UK to Install Ticket Gates at 18 Stations to Reduce Fare Evasion

Tall ticket gates will be installed at 18 stations across the UK to address fare evasion at identified hotspots, GB News reported. The project carries a budget of £33.4 million. The Rail Delivery Group estimates that fraud and ticketless travel cost the industry between £350 million and £400 million in annual revenue.

Funding has been allocated to several operators. Avanti West Coast will install the barriers at Liverpool Lime Street and Stafford. East Midlands Railway will add them at Market Harborough. Greater Anglia will equip Hertford East, Manningtree, Rayleigh, Ware, and Witham.

Thameslink Southern Great Northern services will receive gates at Elephant and Castle, Gipsy Hill, Royston, Stevenage, and Worthing. TransPennine Express will install them at Manchester Piccadilly. West Midlands services will place barriers at Nuneaton, Tamworth, Worcester Foregate Street, and Worcester Shrub Hill.

Installation is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2027, with all stations completed by mid-2028. ” Transport for London recorded approximately 400,000 commuters evading fares on a standard weekday last year, at a cost of £200 million. The network issued 69,000 fines and recorded 14,406 convictions for fare evasion in the year ending March 2026, nearly 1,000 more than the prior year.

The government confirmed that further ticket barriers will be rolled out nationwide as part of Great British Railways.