Fare evasion and abuse towards staff forces closure of Guildford station footbridge

Fare evasion and attacks on rail staff have led to a big change at Guildford railway station.

The pedestrian footbridge will be closed between Monday 4 December and Friday 1 March as part of a trial to try and make the station safer.

The problem with the footbridge is that it allows people to access the station's platforms without purchasing a ticket.

Pedestrians are permitted to use the footbridge as a walking route between Station Approach and Guildford Park Road.

Until recently, pedestrians were provided with a paper ‘bridge pass’ that allowed them to enter and exit the station via the footbridge.

Walking across the station footbridge is estimated to be around three minutes quicker than the alternative route across Farnham Road bridge.

However, fare evaders regularly access the station’s platforms and board trains without a valid ticket, having claimed to be using the footbridge as a walking route.

South Western Railway tell us when fare evaders have been challenged they have been verbally and physically abusive towards staff.

Figures show that there have been 60 reports of anti-social behaviour towards train staff since the start of 2023, with 20 incidents reported to British Transport Police.

A study commissioned by SWR in November 2022 found that almost 2,000 bridge passes went missing in just 25 days.

It is estimated that improper use of the bridge passes has led to hundreds of thousands of pounds being lost through fare evasion.

Claire Mann, South Western Railway’s Managing Director, said:

“We cannot accept anti-social behaviour towards our colleagues and as a result we are withdrawing pedestrian access to Guildford station footbridge between Monday 4 December and Friday 1 March. The trial will be used to gather information ahead of an application to permanently withdraw pedestrian access.

“While this may be inconvenient to pedestrians who use the footbridge as intended, we hope that they appreciate that we cannot allow our staff to be verbally or physically abused. We must also address the problem of fare evasion, which is costing hundreds of thousands of pounds every year.”

Mark Killick, Network Rail’s Wessex Route Director, said:

“We know most of our customers wouldn’t dream of behaving like this, but these statistics don’t lie. The data shows our colleagues are regularly being physically or verbally abused by people who are misusing the bridge passes, therefore we’ve got to take action.

“While we recognise the trial removal of the passes will be an inconvenience, we hope people will understand that we have to keep our colleagues and customers safe.”

The change could be permanent if the trial is successful but for now pedestrians will have to use another bridge at Farnham Road.