Are you allowed to buy a train ticket on board the train (midland mainline)?

Question

So you get on without a ticket, then when the ticket person comes round, just buy it off them?

Answer 1

Kriz,

These 'permit to travel' machines you refer to are only these days found in the South East of England, if theyre even there still. They were in other PTE areas, like MerseyRail, West Yorkshire, etc, but they have been withdrawn from stations in those areas some years ago -precisely for the wrong reason you were using them for!!

Answer 2

Yes you are allowed to buy your tickets on board the train, obviously they would prefer it if everyone bought their tickets before boarding the train but obviously with unexpected delays this cannot always be helped.

The ticket staff on board have the right to sell only standard open single/return and first open single/return if the ticket office is open, no railcard discounts available only to Disabled Railcard holders.

In times of Ticket office closure of major disruptions then a wide range of tickets can be sold on board the train.

Answer 3

If there is a TVM (ticket vending machine), Ticket Office that is open or a Permit to Travel machine availiable at the station you must pay for your ticket before boarding any Rail Service, if none of these 3 are availiable then once you board the train you must seek out the Conductor / Guard of the service and request a Ticket from them, if they do not have ticket selling facilities or the service is Driver Only Operated only then can you sit with the knowledge that you have tried your best to obtain a ticket.  If for any reason you take a seat without doing the above, then you are actively avoiding paying for your fare which is a Criminal Offence and could cost you up to £2000, yes a penalty fare on most TOC's is a lot less, but if it was to go to court then the fines and costs quickly mount up.

Answer 4

some train stations have a permission to travel box where you put in 5 pence and if the ticket man doesnt come around then you get to werever you are going for 5 pence but if he does then you show him your permission to travel then just buy a ticket.

Answer 5

To emphasise what earlier posters have said, if you do board a train without a ticket (and it's not a case of the booking office being closed and there's no working ticket machines at the station where you boarded), you MUST find the conductor and buy a ticket from him before you find a seat - if you just sit down you may well be considered to have been trying to evade paying the fare, and liable to the full range of penalty fares and possible prosecution.

Answer 6

Officially you are supposed to have a ticket before you board a train.

In the past I have got on a train and not realized that I had lost my ticket until I have looked for it! I then went and found the guard explained what had happened and had to pay the full price for a replacement ticket.

Its better to be safe than sorry so if you get on a train without a ticket find the train guard, as they will be far nicer to you and hopefully only get you to buy the ticket on the train and not fine you.

Answer 7

Generally, if you are proactive and seek out a conductor to buy a ticket ,they are very good about it and there's no problem.  

If they catch you first, you may or may not have a sticky situation depending on how good natured the conductor might be that day.

Answer 8

What was Midland Mainline is now part of a new franchise, East Midlands Trains. You are required to buy a ticket before boarding, either from the booking office or from a Fast Ticket machine at the station. The only fares available from the on-train staff are standard open or standard day tickets with no railcard discounts, unless the booking office is closed, or other exceptional circumstances apply, when a message will have been paged out to staff to accept payment on board. Exceptional circumstances do not include not having given yourself enough time to buy a ticket before travel, or finding yourself in a queue to buy tickets!

Answer 9

If the ticket office is open then No, technically... they do have ticket machines onboard for "dodgers" if the ticket office is closed and you have no alternative its fine, but if they catch you when they ticket office is open they are within their rights to issues you a fine.