of the following documents: • The Railways (Penalty Fares) Regulations 1994 • The Railway (Penalty Fares) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 • The SRA Penalty Fares Rules 2002 • Existing London Midland Penalty Fares Scheme. 1.4 In line with Rule 5.2, we have sent copies of this scheme to: • The Department for Transport (Rail) • West Midlands Rail (WMR) • Transport Focus • London TravelWatch • Rail User Groups – Marston Vale and the Abbey Line • Revenue Protection Support Services (RPSS) • Penalty Services Limited (PSL) • Our partner TOCs - Virgin Trains, Cross Country, Arriva Trains Wales, Northern Trains, Merseyrail, Govia Thameslink Railway, Chiltern Trains, London Overground, East Midland Trains. 1 | Page 2. Penalty Fares Trains 2.1 For the purposes of this scheme, all the trains that operate on the routes shown in the table below will be Penalty Fares trains. A map showing the routes on which the Penalty Fares trains run is attached as Appendix A. Route and Service Train Service Group (as defined in our Passenger’s Charter) London All train services operated by WMT as shown in the map Northwestern Appendix A West Midlands Rail All train services operated by WMT as shown in the map (WMR) Appendix A 2 | Page 3. Penalty Fare Stations 3.1 For the purposes of this scheme, the following stations will be Penalty Fares stations. Acocks Green Hagley Smethwick Rolfe Street Acton Bridge Hall Green Solihull* Adderley Park Hampton-in-Arden Spring Road Albrighton Hamstead Stafford Alvechuch Harrow & Wealdstone * Stechford Apsley Hartford Stoke on Trent* Aston Hatton Stone Atherstone Hednesford Stourbridge Junction Barnt Green Hemel Hempsted Stourbridge Town Stratford upon Avon and Stratford upon Avon Berkhamsted Henley in Arden Parkway Berkswell Hereford Sutton Coldfield Bescot Stadium Jewellery Quarter Tame Bridge Parkway Bilbrook Kidderminster Telford Central Birmingham International * Kings Langley The Hawthorns Birmingham Moor Street * Kings Norton Tile Hill Birmingham New Street * Landywood Tipton Birmingham Snow Hill Langley Green Tring Blake Street Lapworth Tyseley Bletchley Lea Hall University Bloxwich Leamington Spa * Walsall Bloxwich North Ledbury Warwick * Bournville Leighton Buzzard Warwick Parkway * 3 | Page Bromsgrove Lichfield City Watford Junction Bushey * Lichfield Trent Valley Wellington Butlers Lane Liverpool Lime Street * Wembley Central * Canley Liverpool South Parkway * Whitlocks End Cannock Longbridge Widney Manor Cheddington Long Buckby Winsford Chester Road Lye Witton Codsall Malvern Link Wolverhampton * Colwall Marston Green Wolverton Coseley Milton Keynes Central Worcester Foregate Street Cosford Northampton Worcester Shrub Hill Coventry * Northfield Wylde Green Cradley Heath Oakengates Wythall Crewe * Old Hill Yardley Wood Dorridge* Olton Droitwich Spa Penkridge Duddeston Perry Barr Dudley Port Redditch Erdington Rowley Regis Euston * Rugby * Five Ways Rugeley Town Four Oaks Rugeley Trent Valley Gravelly Hill Runcorn Great Malvern Sandwell & Dudley Selly Oak Shenstone Shifnal 4 | Page Shirley Shrewsbury * Small Heath Smethwick Galton Bridge Notes • Stations marked with an asterisk are stations where WMT is not the Station Facility Operator (SFO) • During the WMT mobilisation period, it has been agreed with DfT that train services will not commence at Kenilworth station till 19 February 2018. At this point, Kenilworth will become a Penalty Fare station. 3.2 For the purposes of this scheme, the following table shows stations which will be exempt from the issue of Penalty Fares: Alsager Lidlington Aspley Guise Millbrook Barlaston Mossley Hill Bearley Norton Bridge Bedford Park Street Bedford St Johns Polesworth Bedworth Ridgmont Blakedown Stewartby Bordesley St Albans Abbey Bow Brickhill The Lakes Bricket Wood Watford North Claverdon Wedgwood Danzey Wilmcote Earlswood Woburn Sands Fenny Stratford Wood End Garston Wootton Wawen 5 | Page Hartlebury How Wood Kempston Hardwick Kidsgrove Pay train routes are shown in Appendix A. 6 | Page 4. Compulsory Ticket Areas 4.1 The following stations will retain clearly marked Compulsory Ticket Areas (CTA): Part of Station covered by Station Reason for CTA CTA Birmingham Both platforms and footbridge These are stations where all Moor Street passengers must have a ticket to Birmingham enter the platforms in order to make Platforms and concourse Snow Hill a barrier check practical Note: Both of the operators serving these two stations have Penalty Fare schemes in operation ‘Compulsory ticket area’ means any area at a station identified by a notice which indicates that people may not enter that area without a ticket or other authority allowing them to enter that area, or to travel on a train arriving at or departing from that area (SRA Penalty Fares Rules, 2002). 