Latest news with #ElizabethLine
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Moment staff on London's 'lawless' Tube appear to ignore two fare dodgers who shamelessly push their way through barriers next to where they are standing
This is the moment three Tube workers failed to react as two fare dodgers pushed their way through the barriers on a deserted concourse without paying - right in front of them. The shocking incident is believed to have taken place at the brand new Elizabeth Line station in Woolwich, south-east London last week. Footage shows the two young men brazenly pushing through the barriers designed for the disabled, families and people with luggage. The friends nonchalantly walked past members of station staff, who either failed to notice or more likely failed to act. The incident was captured by commuter Matt Stevens, who has started filming and shaming the fare dodgers, as well as the Transport for London staff who appear to do nothing. He said sarcastically: 'Staff on circa 40k a year standing and watching people barge through barriers with no tickets. Money well spent'. Weeks earlier, at the same station, he filmed 'dozens' of people doing the same. He said: 'Dozens of people breaking through the barriers and your 'enforcement officers' are stood twiddling their thumbs. What an insult to the taxpayers who pay their wages'. On another occasion he photographed a young man pushing through the barriers at Canary Wharf Station. He said in a tweet to TfL: 'He then proceeded to threaten me after I reminded him to buy a ticket. Your staff sat and watched'. MailOnline has asked Transport for London to comment. Hello again @TfL. Staff on circa 40k a year standing and watching people barge through barriers with no tickets. 👏👏 Money well spent. — Matt Stevens (@MattStevns) August 7, 2025 The fare dodgers push through the barriers while members of staff appeared to do nothing The friends nonchalantly walked past members of station staff, who either failed to notice or more likely failed to act Earlier this year the Mail revealed how TikTok influencers are brazenly showing London Underground passengers how to illegally travel for free by 'bumping' through the station ticket barriers. Young men are filming themselves laughing and joking with each other as they push through the wide-aisle gates in videos liked by hundreds of thousands of viewers. The gates, which were first installed in 2008 at a cost of £12million, are normally used by wheelchair users, older people, parents with children and travellers with luggage. But they are increasingly being used by fare dodgers who either push through the gap in the middle, or quickly follow someone in front of them who touches out. It comes amid a fare dodging epidemic on UK trains, with an official report published this week revealing staff believe the practice is becoming 'normalised' and they are struggling to cope with 'aggressive' passengers who refuse to buy tickets. Videos show young men at stations across the Tube network walking through barriers without being stopped by staff - and even explaining to others how to do it. In one clip posted by rapper Stepz, real name Samuel Agyei, he claims that Transport for London (TfL) have 'upgraded the barriers' but still pushes his way through. References to 'free TfL' and 'free travel' can be heard, as he tells the camera: 'I don't know why they made it look like it's hard to bump through when it's that easy.' In one clip posted by rapper Stepz, real name Samuel Agyei, he claims that Transport for London (TfL) have 'upgraded the barriers' but still pushes his way through at one station Another video by Tenton, who has 70,000 followers, sees the TikToker push through the barriers and ask: 'Mandem, at what age are we gonna stop bumping train?' The clip by Stepz, who has 3.5million TikTok followers, was called 'Still Easy' and has racked up 388,000 likes and nearly 1,000 comments since being posted in 2022. Another video by Tenton, who has 70,000 followers, sees the TikToker push through the barriers and ask: 'Mandem, at what age are we gonna stop bumping train?' He says: 'It's getting silly guys because I'm almost finished uni and I'm still bumping train.' As a staff member walks past, he tells them: 'Sorry, you didn't hear that.' Tenton continues: 'Realistically at what age are we gonna stop? When we got grey hairs we're not gonna be bumping train. Do you get it guys? I think the threshold is 25.' A third video by user CFCRocky7 features a man showing women how to push through the barrier at Stratford, with the caption: 'Saving NPCs [non-player characters] from extortionate train fares @Transport for London.' In another video posted by Parafactual, a series of commuters are shown at East Ham walking through the barriers without paying, following customers who do touch out. Similar videos have also appeared on other social media sites such as Instagram. A video by user CFCRocky7 features a man showing women how to push through the barrier at Stratford, with the caption: 'Saving NPCs [non-player characters] from extortionate train fares' In another video posted by Parafactual, a series of commuters are shown at East Ham station walking through the barriers without paying, following customers who do touch out One posted by Gavin Chee, which has racked up 80,000 views, is called: 'Different types of people bumping TfL. Can't lie know bare talkers.' This shows a series of different attempts to get through the barriers at a Bakerloo line station by the same man in a comedic style, categorised as 'The Scum Bag'; 'The Runner'; 'The Talker'; 'The Savage' and 'The Kwalis'. Fare dodgers are estimated to cost TfL around £130million a year in lost revenue. Wide-aisle gates are the main access point for chronic fare evaders, and TfL has trialled changes to how they work at some stations to see if they can reduce pushers. Siwan Hayward, TfL's director of security, policing and enforcement, said: 'The overwhelming majority of our customers pay the correct fare, however there is a minority who do attempt to travel without a valid ticket which is a criminal offence. 