Fines to deter train passengers dodging fares across England and Wales could be doubled under new plans being considered by the UK Government.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said the current £20 fines are "no longer fulfilling their deterrent function", suggesting instead to raise them to £40.
This would bring them "more closely in line" with the scheme used by Transport for London, which then doubles fines again to £80 if not paid within 21 days.
The current penalties have been frozen at £20 – or twice the fare to the next stop if it's higher – for the past 16 years.
Due to inflation, this has decreased to a real-terms cost of £14 (at 2005 prices).
The proposed changes would bring the punishment closer to the harsher fines used in other European countries, such as the €60 (£51) penalty for fare dodgers Germany and the €50 (£43) penalty in France.
Before the coronavirus pandemic around £240million a year was being lost through fare evasion across Britain, according to industry estimates.
A DfT spokesperson said: "It is vital that everyone travels with a valid train ticket, and this consultation will help decide if the existing penalty fee remains an effective deterrent.
"With the cost of the penalty fare remaining set since 2005, it's important that we examine how best to crack down on ticketless travel without impacting honest fare-paying passengers."
