A train operator said it has recovered £12,000 from a habitual fare dodger who offended 736 times.
Chiltern Railways said the culprit, who it did not name, committed instances of “fraudulent reclaims of money, knowingly not paying the correct fare and railcard abuse”.
A total of 8,064 cases were reported for investigation by Chiltern’s economic crime, fraud and prosecutions unit last year.
More than £1 million of lost revenue was recovered during the period.
This is in addition to the 2,156 penalty fares issued, which resulted in more than £114,000 being recovered, Chiltern Railways said.
Penalty fares are issued as a surcharge on top of the price of the single fare for a passenger’s journey.
They should only be issued in instances where there were facilities to buy a ticket at a passenger’s departure station and the person passed signs stating the consequences of not having a ticket.
In January 2023, the Department for Transport increased the cost of the penalty fare to £100 after it was frozen at £20 for more than a decade.
It is reduced to £50 if paid within 21 days.
Tony Baxter, operations director at Chiltern Railways, said: “The vast majority of our customers pay for their tickets before they travel but unfortunately there is still a lot of money lost on the railway through fare evasion every year.
“We are determined to ensure fairness for the paying customer, and there is no excuse for fare evasion as it has never been simpler to purchase a ticket.
“Anyone risking boarding without buying the correct ticket for their journey is at risk of a penalty fare or prosecution.”
Industry body the Rail Delivery Group previously estimated that around £240 million is lost through fare evasion on Britain’s railways each year.
In January, watchdog Transport Focus urged all operators in Britain to introduce a so-called yellow card system, which would mean passengers caught without a ticket being let off with a warning for a first offence.
Chiltern Railways runs services between London Marylebone and locations in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, as well as longer-distance services to and from the West Midlands.
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