'Fare evasion is unacceptable. That is why we are strengthening our capability to deter and detect fare evaders, including expanding our team of professional investigators to target the most prolific fare evaders across the network. 'This builds on the work of our team of more than 500 uniformed officers already deployed across the network to deal with fare evasion and other anti-social behaviour, keeping staff and customers safe.' Robert Jenrick confronts people pushing through the barriers at Stratford station in London An estimated 3.4 per cent of passengers did not pay fares between April and December 2024 – and they face a fine of £100 if caught, although this is halved if paid within a fortnight Ms Hayward added: 'Fare evasion is not a victimless crime. It robs Londoners of vital investment in a safe, frequent and reliable transport network and we are committed to reducing the current rate of fare evasion to 1.5 per cent by 2030.' And a British Transport Police spokesman said: 'Ticket fraud is not a victimless crime - the cost is passed down to the honest fare-paying members of the travelling public. 'We are committed to working closely alongside the railway industry to tackle fare evasion and regularly support them with high visibility patrols at known hotspot locations.' TikTok said it has removed videos which violate its community guidelines around criminal behaviour, and has also blocked associated hashtags and search terms related to this. The social media firm's guidelines state that it does not allow content which promotes or provides instructions on how to commit criminal activities that may harm people or property. Between October and December last year, TikTok claims to have proactively removed 97.1 per cent of content which violated its violence and criminal behaviour policies before it was reported to the firm. The Channel 5 programme 'Fare Evaders: At War With The Law' shows a passenger pushing the gates at Kingston station in London without touching out before attacking police officers Meanwhile a report by the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) released on Wednesday found travellers are using 'a range of techniques to persistently' underpay or avoid paying and see it as a 'victimless crime'. Staff enduring abusive behaviour when asking fare-dodgers to present their tickets are warning that evasion is becoming 'increasingly more challenging to tackle'. The report had been commissioned to look at concerns some passengers were being unfairly prosecuted by train operators over genuine mistakes when buying tickets. But it found fare evasion is a mounting problem now costing taxpayers £400million a year which is resulting in higher fares and less investment cash to improve services. The Mail highlighted some of the worst cases of evasion in exclusive clips from the Channel 5 series Fare Dodgers: At War With The Law, airing on Monday nights at 9pm. And shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick tweeted a video last week in which he confronted people pushing through the barriers at Stratford station in London. It comes after separate video showed furious passengers taking the law into their own hands when a Tube passenger dropped his trousers in a packed carriage. British Transport Police (BTP) believe the naked man, who has since been detained under the mental health act, was assaulted on the District line in east London. Up to four men stepped in when he repeatedly refused to pull up his pants at 3.30pm last Thursday. He was pinned to the floor and carried off the train before being arrested by an off duty police officer. But detectives are probing whether the vigilantes committed any criminal offences in the confrontation after he refused to pull up his pants. BTP has appealed for witnesses to the incident but there have been no arrests over the brawl. 'The man had been assaulted by a number of other passengers and was initially arrested by an off duty officer, before being detained under the mental health act and taken to hospital,' the BTP statement said. 'An investigation into the incident is ongoing.' It comes after separate video showed furious passengers taking the law into their own hands when a Tube passenger dropped his trousers in a packed carriage A group carried him off the train and pinned him down on the platform, waiting for help to arrive The Daily Mail revealed how he began yelling after the eastbound train travelled between Upton Park and East Ham. He then dropped his trousers and put his belt around his neck. His bottom and genitals were on show, sparking anger and revulsion around him on the train, which was busy with children who are on their summer holidays. A passenger stood up and quickly confronted him, gesticulating angrily. He politely and firmly told him: 'You need to get off the train.' But the man began repeatedly yelling back: 'F*** off.' The commuter said in response: 'What do you mean "f*** off"? You need to get off the f***ing train. Now. There are kids on here.' Footage of the incident showed up to four men kicking and punching the naked man, who was hitting them with his belt. The video then cut to him being pinned to the floor of the carriage. The man was then unceremoniously carried on to the Tube platform at East Ham and dumped to the floor. He was then pinned down as the commuters tried to alert staff. It appears an off duty police officer was on the train and performed an arrest and he was taken to hospital. It is yet another horrifying incident on the Tube, which is run by Sir Sadiq Khan's Transport for London (TfL). Since he became Mayor in 2016, Tube crime rates have more than doubled, and today he has been accused of ignoring a manifesto pledge to maintain a 24-hour police front counter in every borough in the capital. Just last month a brawl broke out on the steps of a packed station - with a screaming toddler ending up on the floor in the chaos.
