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Metro
19-06-2025
- Metro
Fare dodger caught red handed after evading £1,650 in tickets
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A prolific fare dodger was caught red-handed after racking up a £1,650 bill on the Elizabeth line. The man had avoided paying for almost 250 journeys by using a trick known as short-faring over eight months. He had been using his Oyster Card to travel from Harold Wood or Romford to Stratford in east London, but he had only bought the fare in Zones 2 to 3, instead of the full fare from Zone 6 to 2. A monthly Travelcard between Zones 2 to 3 costs £128.7, while a Zones 2 to 6 pass sets you back by £214.7. Thinking he had gamed the system, the unassuming passenger travelled regularly between the zones by shortening his fare, but the detection system picked up his journeys. The TfL investigators set up a sting operation at 5.30am to catch the man on his morning commute to Stratford from Harold Wood. The heated encounter is featured in an upcoming episode of the Channel 5 series Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law, which airs on Monday. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video His fare dodging had created a 35-page dossier of evidence for the investigators Rich and Greg to trawl through to understand his movements – and to set up the best time to catch him in action. He had avoided paying £1,651 worth of Tube tickets over around 245 journeys. Irregular payments and travel patterns can be picked up by the TfL's Irregular Travel Analysis Platform (ITAP), which also detects short-faring. It combs through ticketing and journey data, passengers' information, CCTV and travel patterns to spot fare evaders racking up the biggest bills. The transport authority spent almost £22 million on a fare dodging crackdown last year. Around 3.4% of passengers avoided paying for travel between April and December last year. TfL recovered £400,000 through the courts after the prosecution of 360 worst evaders. Dressed in normal clothing to stay undercover, the pair waited for the man to walk into their arms. When asking for a ticket check on his Oyster card, the man says he didn't have one. 'You do, so what did you use to come here,' the investigator asks. The man continues to insist he has used a bank card. While he agrees to provide his name and address, but he refuses to show his Oyster card, saying he has lost it. More Trending He eventually hands over the Oyster card after being taken to a back room for questioning when the investigators said they will call the police if he continues to be 'obstructive.' After the chat, he continued his journey while the case will be passed onto the TfL prosecution team. Another short-farer was caught at Waterloo station previously, who evaded paying £20,000 on his regular commute from Surrey to central London. The next episode of Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law is on Channel 5 airs at 9pm on Monday, June 23 on TV and on the streaming platform. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Man 'carrying a gun' at Elm Park Underground station arrested during rush hour MORE: Passengers stuck on trains and platforms in sweltering heat after fire alarm MORE: Dartford Crossing charge will go up for drivers – here's how much it rises
Telegraph
04-05-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Wales is about to get its own metro network – here's what it means for visitors
It has been dubbed the 'Welsh Tube'. It hopes to transform car-free travel around South Wales. And it comes with a colour-coded map reminiscent of the London Underground. But the South Wales Metro, the new £1 billion transport system from rail operator Transport for Wales (TfW), is less 'Mind the Gap', more 'What's occurrin'?'. The Metro promises 105 miles of largely overground travel, linking the Welsh capital with major visitor attractions at Caerphilly and Barry Island, amongst others. Think greener, quieter trains on six electrified lines, new stations, better access and a contactless payment system – much like London's Oyster Card. But don't expect it tomorrow. The project aims for completion in 2026, forming part of a wider transport plan around Cardiff. Works are ongoing, and the line that runs to Rhymney, north of Cardiff, for example, will be subject to dreaded rail replacement services throughout this summer. 'We're working through the transformation of the Valleys Lines with some 70 per cent of lines now electrified and new trains rolling out,' says Kelsey Barcenilla, stakeholder manager for TfW. 