Running late for work, boarded train without ticket, fined

Drimnagh Road

This morning Athy Train station was chaotic.

CIE busses parked and lots of people milling around (National Ploughing Championships). By the time my lassie got out and into the station the train to Carlow was there so she ran to catch it...otherwise she would have missed it and next one is 11am but she starts work @ 9am.

What happened only Heir Jobsworth ticket inspector checks and refuses to allow her to purchase ticket on train and promptly hands her a €100 fine.

Surely on a day like today there should be some leeway given to the commuters who use the train everyday. S

She even had lots of tickets to show that she pays.....disgraceful.

Solicitors promptly visited this afternoon and looking forward to meeting them in court.

mikemac1

The solicitor will cost more then the fine

Peppa Pig

So she got on the train without a ticket?
The inspector was just doing his job, hardly Gestapo-like behaviour.

If the solicitor allows this to go to court then he is acting like the gestapo.

Unfortunately, she is 100% in the wrong and could be digging a deeper hole by going to court. Best of luck anyway.

ArmaniJeanss

Is there not a reduced cost prepaid commuter ticket she could be getting seeing as she 'uses the train everyday'.
Saves money and queueing, and stops this problem occuring again.

Hilly Bill

Drimnagh Road wrote: »

This morning Athy Train station was chaotic.

CIE busses parked and lots of people milling around (National Ploughing Championships). By the time my lassie got out and into the station the train to Carlow was there so she ran to catch it...otherwise she would have missed it and next one is 11am but she starts work @ 9am.

What happened only Heir Jobsworth ticket inspector checks and refuses to allow her to purchase ticket on train and promptly hands her a €100 fine.

Surely on a day like today there should be some leeway given to the commuters who use the train everyday. S

She even had lots of tickets to show that she pays.....disgraceful.

Solicitors promptly visited this afternoon and looking forward to meeting them in court.

Should have got there earlier. Its a bit OTT calling the checker Gestapo just because he was rightly doing his job.
She got on the train without a ticket and was rightly issued with a fine . Showing previous tickets means nothing, its not like in Costa coffee when you get your sixth coffee free with a stamped card.
It will cost you more taking it to court especially when you haven't a case.

dave wilson

There are No Gestapo on the Waterford line or any line for that matter. However there are Revenue Protection Officers working.

road_high

Ploughing championships was well flagged in advance and people encouraged to use public transport...surely a "daily" user of the this train in the locality of said event would know this and be at the station a little earlier just in case. Not a leg to stand on I'm afraid. Handy money for the solicitor though...

RonanM123

That morning train to Carlow is stopped in Athy for around 5 minutes at least so by no means is it IE fault.

Sounds to me you cut it to close to departure to turn up!

Drimnagh Road

dave wilson wrote: »

There are No Gestapo on the Waterford line or any line for that matter. However there are Revenue Protection Officers working.

I think its time we bring back the "conficts of interest" thread.

TINA1984

Drimnagh Road wrote: »

Solicitors promptly visited this afternoon and looking forward to meeting them in court.

Get over yourself ffs, pay the fine and suck it up :rolleyes:

monument

Drimnagh Road wrote: »

I think its time we bring back the "conficts of interest" thread.

Two things:

[1] Tone it down: Handing out a fine to somebody who took the calculated risk of boarding a train without a ticket is nowhere close to Gestapo.

[2] Regardless of who you think words for what company you are not allowed to imply or say somebody conflicts of interest -- focus on the content of the post and not the poster.

Also: Thread title changed.

NoCrackHaving

OP, I don't really see what case you have. If/when it gets to court under what grounds could you get the fine overturned? She did not have a ticket, end of for all legal purposes.

MGWR

This is why trains should have conductors again. But it seems like the government just wants to get people for the unaffordable "standard fare" and encourage driving instead.

ifeelill

I was full sure you could buy the ticket on the train.

