Angry Exeter train passenger stood on line in protest
JASON RICHARDS
An angry rail passenger at the centre of a ticket row halted a train in its tracks ^ by standing in the middle of the line.
Frustrated Jason Richards was fuming when he was locked out of the train as he tried to pay the ^10 fare, a court heard.
So the 34 year old stormed down the platform with his possessions which had been chucked on to the platform ^ and stood 20 yards in front of the engine in the centre of the railway track on the main Exeter to Waterloo line.
The South West train was packed with passengers and some got out on to the platform at the rural Whimple railway station in Devon as Richards halted their journey.
The jobless dad admitted a charge under the Malicious Damage Act of obstructing an engine using the railway by an unlawful act.
Prosecutor Deborah Hodges said Richards was asked to show his ticket to the conductor shortly after he got on to the train from his home town of Axminster, east Devon as he was commuting to Exeter.
Exeter magistrates court heard his credit card was faulty and he was unable to use the conductor^s machine, so he was told to get off and use the machine on the platform at Whimple.
Richards did get off but was anxious that his faulty card may be swallowed up by the machine. He got back on the train but was told he could not travel without a ticket ^ and the conductor put his possessions on the platform.
Richards got off the train again and claimed the conductor locked the door behind him ^ even though the defendant had ^200 in cash on him and was happy to pay for his ticket in cash.
The court heard he then stomped down to the track and stood in front of the train preventing it from leaving the station.
The prosecutor said the conductor then said Richards could travel to Exeter without a ticket and he was allowed back on ^ but police were waiting for him at Exeter^s main station when it pulled in five minutes after its scheduled arrival which Network Rail said cost it ^475.
Richards told police that he was protesting against the conductor for locking the door and stopping him getting back on the train.
Defence lawyer Peter Seigne said:^He is sorry for his actions, he did not know it was an offence.^
Mr Seigne said when he first got on the train he was not feeling well and had to dash to the toilet but he said there ^appeared to be a hint that he was trying to avoid the train fare^.
He said Williams was concerned that his card may be eaten by the ticket machine and he was ^a bit cross^ that he could not pay by cash.
The lawyer said as his client recovered his possessions from the platform where they had been taken by the conductor, the rain doors were locked and the train was starting to move away adding to his frustration.
Mr Seigne said the incident happened at 11.29am on January 28th and Richards only stood in front of the engine for ^19 seconds^ before he was allowed back on.
^He accepts it was a foolish thing to do. It wasn^t a high speed train, nothing like that. He is a regular train user and travels frequently between Axminster and Exeter. He always intended to pay.
^He took a rather bizarre and unusual step to make his point, out of frustration.^
The JPs said potentially it was a ^serious incident^ but gave him a 12 months conditional discharge and ordered him to pay ^50 compensation to the railway.
Outside court Richards, of Cridlake, Axminster, said:^I wanted to pay by cash but the conductor had made his mind up. There were around 150 people on the train, it was packed.
^Stupidly I don^t know what I was thinking. I tried to pay the ^10 fare and I had the money on me, that was the most frustrating part about it.^
