Northern have written to eleven schools including four in Greater Manchester with a plea to help them tackle what they call ‘persistent, calculated fare evasion’ by students.
As the end of the academic year draws near, the train operator says it’s time for headteachers to work with them to combat the issue.
It follows a catalogue of incidents since September 2023, including students travelling without tickets, ticket fraud and anti-social behaviour as well as verbal and physical assaults on conductors and station staff.
Behaviour at some stations has been so bad that Northern has had to request support from British Transport Police to maintain order.
The four schools are Hazel Grove High School, Highfields College, Reddish Vale High School and Turton High School
Knutsford High School and Wimslow High School are also included
Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “What we’re seeing is persistent, calculated fare evasion.
“With secondary school students, fare evasion incidents tend to occur on relatively short journeys between rural and suburban stations which are not barrier-controlled.
“That, combined with the limited time conductors have to carry out ticket checks, emboldens students to travel without a ticket.”
However, in recent months, Northern says incidents have had an increasingly anti-social element to them, with reports of verbal and physical assaults on train crew and station staff.
Powles added: “We’ve seen students climb on station canopies and assault station staff in order to avoid ticket checks – it’s completely unacceptable.
“That’s why we’re calling on headteachers to help us identify repeat offenders.”
