Penalty Fares
Leaflet
This leaflet gives you advice about
how and where to buy your ticket and
contains a map showing the penalty fare areas
for the following train operating company
Do you have any questions?
For further information
about penalty fares on Southern services
please contact our Customer Service team:
tel fax 03451 27 29 20*
03451 27 29 30
This leaflet is intended as a guide and should not be regarded as
a complete or authoritative statement of the law or regulations.
Other train operators may have their own penalty fares scheme,
this leaflet only covers the stations served by Southern.
8
SN-14-07-Southern Penalty Fares DL Leaflet
*All calls charged at national rate, calls may be recorded
1 August 2014
Southern operate a Penalty Fares scheme on all the routes they
operate, as shown on the map in this leaflet. You must buy a valid
ticket (or permit to travel) for the journey you are making before
you get on any Southern train at any of the stations shown in
yellow on the map. If you do not have a valid ticket or permit to
travel, you may have to pay a penalty fare of £20 or twice the full
single fare, whichever is the greater.
If there is a queue at the ticket office can I board the train without
a valid ticket?
No. It is your responsibility to allow yourself reasonable time to
buy a ticket before travelling. Automatic self-service ticket
machines are provided at all stations as an additional method of
ticket purchase. Tickets can also be bought in advance of travel
from ticket offices, by phone or via the internet.
Southern have been authorised to charge Penalty Fares by the
Department for Transport in line with the Railways Act 1994 (as
amended by the Transport Act 2000), the Penalty Fares
Regulations 1994 and the Penalty Fares Rules 2002. The aim of
the Penalty Fares scheme is to reduce the number of passengers
who travel without tickets.
Can I pay at my destination if I am in a rush?
No. If you board a train without a valid ticket, then you may have
to pay a Penalty Fare.
This leaflet contains the answers to the most frequently asked
questions about the Southern Penalty Fares Scheme:
Why is a Penalty Fare scheme necessary?
Penalty Fares are in place to encourage passengers to buy their
tickets before travelling. Even if only a small percentage of
passengers travel without paying, substantial sums of money
are put at risk. Reducing the number of passengers who do not
pay is not only in the interest of Southern, but also the majority
of the fare paying passengers.
How much is the Penalty Fare?
If you board a train without a valid ticket for your entire journey,
or a valid Permit to Travel, you may be charged a Penalty Fare of
£20 or twice the full single fare (whichever is the greater) to the
next stop, plus the full single fare to complete your journey.
What methods of payment can I use to pay a Penalty Fare?
You can use cash, a cheque (supported by a cheque guarantee
card), Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Maestro or Delta.
We do not accept Solo or Electron cards.
If I do not buy a ticket before travelling, is it an automatic
Penalty Fare?
You are responsible for ensuring that you buy a ticket that is
valid for your entire journey before travelling, otherwise you
may have to pay a Penalty Fare.
What if the ticket office is closed, or the station does not have a
ticket office and the automatic self-service machines are out of
order?
At most locations there is more than one self-service ticket
machine and these are regularly maintained so it would
be unusual for there to be no self-service ticket machines
available for you to use. At stations where there is only one
self-service machine there is usually a further machine called a
Permit to Travel. This is normally located near the station
entrance/exit or beside other self-service machines. You should
insert the maximum number of coins you have with you in the
Permit to Travel machine, up to the value of your journey.
Press the button and you will be issued with a permit to travel.
This permit must be exchanged for a valid ticket at your first
opportunity, be that on the train or at your destination and in
any case within two hours. You will be given credit for the
amount you paid for the permit when you exchange it for a
valid ticket. If the ticket office is closed or not available and self
service ticket machines or the Permit to Travel machines are
not working then you will not be charged a Penalty Fare.
What if I want to buy a season ticket and the ticket office
is closed?
Provided that you have a photocard, you can buy a weekly
season ticket from the automatic self service ticket machines.
However, if you wish to buy a monthly season or longer, you
should buy a single ticket for your destination or Permit to
Travel and then buy your season ticket at your destination. The
cost of your single ticket or Permit to Travel will be deducted
from the cost of your season ticket.
continued on page 6
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3
Southern & Gatwick Express
Penalty Fares Map
Key
Regular
service
Milton Keynes
Central
London
Victoria
Bletchley
Leighton
Buzzard
Limited
service
Tring
Brighton Mainline route
Berkhamsted
West London route
Metro route
Wembley
Central
Harrow &
Wealdstone
Hemel
Hempstead
Oxted route
Kensington
(Olympia)
Imperial
Wharf
West
Brompton
Shepherd’s
Bush
Wandsworth
Common
Mainline West route
Clapham
High Street
(
Balham
Mainline East route
Coastway West route
Coastway East route
South
Merton
Gatwick Express route
Wimbledon
Wimbledon
Chase
Haydons Road
Mitcham Junction
Penalty Fares Stations
Tooting
Hackbridge
Faygate*
St. Helier
Carshalton
London Underground interchange
DLR interchange
West
Sutton
Tramlink interchange
Sutton
Carshalton
Beeches
Wallington
Waddon
Belmont
Ferry service interchange
Norbury
Gipsy Hill
Banstead
Tulse
Hill
North
Dulwich
Honor Oak
Park
Forest Hill
Crystal
Palace
Sydenham
Anerley
Penge West
West Croydon
Eurostar interchange
Airport interchange
West
Norwood
Selhurst
Norwood
Junction
Sutton
Common
London Overground interchange
East Dulwich
Brockley
Streatham
Common
Thornton
Heath
New Cross
Gate
Denmark
Hill
Streatham
Morden
South
Southern Exempt from Penalty
Fares Scheme
Queens
Road
Peckham
Peckham
Rye
Clapham North)
Streatham
Hill
Mitcham Eastfields
South
Bermondsey
Wandsworth
Road
Clapham
Junction
(for Earl’s Court)
Redhill route
Limited Southern service
station
London
Bridge
Battersea Park
Watford
Junction
East
Croydon
Epsom
Downs
Cheam
Ashford
International
Birkbeck Beckenham
Junction
South Croydon
Ham Street
Sanderstead
Ewell East
Other train operators provide additional services
along some routes served by Southern.
