What would happen if I broke dropoff/pickup only rules on trains?

[JulienD]

What would happen if I (tried to) get off at a pickup only stop or get on at a dropoff only stop?

 

[SCDR_WMR]

Probably unlike to physically prevent you from doing either. Have seen Avanti charge, for example, Preston to Euston anytime single to someone who boarded at Watford for set down only, when the passenger challenged, the staff member said the last stop you could have boarded was Preston so that is the fee. Expensive mistake to make

 

[stadler]

What would happen if I (tried to) get off at a pickup only stop or get on at a dropoff only stop?

It depends on the TOCs you are using. Avanti and Lumo are known to have a bunch of jobsworth staff that will shout at you or prevent you from boarding or even charge you a full anytime single ticket from the previous station or to the next station if they discover you onboard. LNER probably do too not that they have introduced restrictions. Avanti and Lumo and LNER are probably the most difficult to do this on.

But other TOCs like GA and SWR and GTR (Southern) do not care. They will let you board at set down only stations and alight at pick up only stations without saying anything. There is no enforcement.

Some of the TOCs like GTR (Southern) have even specifically tell their Conductors and OBSs to disregard pick up only and set down only restrictions and still allow people to board and alight and still sell them tickets to and from those stations as normal.

 

[A S Leib]

Some of the TOCs like GTR (Southern) have even specifically tell their Conductors and OBSs to disregard pick up only and set down only restrictions and still allow people to board and alight and still sell them tickets to and from those stations as normal.

At Clapham Junction and Stratford (and Haymarket, if there's any ScotRail cases where it still applies), isn't the aim more for London- / Edinburgh-bound trains to be able to leave as soon as it's clear to rather than revenue as it is with Avanti?

 

[stadler]

At Clapham Junction and Stratford (and Haymarket, if there's any ScotRail cases where it still applies), isn't the aim more for London- / Edinburgh-bound trains to be able to leave as soon as it's clear to rather than revenue as it is with Avanti?

Yes i think GA (Stratford) and SWR (Clapham Junction) is a mixture of that and also preventing overcrowding on long distance trains. It allows the trains to leave early if neccesary but it also prevents advertising these trains to local customers and resulting in more overcrowding. But as you say it is not really revenue related.

Also it is worth noting that the only reason that GTR (Southern) do it is to avoid needing rail replacement or taxis to go and serve tiny little stations (that rarely get passengers at that time) in the early morning or late evening when trains are cancelled. They only do pick up and set down at some minor rural stations on late night and early morning trains. So their reasoning is also completely different to why other TOCs do it and as a result they do not care about the restrictions if trains are running.

 

[kermit]

If you hold an anytime single ticket from Stockport to Manchester Piccadilly, and you hop on a set down only train, would anyone try to intervene on your 9 minute journey?

 

[stadler]

If you hold an anytime single ticket from Stockport to Manchester Piccadilly, and you hop on a set down only train, would anyone try to intervene on your 9 minute journey?

It really depends on the staff. If it is on Avanti then they are well known to have a few jobsworth guards who like causing problems over this. I have heard stories of people boarding at Watford Junction and being charged a full anytime Crewe to London Euston single. But a lot would probably not bother.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

as said above, it really depends on the TOC
To add to the list already mentioned, TPE at Bolton would shout at you (from what I've heard secondhand).
Obviously it's very difficult to physically stop you getting off once the train has stopped, but as commuters from Paddington to Reading have learned the hard way, it won't always stop.

 

[Bletchleyite]

What would happen if I (tried to) get off at a pickup only stop or get on at a dropoff only stop?

Mostly just being shouted at by shouty men or refused boarding. There is the risk of being charged an additional fare or Penalty Fare, though as the NRCoT doesn't provide for doing this as such an appeal may succeed. This would be easier to justify for alighting than boarding, as charging a fare for a journey you didn't make is tenuous legally.

 

[kermit]

Obviously it's very difficult to physically stop you getting off once the train has stopped, but as commuters from Paddington to Reading have learned the hard way, it won't always stop.

Expresses from London calling at Stockport are definitely going to stop at Manchester Piccadilly!

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Expresses from London calling at Stockport are definitely going to stop at Manchester Piccadilly!

Yes, although there's only 2 services that has that kind of restriction at Stockport today and it's the Manchester -> Stockport -> Euston super fast, and the late evening train that is drop off only at all stops after Nuneaton.

There's also a completely unadvertised stop by CrossCountry at midnight, but I'm not sure if that's even usable by passengers.

 

[JulienD]

There's also a completely unadvertised stop by CrossCountry at midnight, but I'm not sure if that's even usable by passengers.

Realtime Trains | 1M88 2042 Reading to Manchester Piccadilly | 22/01/2026

Real-time train running information for 1M88 2042 departure from Reading to Manchester Piccadilly on 22/01/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Is it this one?

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Realtime Trains | 1M88 2042 Reading to Manchester Piccadilly | 22/01/2026

Real-time train running information for 1M88 2042 departure from Reading to Manchester Piccadilly on 22/01/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Is it this one?

yes that's the one I was seeing.

