When is a fake ticket not really a fake ticket? When a rail protester has already paid for a season ticket.
Forty passengers on the First Great Western route, named as Britain's worst in a Passenger Focus survey last week, waved fake vouchers before they boarded the train at Bath Spa this morning. Some wore cattle masks.
If you thought that amounted to a fare strike, however, you'd be wrong. An FGW spokesman pointed out that the vast majority of protesters already had season tickets: "We have only had one person who has pushed through the barrier, and we will decide whether they are to face prosecution," he said.
This is not the first time disaffected FGW passengers have pretended not to pay their fares. They did the same last year, prompting a small fare cut and an increase in the number of carriages.
Since then, however, the service into Paddington has worsened again and FGW has not been relieved of its franchise, despite a widespread shake-up of the network at the end of 2007 in which Virgin lost the Cross Country routes and GNER's trains were handed over to National Express.
Last week, a seven-year-old fainted on an FGW train and had to be held upright by her father because there were no seats available. The firm also managed to overcharge season ticket holders by up to £140 in the Thames Valley area, and had to offer passengers compensation.
The company also announced that it would be doubling the usual compensation for delays and would also freeze fares.
This, however, has done nothing to mollify commuters. "FGW are about to hand back 12 coaches to the leasing company, put up fares by 10%, and reduce the number of trains stopping at local stations," More Train Less Strain, the group behind today's protest, said.
"FGW are so worried that you won't be able to get on their trains that they have even been handing out leaflets asking you not to take local trains!" However, it's a pity that the group's website illustrates the problem with a photo of people being squeezed onto a train in, er, Japan.