'In the short term, passengers can expect a better experience, more frequent services and ticketing improvements, plus a new bus interchange near to Cardiff Central station. Longer term, the South Wales Metro will entice more passengers away from their cars, given the improved infrastructure.' It's good news for visitors confused by Wales' controversial 20mph speed limit. While still enforced on roughly one-third of roads, some local councils have reversed the limit back to 30mph. Despite criticism, the speed limit has been credited by the Welsh Assembly Government for a decrease in the number of casualties from road collisions. But letting the train take the strain, and changing lines easily, is now more viable with increased weekday, evening and Sunday services between Cardiff and the heads of each valley (Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil, Treherbert). The project also takes a step towards facilitating the Cardiff Crossrail, the on-street tram service, linking Cardiff Central with Cardiff Bay. It hopes to be operational when the city acts as a host city for the 2028 European Football Championship. The rollout of the South Wales Metro has not been universally welcomed, however. The focus is on South Wales with little obvious benefit to other regions. Celebrations are underway to mark the centenary of the birth of the Valleys-born actor Richard Burton, but while Port Talbot is on the rail network, the village of Pontrhydyfen, where he was born, requires car access. To head to Wrexham, where the Hollywood-backed football team just secured a historic third promotion to play in the Championship next season, visitors would currently need to catch a train to Shrewsbury – across the English border – and change to a Chester train via Wrexham General. Transport links will be explored as the former industrial city in North East Wales bids to be the UK City of Culture 2029. Concerns over links between South and North Wales are further compounded by the prospect of a £1.25 per night tourism levy to be introduced across Wales from 2027 if the legislation clears the Welsh Parliament. 'It may be good for tourists visiting Cardiff and the valleys but no, there's no benefit beyond Merthyr, or towards Pembrokeshire,' says Sean Westlake, chair of Wales Official Tourist Guides Association (WOTGA). 'There are links across Wales with the two trunk roads through Mid Wales and TrawsCymru buses, but the journey times are long.' 'What Wales really needs, sustainable transport-wise,' he adds, 'is a more integrated system of train and bus between south and north.' For people travelling around South Wales, however, there is car-free industrial heritage, ancient castles, and kiss-me-quick fun to be had, plus a wider move towards smoother, greener travel. 'I'm excited for the link from Rhymney to Barry via Cardiff,' says Kelsey at TfW. 'I'll be heading to Barrybados with the family for seaside days out.' And that, as Nessa would say, is 'tidy'. It may not be open just yet, but it's never too early to dream up the excellent Welsh minibreaks the new trains will make possible. Just pick your favourite destinations, and mark your calendar. Route one Cardiff Bay to Caerphilly on the Cardiff Bay and Penarth Lines Start your day in Cardiff Bay, taking in sites such as the Wales Millennium Centre, a must for Doctor Who fans, the Senedd parliament building and the hidden gem Norwegian Church, the old seaman's chapel turned arts centre. Then jump on the train for the hour-long journey to Caerphilly, home to the largest castle in Wales – and a crumbly, white cheese. The castle saw action battling Welsh princes and English Civil War skirmishes before the Marquess of Bute restored it in the 1920s. It's a short walk from the station with glorious grounds for sunny-day mooching. Route two Cardiff Queen Street to Merthyr Tydfil on the Cardiff Bay and Merthyr Lines From Queen Street, it's one hour to Merthyr, the line running via Llandaff in Cardiff's leafy northwest suburbs. Jump off for a stroll around the village, where the writer Roald Dahl attended school in the 1920s in the shadow of the towering Gothic cathedral. A blue plaque outside the former High Street sweetshop recounts the story of the Great Mouse Plot, his boyhood prank to leave a dead mouse in a jar of Gobstoppers. Back on the train, it's a story of industrial heritage with Merthyr once the world's largest iron-producing town. Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Gallery tells the story of the town's radical past, while the 160-acre parkland has a model railway and family activities. Route three Cardiff Central to Barry Island on the Vale of Glamorgan Line After breakfast in Cardiff, exploring the cafes of the Victorian arcades, or a stroll in Bute Park, make a day-trip pilgrimage in the footsteps of Gavin and Stacey. It's only 40 minutes away, but there are, confusingly, three local stations. Barry Island is best for kitsch seaside fun, and Barry station itself is nearest to The Goodsheds, a new shipping-container village packed with shops, restaurants and bars. Try Cozy Tapas for bottomless brunch and stock up on Welsh craft ales at Craft Republic, a dog-friendly independent bar and bottle shop. There's a self-guided trail of locations from the TV series to download. Take a selfie by the mural outside Marco's, the promenade café where Stacey works in the show and Nessa's Slots amusement arcade round the corner. Stacey's home is the final stop, the residential house at 47 Trinity Street regularly attracting a small gathering of devotees. Crackin'.
