Train passengers furious after being fined £80 as first class rules branded ‘confusing’

A rail passenger has raged against after he and others were fined on a carriage. Theo Griffiths posted a photo of a £79.50 penalty fare notice online, claiming he had been fined by a guard as front first class facilities were active.

The customer told that it is “confusing” for passengers because these “aren’t always in action”.

trains were specified in 2008 with a minimum number of first class seats, and have first class compartments at each end. But, by the time they entered service in 2016, officials felt that the proportion of first class seats was too great.

So the rear compartment in the direction of has been declassified to create more space for customers with regular tickets. This is advertised on the digital displays on board the train as well as on platform display screens.

The first class compartment in the rearmost carriage is always declassified. There are driver cabs at each end of the train and drivers will swap ends when they reach their then drive the train in reverse back down the route.

Mr Griffiths said on X: “Hi @TLRailUK, I have been fined £79.50, along with most of the carriage this morning, for sitting in the front first class section. Please can you explain the difference from sitting in the back first class, where it’s allowed, to the front and how that it worth £79.50?”

Thameslink’s X account replied: “Hi Theo, are you able to advise where you boarded the train, what time and direction please? If the front, first class facilities were in action and you didn’t hold a first class ticket then travelling in this portion of the train could result in a penalty fare. More information can be found , under section 15, page 12.”

Mr Griffiths said: “The fact that they aren’t always in action creates confusion for customers, that is the point I am making and results in this. My ticket was Stevenage Kings Cross arriving at 08:14. Your guard even tried to fine someone for standing in 1st class to get off!”

The passenger added: “You have also not explained the difference between the front first class section, and the back which I have now learned is valid with a standard ticket, so please can you clarify this? How can you expect customers to know all these nitpicky and overly complex rules.”

Thameslink replied: “For more clarity, further information about when first-class is and isn’t in operation can be found on our website below. This states: ‘Where first class is available, this can be found at the very front of the train. The first class compartment at the rear of Thameslink trains is always declassified.'”

Mr Griffiths then said: “Again this doesn’t explain the fundamental difference between front and back, because there is none.”

A spokesperson for Govia Thameslink Railway told : “Rear first class compartments on Thameslink trains have been declassified since they entered service in 2016, to create more space for customers with regular tickets. We advertise this on the digital displays on board the train as well as on platform screens.

“In line with the National Rail Conditions of Travel, if someone is travelling in first class with a standard class ticket then they may be subject to a Penalty Fare. This is £100 plus the price of the full single fare applicable for the intended journey, reduced to £50 plus the price of the single fare if paid with 21 days.

“No-one would think they were not in a first class compartment. It is clearly signposted both on the outside and inside of the carriage. Our station platform train describer boards also clearly state where first class is situated. The compartments also look very different and they are separated from the rest of the carriage by a door.”