Tens of thousands of train fare prosecutions to be quashed after court ruling

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. In a ruling on Thursday, Mr Goldspring said the six test cases should now be declared a “nullity”, meaning they are treated as though the proceedings never happened. This is, to my mind, a paradigm nullity.” open image in gallery Judge Goldspring is aiming to revisit the cases of all those affected in a bulk hearing in October While Thursday’s ruling only affects the six test cases, the judge put in motion plans for the tens of thousands of other prosecutions to be declared void in the same way. He said the aim would be for a list of those affected to be compiled by the end of September, with the cases listed as a “bulk” hearing “by the end of October”, adding: “I will then make a similar direction in relation to all these cases affected, so everybody is in the same position.” By the end of November, “a team will be out in place to begin the work of recovering the money paid and refund the money to individuals”, the judge said, adding: “There are discussions ongoing with all the parties about how that may be paid.” open image in gallery The six alleged offences examined by Judge Goldspring should never have been prosecuted via the single justice procedure, he said A spokesperson for Northern Rail said the firm welcomed the judgment and “would like to apologise again for the errors that have occurred”. “Northern remains committed to ensuring that all our customers are treated fairly, which means ensuring all passengers who board our trains have a valid ticket.” Last year, 787,403 criminal cases of various types were dealt with by magistrates’ courts under the single justice procedure.