A former MP has slammed Merseyrail's ticket system and said it's "how not to encourage train use".
Sir David Hanson, a former MP for Delyn in North Wales and Cabinet minister, said his youngest child was on a trip to Liverpool when they were fined for not having their ticket printed off. Sir Hanson asked "what kind of service is this" - before adding the system would put off visitors to the city.
Sir David said: "Youngest child on trip to Liverpool just been fined £20 by Merseyrail despite having a valid ticket paid for on Trainline just because it's on phone and ticket has not been printed off - what kind of service is this? Nothing on Trainline website - how not to encourage train use."
Sir David was born in Liverpool and recently led a Labour Party investigation into Liverpool City Council following the damning Caller report. The former minister was tasked with leading the party's inquiry into the issues arising from the reports on failings in the city which led to Whitehall commissioners being sent to the authority to oversee key departments.
Sir David said the incident at Liverpool Central station had "spoiled a day out to a great city" and questioned why the fine was given when the ticket had previously been validated on trains to Chester. He added the incident had "really upset" his youngest child after they were approached by enforcement officers.
Responding to Sir David's tweet, a spokesperson for Merseyrail said: "Tickets purchased on the Trainline service must be printed off prior to travelling as when you purchase them you have a booking reference code that needs to be redeemed for a ticket. Without redeeming you can cancel the code and get a refund."
The ECHO has previously reported on a number of cases where travellers have been forced to pay fines for travelling without a valid ticket because they purchased it through Trainline. One traveller journeying from Chester paid a £120 fine after being threatened with a court appearance, while another decided to battle the rail operator through the courts for 16 months.
Suzanne Grant, commercial director at Merseyrail, previously told the ECHO: "Where a passenger is travelling using a booking reference number for a ticket purchased from a third party, they should ensure that they have a physical ticket in their possession before boarding our services, and this is made clear at the point of purchase.
"We don’t currently have the technology needed to validate electronic tickets, and unfortunately this opens the risk of a customer simply refunding their ticket once they have completed their journey. For this reason we cannot accept them."
In response to Sir David's tweet, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: "This is another symptom of our fragmented transport network. The London-style system I'm building isn't just about making our transport cheaper and more reliable, it's about improving ticketing too. It should be as simple as tap and go."