4.2 Gateline staff will be expected to use their discretion to admit people to enter the platforms without a ticket in a CTA. For example, people assisting disabled / elderly passengers to the train. In these cases, people will not be charged to enter the CTA. 7 | Page 5. Ticket Facilities 5.1 Appendix B shows the ticket facilities that are provided at each station where the WMT Penalty Fares Scheme will apply, along with the ticket office opening hours. If the ticket office is closed customers will be able to purchase a ticket via a ‘permit to travel’ (PERTIS) machine or other self-service ticket machines (TVMs). 5.2 The ticket facilities at each Penalty Fares station are sufficient to meet the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA) and Passenger’s Charter queuing standards under normal circumstances at all times of day. The standard is normally five minutes at peak times and three minutes at other times. The times defined as peak are shown on the notices exhibited at each station. When queuing standards are not met and customers are unable to use alternative ticketing facilities, Ticket Offices will inform the Communications Centre who will advise authorised collectors by mobile phone. In these circumstances customers would not be liable to a Penalty Fare if they have been permitted to board a train by an authorised member of staff or through a customer announcement or notice. 5.3 Where queuing standards are not met regularly, we will invoke provisions to restore queuing standards. This could include: • Ensuring sufficient ticket office windows and staffing is provided • Deploy mobile revenue protection staff with mobile devices to sell tickets in the peak (as per current practice on our Greater Anglia franchise) • Evaluate the case for additional TVMs or relocating machines from other stations where they are not well used. 5.4 By 31 March 2019, WMT will have at least one smart enabled TVM at all its SFO (Station Facility Operator) stations. The TVMs will sell the full range of day tickets. This will remove the current reliance on PERTIS machines. In the unlikely event that a TVM does not sell the day ticket required, the customer will be able to buy the ticket on board (where available) or at destination without penalty. 5.5 At staffed stations operated by WMT, staff will check PERTIS and TVMs every day that the station is staffed. Additionally, we will enable TVMs to automatically alert ticket office staff if they are not offering a full service. Staff will be trained to put faults right themselves wherever possible, otherwise our maintenance contractors will repair any faults. Under our maintenance contract, all machine faults will normally be corrected within 48 hours. Any machine not offering full service will be reported to the appropriate manager and the Communications Centre, so that the authorised collectors can be advised. 5.6 At unstaffed stations, the ticket issuing machines are checked to be in working order. This will be achieved by: • Remote monitoring of TVM operating performance performed continuously by the Communications Centre and our TVM suppliers. 8 | Page • Our security company contracted to empty cash boxes and replenish ticket stocks for TVMs and PERTIS machines, will also be trained in basic fault rectification. If they cannot rectify a problem they will escalate the fault to our Communications Centre. • Customers can inform the on-train Revenue staff if a problem with any machine is encountered. The on-train staff will be able to check the alleged fault and if confirmed report it to the Communications Centre by using a mobile telephone. • Periodical checks every 4 weeks undertaken by Line Managers as part of their audit regime or within 48 hours if it appears on the TVM issue list. The Communications Centre will disseminate information that the problem exists and consequently Penalty Fares will be suspended for persons travelling from that station. The Communications Centre will arrange that the reported machine fault be investigated as a priority by alerting either of the following-: • WMT staff who are trained to put faults right themselves wherever possible or, • Our maintenance contractor if a machine fault cannot be rectified by WMT staff or a problem persists.

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