Cool_CM

MGWR wrote: »

This is why trains should have conductors again. But it seems like the government just wants to get people for the unaffordable "standard fare" and encourage driving instead.

The main problem is that they are still using a system whereby sometimes there are conductors and sometimes there aren't. It purely depends on what line you use and who you are dealing with.

On the Sligo train if you hop on at one of the midway stations where there is no machine or the office is closed there is generally a conductor/ticket inspector who will sell you the ticket on the train.

In other situations such as getting the early train from Cork, there are certain tickets that you need to buy from the cashier as the destination is not available on the machine. Though the desks should be manned, sometimes they aren't and I have been in situations where I have been told to hop on the train and the Revenue Protection guy will 'sort me out'. I hate boarding trains without tickets based on the information that 'it'll be grand' when the guy who told me to do so will be at the station after the train leaves and the chances are that the guy who I was told would sort me out wasn't informed and I have to pay a fine instead. In this instance it was grand as I went to find the guy before the train left and was issued my ticket after he was able to verify that that the guy at the turnstile did actually say that I could buy it from him (the cashiers were technically supposed to be there so there should have been no reason why I would have been on the train without the ticket).

On other quieter Dublin to Cork services I have seen Revenue Protection men issue a ticket and say 'don't do it again love' to the attractive girl in one carriage and issue a fine to somebody in the next.

This highlights my main problem with Irish Rail: there is absolutely no consistency and they create grey areas themselves by their own actions. The answer you get depends solely on the person you are speaking to at a certain time that 5 minutes later may be contradicted by another member of staff. Either have conductors and allow people to buy tickets on the train or don't and have proper machines operating at all stations. But whatever you do, at least be fücking consistent about it!

corktina

i thought "Revenue Protection
Men" couldn't issue tickets

the groutch

MGWR wrote: »

This is why trains should have conductors again. But it seems like the government just wants to get people for the unaffordable "standard fare" and encourage driving instead.

they're not some sort of transport Boogeyman, they're not out to get anyone, but just wanting the transport system to run as smooth as possible within their constraints, one of which is not having the financial resources for a conductor on every train (unless you're happy to foot the bill for that with yet more fare increases)

LXFlyer

There are two categories of staff here - a ticket checker and the Revenue Protection Unit (RPU).

The former can issue tickets, the latter do not, but issue standard fares. The former tend to work on routes where there are stations without ticket facilities while the latter operate across the network.

The basic rule is if there is a facility to purchase a ticket at the station you are boarding the train at, you must use it. Otherwise you can pay the checker or at the destination.

In the OP the facility was there, she didn't use it, and she got fined by a member of the RPU, who frankly was doing his job and shouldn't be castigated in the manner he was.

In post #15 I suspect a checker was sent on the train due to the station ticket office being unmanned.

Grolschevik

Cool_CM wrote: »

On other quieter Dublin to Cork services I have seen Revenue Protection men issue a ticket and say 'don't do it again love' to the attractive girl in one carriage and issue a fine to somebody in the next.

You followed him from carriage to carriage?!

Cool_CM

Grolschevik wrote: »

You followed him from carriage to carriage?!

Was one of the three carriage ones and I was going to the bathroom.

Just to relate my own experience a few years back.....

After a while without taking the train (rolling stock changed from the old GE hauled carriages to the new DMUs), I decided to get one so I could bring a bike home on the return leg. Get to the station as the train is there, rush through the office to catch as the door closes. Look around for the inspector, no one to be found. Eventually find out from drinks cart lady no getting ticket on the train anymore. Get off in Athlone & explain hurriedly to staff guy checking tickets my situation. He says better off sorting that in Dublin, then "you'd better get back on that train mate." Get back on train, inspector at seat. Offer money, get told "you can't buy tickets on train anymore" get fine notice. Buy single in Dublin for return journey. Sent letter explaining with single ticket, got told I'm not liable for the ticket, as I bought one in Dublin, but the fine still stands. Paid it.

