HEAD teachers of secondary schools and academies are being urged by a train operator to help tackle what it calls ‘persistent, calculated fare evasion’ by students.
The plea comes following a catalogue of incidents during the academic year, which is now drawing to a close.
Northern – whose trains serve many stations across Tameside – say students have been travelling without tickets, as well as committing ticket fraud and anti-social behaviour.
Behaviour at some stations has been so bad, the train operator adds, that Northern has had to request support from British Transport Police to maintain order.
Northern has specifically written to a group of schools – including some in Greater Manchester – but is appealing to the wider community for their support with the issue.
Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “What we’re seeing is persistent, calculated fare evasion.
“With secondary school students, fare evasion incidents tend to occur on relatively short journeys between rural and suburban stations which are not barrier-controlled.
“That, combined with the limited time conductors have to carry out ticket checks, emboldens students to travel without a ticket.”
However, in recent months, Northern says incidents have had an increasingly anti-social element to them, with reports of verbal and physical assaults on train crew and station staff.
Powles added: “We’ve seen students climb on station canopies and assault station staff in order to avoid ticket checks – it’s completely unacceptable.
“That’s why we’re calling on head teachers to help us identify repeat offenders.”
A joined-up approach is already making a difference at one school across the border in West Yorkshire, where teachers have been deployed to Honley station to help identify students and ensure station staff can carry out ticket checks without a risk to their safety.
James Meads, assistant head teacher at Honley High School, said: “As part of the school’s on-going work with Northern we have deployed members of teaching staff to the local railway station to help identify students that have attempted to fare evade on their commute to school.
“As well as raising the topic of fare evasion in school assemblies we have also contacted the parents of students to make them aware – and we will continue to support Northern on this issue when the new academic year gets underway in September.”