Tesco checking tickets on Southeastern

[Ivor]

There are many colours of HV clothing on the railway so that argument is invalid. If you think the person at a ticket barrier (or anywhere else) is suspicious then alert another member of staff,they should know who’s on their station. They can then take the appropriate action if needed. If there is nobody around to ask then on no account hand over anything. Inform them you want to see their ID and ask to see their supervisor if none shown. If they try to detain you call 999.

Often at many smaller non Gateline stations is where ticket checks take place, normally two agency staff & often as I know an agency person can end up working on their own as a colleague doesn’t turn up (the world of agency work)

There is no other TOC staff there or a supervisor for a passenger to speak to. At Gateline stations tickets are only inspected if the Gateline refuses the ticket or the QR code.

I agree with your advice & I wish there was enough staff at smaller stations not only for the safety of passengers but for the safety of solo staff members too.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

@TT-ONR-NRN will be very well aware of that; what they are referring to is the alternative possibility that it may have been done as a prank to go on Youtube to attract views. For example someone may 'challenge' someone to pretend to be a ticket inspector and see how many tickets they can check, or something along those lines. It's less likely but not implausible.

Yes this is exactly what I was saying Don’t get me wrong, it can be funny, and I’ve had a laugh watching a guy who pretends to be a worker in IKEA and Apple Store and does all kind of funny things (and eventually gets kicked out), but for customers/passengers requiring genuine help or just trying to go about their day, and for genuine staff, it’s extremely unhelpful indeed.

 

[Benjwri]

FWIW, I've never knowingly seen plain clothes RPIs on National Rail. Ever. I've definitely come across a few on London Underground though.

Only seen them once on GWR, was actually a very swift operation. I think there were 3 or 4 of them who dispersed themselves throughout the carriage in plain clothes, before pulling out TOC lanyards/IDs and starting to check tickets at a very high pace. Was an IET from London to Paddington last year, have never actually seen anything like it.

 

[MrJeeves]

I don't think I have ever seen station staff in yellow hi-vis in the UK.

GTR use a mix of orange and yellow hi-vis for station staff.

 

[northwichcat]

A ticket inspector isn't going to be acting as a go between for drivers and signallers... unless the modernisation thing gets taken too far

The colour should have been a dead giveaway that something was not right...

Ticket inspectors at Manchester Piccadilly do wear yellow high-vis.

BTP even tweeted a picture of them working near the ticket inspectors, so I'm presuming the police didn't think it was suspicious.

https://twitter.com/BTPGtrMcr/status/1533902821191565315/photo/2

 

[PG]

Only seen them once on GWR, was actually a very swift operation. I think there were 3 or 4 of them who dispersed themselves throughout the carriage in plain clothes, before pulling out TOC lanyards/IDs and starting to check tickets at a very high pace. Was an IET from London to Paddington last year, have never actually seen anything like it.

That sounds like the way to do a proper check. Bit in bold - Not sure I'd have boarded that train anyway

Ticket inspectors at Manchester Piccadilly do wear yellow high-vis.

I think you may be missing the point - which was that a ticket inspector isn't going to be encouraging a driver to do a Start Against Signal SPAD.