Fines plan for nuisance passengers

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Transport Minister Andrew Adonis said the new penalties will be introduced next year if they are rubber-stamped by Parliament.

"Passengers have the right to travel in peace on the rail network and should not have to put up with people smoking, drinking alcohol excessively and causing a nuisance - these new penalties are designed to crack down specifically on this sort of conduct," he said.

Police can currently warn or arrest anti-social passengers but the new powers, announced today, would give them a third option of issuing a £50 fine.

Deputy Chief Constable Andy Trotter, of BTP, said: "The ability to issue penalty notices for these new offences will give officers another weapon in their armoury to continue driving down anti-social behaviour.

"We know that penalty notices prove a deterrent to anti-social behaviour and will save valuable police time, allowing us to have a greater visible uniformed presence on the rail system. However, for the more serious crimes, our officers will continue to arrest and lock up offenders."

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent rail consumer watchdog Passenger Focus, said security at stations and on trains was a concern.

"We welcome today's (Friday's) announcement, which will offer another layer of protection for passengers and could act as a deterrent to anti-social behaviour on the railway network."

Michael Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said fines were "a welcome initiative" which would complement investment from train operators to make travel safer. "People should be able to travel by train peacefully as well as comfortably," he added.

The introduction of fines is part of the Government's extension to its Penalty Notice for Disorder Scheme. The Department for Transport said it is intended to free up police time from dealing with low-level bad behaviour.