A MAJOR clampdown on fare dodgers has revealed that Bolton commuters are still trying to get a free ride on the town's trains.

But all that will change over the coming months when permanent barriers are reintroduced at Bolton's Trinity Street Station.

Rail company First North Western, who manage the region's 304 stations on a day-to-day basis, say fare dodgers are costing the company in excess of £2 million pounds every year - and Bolton is one of the worst offenders.

Public relations manager Mr Keith Lumley said: "Bolton is a main corridor where we are leaking money and where we have found a high number of fraudulent travellers."

The crackdown follows a series of operations in Bolton and at three main stations in central Manchester, where thousands of passengers have been stopped and had their tickets checked.

Mr Lumley said: "Because the stations are open and because our conductors don't have the opportunity to check tickets, people are travelling without paying."

Plans to bring back physical barriers manned by staff at the Trinity Street station will soon be implemented.

Those travelling without a valid ticket may face prosecution and could be fined up to £500.

Mr Lumley added: "We are talking about this starting in the near future, months rather than years."

He said that in the future barriers similar to those used in the London Underground may be introduced at local stations.

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