Times
6 hours ago
- Times
Airlines ‘lack confidence' in Heathrow crisis management
Airlines are 'lacking confidence' in the ability of Heathrow's bosses to manage incidents and limit passenger disruption, a leaked letter has revealed. Tens of thousands of passengers have had their travel plans disrupted this summer after high-profile incidents at the UK's biggest airport. There was chaos last Tuesday after the road tunnel to Terminals 2 and 3 was closed because of a 'technical issue'. It is understood that a software 'configuration change' failed, turning traffic lights at the tunnel's entrances to red and causing lengthy tailbacks. Passengers were redirected to Terminal 5 to catch Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express services to Terminals 2 and 3, but these were then suspended because of overcrowding. The incident came after disruption to baggage systems at the airport and the evacuation of Terminal 3 because of a suspected fire.
The Sun
19 hours ago
- The Sun
Man ‘sexually assaulted by another man' on busy train in broad daylight as cops release CCTV in hunt for passenger
COPS have released CCTV images after a man allegedly sexually assaulted another man on a busy train. The British Transport Police (BTP) said the reported attack occurred on the Elizabeth line on Monday, June 16 at around 8am. At the time of the incident, the pair were stood near the train doors on a service between Chadwell Heath and Whitechapel. Cops have now released an image of a man they would like to speak to following the alleged sexual assault. Detectives believe the man may have information that could help with their investigation. Anyone who recognises him is asked to get in touch with police immediately. You can contact the BTP by texting 61016, or by calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 688 of 16 June. Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. A spokesperson for BTP said: "Do you recognise this man? "Officers investigating a sexual assault on board a train from Chadwell Heath to Whitechapel have released these images in connection. "On Monday 16 June at around 8am a man sexually assaulted another man as they stood near the doors of the train. "Detectives believe the man in the CCTV image may have information that could help with their investigation."