 

[WirralLine]

As a guard at another toc, I cant say I've ever paid any attention to it in the slightest. The train stops. People get on and off, I watch to make sure nobody gets injured or worse - job done

 

[Falcon1200]

A further question would be, 'What would happen if the passenger refused to pay, for example, the fare from Preston, and/or give their details?' When they arrived at Euston would staff really attempt to detain the passenger, get the Police involved, etc?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

...and how would they handle it if the person did hold a ticket valid from that previous destination, e.g. someone wanting the haulage who had hopped off the previous arrival from the same point of origin or intermediate station?

 

[Krystal]

On a SWR train on a Clapham Junction pick-up stop I've heard the guard say 'Clapham Junction for pick-up only, but if you are leaving us here...'
Greater Anglia it's more or less turn up and go. It's publicly advertised on board and on CIS screens (Stratford case)
Even going slightly offtopic, when BML diverts mean that London to Gatwick has to go via Epsom and Horsham, there are 'staffing' calls at Epsom and Horsham, when in reality they're open calls and anyone can get on or off.

 

[A S Leib]

Even going slightly offtopic, when BML diverts mean that London to Gatwick has to go via Epsom and Horsham, there are 'staffing' calls at Epsom and Horsham, when in reality they're open calls and anyone can get on or off.

Are there fewer regular Mole Valley services during BML diversions, or does Epsom (not so much Horsham, assuming they lose the regular Peterborough and West Coastway services) get more services in total than normal?

 

[yorkie]

What would happen if I (tried to) get off at a pickup only stop or get on at a dropoff only stop?

Impossible to say without knowing the details.

Boarding Avanti at Watford Junction will likely see you barked at and potentially either prevented from boarding or even delaying the train; some staff would see this as you attempting to do something very bad indeed and would be desperate to stop you, as if their life depended on it.

Boarding an ex-Norwich service at Stratford is absolutely fine, and although they are not on the main departure boards or any online departure screens, the trains would be displayed at the platform itself.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Boarding an ex-Norwich service at Stratford is absolutely fine, and although they are not on the main departure boards or any online departure screens, the trains would be displayed at the platform itself.

Indeed, they also indicate when they expect to leave early!
You can see it missing from the main departures board on the display to the left (it should be between the 07:38 to Paddington and the 07:40 to Southend Victoria)

 

[Bletchleyite]

A further question would be, 'What would happen if the passenger refused to pay, for example, the fare from Preston, and/or give their details?' When they arrived at Euston would staff really attempt to detain the passenger, get the Police involved, etc?

I suspect the legal situation might differ between pick up and set down in terms of the actual fare because you'd really struggle to enforce in Court that a passenger didn't have a valid ticket when they travelled from London to Reading using a London to Reading Anytime Day Single route Any Permitted on a train that travelled over a Permitted Route, for instance. Though I suppose the change to the journey planners being the arbiter of what is valid might potentially change that?

The way they traditionally caught people out was by periodically missing the stop out, so those people had then short-fared and could be penalised appropriately. Though now Avanti do boarding checks on near enough every service from Euston, in that direction you'd just be refused.

They might try, but I don't think they'd likely have much luck in Court using the fare bylaws. There may be some others that could be applied, though, such as using a door not intended for their use or something - I'd have to read through (though I know Merseyrail use an extremely tenuous one successfully for feet on seats). I'd be surprised if that approach has ever been used though.

In practice, though, you can achieve what is intended to be achieved without any enforcement. If it's not on the planners or the displays, most passengers won't even know, let alone try. And as it's mostly about trains just before termini being able to leave early to avoid clogging platforms and avoiding overcrowding on those short parts of a journey, that's good enough. If one or two board knowing where it's going to stop, it's not enough people to even vaguely pose a problem.

 

[Krystal]

Are there fewer regular Mole Valley services during BML diversions, or does Epsom (not so much Horsham, assuming they lose the regular Peterborough and West Coastway services) get more services in total than normal?

When this happened there were no stopping services via Warnham even though the diverted Gatwick services could go there easy.
You still get the London Bridge to Epsom service fine but that's about it.

 

[rmHawk765]

Greater Anglia it's more or less turn up and go. It's publicly advertised on board and on CIS screens (Stratford case)

Interesting that they do not advertise Tottenham Hale on the station screens at Liv St for Stansted Express (and vice versa), even though it is not a pick-up/set-down only situation at all, and in fact this is a somewhat intended journey from what I understand about it.

 

[sabanda]

I can't recall the exact timings now, but whilst chasing a Chiltern Mk3 set last December, I did consider attempting to board at Haddenham & Thame Parkway (set-down only at the time) with an Anytime ticket valid from the preceding station, Bicester North. In the end I did the sensible thing and had my other half drive me the extra 15 minutes from Aylesbury to Bicester!

 

[magpiespy]

At a staffed station, I would advise asking platform staff if you can board the train first. I have done this successfully at Crewe on the aforementioned last Avanti service to Manchester to save 45 minutes or so over taking the following Northern stopper. I recall that the staff member said they would check with the guard if it was OK.

 

[185143]

At a staffed station, I would advise asking platform staff if you can board the train first. I have done this successfully at Crewe on the aforementioned last Avanti service to Manchester to save 45 minutes or so over taking the following Northern stopper. I recall that the staff member said they would check with the guard if it was OK.

I've been on that Avanti service more than once and seen people board at Crewe. Almost certainly cheapskates off the last WMT... which I'm usually guilty of being!