AUTOMATED ticket checks at barriers in Northern-managed stations are about to get ‘smarter’ thanks to new technology that will alert staff to potential ‘chancers’ using an incorrect ticket.

The technology will check that a ticket is valid, but also alert staff if that validity requires additional checks such as presentation of the appropriate railcard.

In a trial at Manchester Victoria earlier this month, the technology was used to detect 180 people in one day alone.

Those attempting to travel using a ticket they were not eligible to use included 52 people with a railcard discount they were not able to present for inspection and 24 adults travelling on a children’s ticket.

As a result, Northern was able to issue 79 penalty fares worth over £1,500.

Mark Powles, Customer and Commercial Director at Northern, said: “This technology will be invaluable for our gate line and revenue protection colleagues whose job it is to ensure ticket checks are carried out quickly and efficiently.

“Unfortunately, we know a small minority of customers try to exploit the automated nature of barrier checks to travel on tickets they know they’re not eligible to use.

“The kit is very easy to install and can be deployed to known hotspots across the whole network to help tackle this fraudulent activity."