Queues for tickets at Thames Ditton station are now “longer than ever”, following last week’s dramatic crackdown on fare dodgers.

At about 10.30am on Monday March 1, a deployment of special South West Trains (SWT) enforcers rounded up about 60 people who had not paid the correct fare, the majority believed to be Esher College students.

Passers-by reportedly watched in horror as individuals tried to evade the inspection by running across the electrified tracks.

A resident, who captured the raid on his camera, said: “There is every reason to suggest the college authorities are taking a firm line with their students to stop habitual fare-dodging, not least because the queues for the ticket machine are now longer than ever since the raid.

“With the penalty fare at £20 rather cheaper than a season ticket, the economics may be in favour of the risk. But fare-dodging only means higher prices, poorer services, for the law-abiding majority.”

Seven officers were needed to cover both station exits and chase those who escaped by jumping over the railings and running into The Dell.

At the scene SWT officers, who closed off both station exits and chased those who fled by jumping over railing, confirmed the raids took place “once or twice a year”.

An SWT spokesman said: “We regularly carry out ticket checks across the whole of our network and the exercise on that morning was part of an ongoing programme of checks at Thames Ditton station.

“Fare evasion on the UK rail network is a serious issue, and costs the industry more than £200m every year. Our regular revenue protection checks play a large part in helping to stamp out fraudulent travel.”

A spokesman for Esher College claimed it was “impossible” to police what its students did outside of their premises.

He said: “While a small minority of train travelling students chose not to obtain a ticket before travelling on Monday which we obviously condemn, the large majority do buy tickets or have Oyster cCards.

“We will, of course, re-iterate to students the importance of purchasing a ticket and behaving responsibly in the local community.”

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