Metro
2 days ago
- Politics
- Metro
How a cup of tea led to the UK heading up the first metro system in Mongolia
Here are a few fun facts you might not know about Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. It's the coldest capital city on the planet, with an average temperature barely above freezing point. Its Mongolian name translates to 'Red Hero'. And nobody has ever managed to build a metro system there. That's not for lack of trying. Strenuous efforts to bring light rail transit to tunnels beneath the city's broad streets have been taking place for at least 15 years, with countries from South Korea to France offering help to no avail. Now, salvation appears to have come in an unlikely form: an air-conditioned rail line 4,300 miles away, taking passengers from Reading in the west to Shenfield in the east, with tasteful purple branding. Yep, you read that right – our very own Elizabeth Line is soon going to be also running through the deep depths of Mongolia's capital city, Ulaanbaatar. Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sent every Wednesday. Sign up here. Fiona Blyth, the UK's ambassador to Mongolia, first brought up the Elizabeth line to Ulaanbaatar Mayor Khishgee Nyambaatar in a meeting last November at her residence, a standard suburban house decorated with local art and Union Jack cushions. The mayor signalled his ambition by bringing along a book that has quickly become beloved of city planners and infrastructure nerds around the world since being published last year, plainly titled How Big Things Get Done. Blyth told Metro: 'He's straight down to business, you know, he's not interested in flattery. 'He is a man who is trying to get big things done.' She served him and his wife a cup of Yorkshire Tea and a plate of banana bread, the specialty of the embassy's Mongolian residence manager, then talked him through one of the UK's 'biggest things' of recent years. That was just a month after the mayor's election. Three weeks later, Nyambaatar was in London to try out the Elizabeth line for himself. 'It was quite a surreal moment, being on the tube with someone who's a big figure in Mongolia,' recalled Blyth. 'He's instantly recognisable, probably to every Mongolian. He's a pretty senior figure and we're just, you know, on the Tube.' Over the course of that visit and a return trip in February, he met figures including Transport Minister Mike Kane, Foreign Office Minister Catherine West, and Crossrail boss Paul Dyson. Nyambaatar – a man Blyth describes as 'quite down to the brass tacks' – immediately dived into the details in a bid to work out how such a system could work in Ulaanbaatar. The upshot is that Crossrail International, the firm that delivered the Elizabeth line, is now strategic advisor for the 19.4km, 15-station metro project – and UK companies will be invited to bid on linked contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds. It's a big deal for British businesses, and a massive deal for Mongolia. The residents of the capital will enjoy shorter commutes, cleaner air, and a more vibrant city. Currently, Ulaanbaatar is facing a rapidly growing population, spread across a wide area, with a poor public transport system relying almost entirely on buses. All that is a recipe for one thing: gridlock. At peak hours, the Yaarmag road carries around 95,000 vehicles. Sitting in traffic for hours every day is, of course, particularly grim in a place where the temperatures can fall to -37°C in winter. The predominance of cars has also made Ulaanbaatar one of the most polluted capital cities in the world. Children growing up in the centre of the city have 40% less lung capacity than those who grew up in the countryside. Locals, understandably, are fed up to the back teeth. A metro system is the obvious solution. But every effort to get one off the ground over the past 15 years has fallen flat, to much frustration. But since Nyambaatar's election, he's pushed forward with the planning of the city's very own Elizabeth Line. Mayor Nyambaatar said: 'Mongolia and the UK are jointly building a world-class metro system from the ground up – echoing the bold urban ambition that gave rise to London's underground in 1861. 'This project not only meets global standards – it reflects a shared vision for resilient, connected cities.' More Trending Put simply, Blyth said, this is Mongolia's 'single biggest infrastructure project since the end of communism at the beginning of the 1990s'. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the ambassador's work was an example of how the government has 'reframed embassies as an elite salesforce for UK plc'. He added: 'From the eighteenth century to the present day, Britain has always been a rail pioneer and I am delighted that the globally-admired Elizabeth line will now be expanded to our partner countries.' Work on UB Metro is due to begin in next year, as temperatures begin to creep back into positive figures. Spring can't come soon enough for the residents of the world's coldest capital. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: LNER urges passengers 'do not travel' on East Coast rail line today MORE: Everything you need to know about new Europe travel rules coming within weeks MORE: Severe delays hit Northern line after Tube track fault
The Sun
4 days ago
- The Sun
Heathrow Airport hit by rush hour chaos as Tube line closed over faulty fire equipment sparking huge delays
A HEATHROW Airport station has been evacuated due to "faulty fire equipment", causing travel chaos during rush hour this morning. The Elizabeth Line was suspended between Heathrow Terminals T2 and T3 and Terminal 4. 1 This has caused disruption for both commuters and travellers heading to and from the popular airport. A Transport for London update points to faulty fire equipment at Heathrow as the reason. National Rail said a fire alarm went off at one of the stations between the Heathrow Terminals. It was evacuated while emergency services and staff investigate it. National Rail said: "The fire alarm sounding at a station between Heathrow Terminal 4 and Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 means that the line is closed. "Elizabeth line trains operating to / from these stations may be cancelled or revised as a result. "Station staff and emergency services are currently investigating the incident and for safety reasons, the station has been evacuated and trains are no longer able to stop at Heathrow Terminal 4." The rest of the Elizabeth Line has good service.