Nice Botty

Drimnagh Road wrote: »

This morning Athy Train station was chaotic.

CIE busses parked and lots of people milling around (National Ploughing Championships). By the time my lassie got out and into the station the train to Carlow was there so she ran to catch it...otherwise she would have missed it and next one is 11am but she starts work @ 9am.

What happened only Heir Jobsworth ticket inspector checks and refuses to allow her to purchase ticket on train and promptly hands her a €100 fine.

Surely on a day like today there should be some leeway given to the commuters who use the train everyday. S

She even had lots of tickets to show that she pays.....disgraceful.

Solicitors promptly visited this afternoon and looking forward to meeting them in court.

A valuable lesson for the the lazy lassie. Get there in good time. Enjoy your court date where you will also learn a valuable and costly lesson

BenShermin

Nice Botty wrote: »

A valuable lesson for the the lazy lassie. Get there in good time. Enjoy your court date where you will also learn a valuable and costly lesson

Lovely condescending post there.

What lesson exactly will the OPs friend learn?

Is it that next time she should wear a track suit and board the train with a six pack of pish for beer and some skins. Fare evaders on the DART seem to get no hassle from the RPU folks when they do this.

Perhaps the lesson is for the OPs friend to give a fake name and address to the RPU. Plenty of fare evaders do that.

Might they teach her on how to obtain and use a fake DFSA free travel pass, that will help her avoid a fine next time!

Or maybe (most likely) she'll learn that Irish Rail don't see her as a valued customer and that she should now switch to the car or bus instead for her commute?

Nice Botty

BenShermin wrote: »

Lovely condescending post there.

What lesson exactly will the OPs friend learn?

Is it that next time she should wear a track suit and board the train with a six pack of pish for beer and some skins. Fare evaders on the DART seem to get no hassle from the RPU folks when they do this.

Perhaps the lesson is for the OPs friend to give a fake name and address to the RPU. Plenty of fare evaders do that.

Might they teach her on how to obtain and use a fake DFSA free travel pass, that will help her avoid a fine next time!

Or maybe (most likely) she'll learn that Irish Rail don't see her as a valued customer and that she should now switch to the car or bus instead for her commute?

No. Learn that it pays to plan your trip to take account of events such as the National Ploughing Championship and impact on traffic. Learn to have enough time for the ESSENTIAL ticket buying that forms part of public travel. Learn to buy a ticket or else be fined.

n97 mini

lxflyer wrote: »

There are two categories of staff here - a ticket checker and the Revenue Protection Unit (RPU).

The former can issue tickets, the latter do not, but issue standard fares.

There's nothing preventing someone from the RPU also selling tickets, it's just that the decision has been made that they issue fines, not tickets.

LXFlyer

n97 mini wrote: »

There's nothing preventing someone from the RPU also selling tickets, it's just that the decision has been made that they issue fines, not tickets.

Selling tickets is not their function - their function is revenue protection and they are clearly identifiable from their badge as such.

I was clarifying that - as post #15 was suggesting they did sell tickets - and that is not the case.

foggy_lad

n97 mini wrote: »

There's nothing preventing someone from the RPU also selling tickets, it's just that the decision has been made that they issue fines, not tickets.

That is why they're called the Revenue Procurement Unit. It would be very easy to keep a lot of customers happy and using the train by just alowing these ticket checkers to sell tickets on voard.

noodler

What on earth is the legal argument you or a solicitor could possibly make to get out of this?

I think we all know OP that you will think better than to go down that route.

mitosis

n97 mini wrote: »

Yes, I was pointing out there is nothing to stop them from selling tickets other than a decision has been taken by someone.

It's not that they can't, it's that the won't sell tickets.

All the signage says "Do not board without a valid ticket"

Why should there be a get-out wherein tickets are for sale on the train? If you can buy your ticket on the train, why would you buy prior to boarding? You never know, you might get lucky and not have to buy a ticket at all if the inspector doesn't get to you!