This map is not to scale and is designed to show the line
of routes rather than the exact position of stations.
Epsom
31/12/11
Ashtead
Tattenham
Corner
Kingswood
Tadworth
Clandon
Southampton
Central
St Denys*
Bitterne*
Woolston*
Sholing*
Netley*
Hamble*
Bursledon*
Swanwick
London
Road
Effingham
Junction
Horsley
Woodmansterne
Chipstead
Leatherhead
Bookham
(Guildford)
Box Hill and
Westhumble
Reigate
Holmwood
Guildford
Southampton
Airport Parkway
Ockley
Eastleigh
Warnham
Hilsea
Littlehaven
Faygate*
Ifield
Portsmouth
Harbour
Warblington
Emsworth
Southbourne
Arundel
Nutfield
Edenbridge
Godstone
Earlswood
Salfords
Gatwick
Airport
Three
Bridges
Crawley
Dormans
Fishbourne
Ford
4
Ore
Tonbridge
Hastings
St. Leonards
Warrior Square
Bexhill
Eridge
Collington
Crowborough
Buxted
Uckfield
*
Plumpton
Glynde Berwick Polegate
Falmer
Moulsecoomb
London Road
Portslade Hove
Cooden Beach
Normans Bay
Pevensey Pevensey
& Westham
Bay*
Cooksbridge* Lewes
Hassocks
Angmering Durrington
-on-Sea
Three Oaks
Leigh
Ashurst
Southease
Newhaven Town
Newhaven Harbour
East Lancing Southwick Fishersgate Aldrington
Worthing
Bishopstone
Brighton
Bognor Regis
Doleham*
Cowden
East
Grinstead
(Brighton)
Nutbourne
Winchelsea
Penshurst
Edenbridge
Town
Hever
Lingfield
Preston Park
Shoreham
-by-Sea
Rye
Woldingham
Hurst Green
Burgess Hill
Goring
West
-by-Sea Worthing Worthing
Appledore
Upper Warlingham
Oxted
Haywards
Heath
Pulborough
Chichester Barnham
Whyteleafe
South
Wivelsfield
Amberley
Bosham
Kenley
(Smitham)
Balcombe
Horsham
Christ’s Hospital
Bedhampton
Havant
Coulsdon Town
Horley
Billingshurst
Portsmouth
& Southsea
Reedham
Coulsdon South
Merstham
Redhill
Dorking
Fareham
Portchester
Cosham
Fratton
Riddlesdown
Purley
Oaks
Purley
Whyteleafe Caterham
Seaford
Littlehampton
5
Hampden Park
Eastbourne
What should I do if I have forgotten my season ticket
and / or photocard?
You should buy a daily ticket to cover your journey before
travelling. You may subsequently apply for a refund on this daily
ticket at the ticket office where you bought your season ticket.
Only two such refund applications will be considered in a 12
month period and you may be charged an admin fee.
What if I discover that I have forgotten my season ticket
and / or photocard once I have boarded the train?
The Authorised Collectors will record details of your season
ticket and your name and address on a pro-forma. You will
then be issued you with an Authority to Travel for the single
journey that you are undertaking at the time. You must send
this together with a clear photocopy of your season ticket and
photocard to the address shown on the Authority to Travel.
Failure to return the Authority to Travel or making a false claim
may lead to prosecution.
What if I have bought a discounted ticket with a railcard, but
cannot produce the railcard on the actual journey?
You are liable to pay a Penalty Fare, as the discounted ticket is
only valid on production of the railcard.
What if I am unable to pay the full amount of the Penalty
Fare on the spot?
If you do not have the full amount, then you will be allowed
to make a part payment. You are required by law to provide
your full name and address at this time and you then have
21 days to pay the remaining amount of the Penalty Fare.
This can be done by sending a cheque or postal order to the
payment address on the Penalty Fare notice. Please include
the Penalty Fare notice with your payment and do not
send cash through the post. Failure to provide an Authorised
Collector, when asked to do so, with your current name and
address, or giving a false name and/or address, is a criminal
offence and will lead to prosecution.
Is there a right of appeal against a Penalty Fare?
If you wish to appeal against a Penalty Fare you must put this in
writing within 21 days of the issue date and send it to the
appeals address shown on the Penalty Fare notice. This appeals
service is independent of the train operating companies and will
consider your appeal based on the facts of the case.
What happens if I travel beyond my normal destination?
It is your responsibility to buy any additional ticket that you
need to make your original ticket valid for your entire journey
before travelling; otherwise you may have to pay a Penalty Fare.
If I have a standard class ticket, but sit in First Class, as the train
is busy, will I receive a Penalty Fare?
As your ticket would not be valid in First Class accommodation
you may have to pay a Penalty Fare of £20 or twice the First
Class single fare (whichever is the greater) to the next stop, plus
a First Class single from there to your destination. However,
depending on the circumstances, you may be liable to
prosecution instead. If you wish to travel First Class, then you
must buy a First Class ticket or appropriate upgrade before
travelling.
Who can issue a Penalty Fare?
Any member of staff who has been trained as an Authorised
Collector and is carrying an authorised collector’s ID badge can
charge Penalty Fares.
Remember:
Buy a ticket before you travel otherwise
you may have to pay a Penalty Fare
(minimum £20)
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