To the OP it seems harsh to be penalised, but the simple truth is there is no fault attached to IR, all would have been well if the passenger planned correctly.

Rachiee

Sorry OP im with the majority on this one. I can understand her skipping fare so as not to miss the train. But at the end of the day she still skipped fare why should she be allowed not pay just because she usually pays and was running late. Solicitor ? Thats just silly she didnt pay the fare and got fined for fare evasion simple as.

n97 mini

lxflyer wrote: »

And the point of all of this semantics is?

It appears to me that IE has taken a confrontational approach, and seem to prefer issuing fines to issuing tickets, in the event that a customer has no ticket, regardless of the reason.

I'm not aware of any other company that takes such a confrontational approach.

I travel on trains in Britain and NI quite a bit. I regularly meet ticket inspectors/sellers but I have yet to meet a Revenue Protection Officer.

Judgement Day

Whatever the rights and wrongs of this particular case, it's typical of the half arsed way CIE run things. For years you could buy tickets on trains but no, it's far simpler to be unhelpful and alienate yet more travelers. If as much attention was paid to the scumbag element on public transport things would be a great deal better all round.

josip

OP, I'm not entirely with the majority on this one. I don't think you have a legal case, however you do have options other than just coughing up the fine immediately.

I suggest that you write to Iarnroid Eireann via registered post.
Photocopy all of the tickets that your "lassie" has and include them.

Don't be in any way demanding with the letter, but offer that "given your partners previous history of being a fare-paying customer AND the exceptional circumstances on the train that day" you are very willing to pay a fine equalling the cost of a ticket for that day.

Perhaps you were a bit annoyed at the time of your post but, if that's your normal style of communication, it might be better if your partner writes the letter

Make a copy of the letter you sent and keep the receipt for the registered letter.

If IE refuse your offer, print out the receipt acknowledgement for the registered letter from the web.

Send IE another registered letter saying that you regret they have refused your offer and that when the the case is heard in court you will present as evidence their refusal of your offer. State very clearly that you think this is a waste of court time, but that IE have effectively chosen to go down this route not you.

You then have 2 letters that MAY stand to your case if you choose to go down the legal route, which will end up costing you a lot of money whichever way the decision goes.

Most companies that are run on a normal for-profit basis, will value their existing customers and would respond positively to this approach. I'm not sure if IE will however.

Peppa Pig

josip wrote: »

State very clearly that you think this is a waste of court time, but that IE have effectively chosen to go down this route not you.

To which the judge will say that if you are so concerned about wasting court time then you should have paid the fine for boarding a train without a valid ticket and convict you and add a €1000 fine.

Bit risky ....

n97 mini

n97 mini wrote: »

I'm not aware of any other company that takes such a confrontational approach.

It's not confrontational.

I used to travel on trains in France and trams in Italy - armed police were usually in attendance when there was a spot check.

Exiting Montparnasse one day I saw a couple of lads leaning against the tunnel walls with their backs to the flow of people. I thought they looked a bit out of place until I rounded the corner and met a wall of inspectors and uniformed police - the other two were plain clothes police waiting to nab anyone who tried to double back and run.

In Milan on a small tram (one of the single carriage old ones) it came to a stop where there was a small army of inspectors checking everyone who got off and all those who stayed on board. Again they were backed up by police.

Judgement Day

Deleted User wrote: »

It's not confrontational.

I used to travel on trains in France and trams in Italy - armed police were usually in attendance when there was a spot check.

Exiting Montparnasse one day I saw a couple of lads leaning against the tunnel walls with their backs to the flow of people. I thought they looked a bit out of place until I rounded the corner and met a wall of inspectors and uniformed police - the other two were plain clothes police waiting to nab anyone who tried to double back and run.

In Milan on a small tram (one of the single carriage old ones) it came to a stop where there was a small army of inspectors checking everyone who got off and all those who stayed on board. Again they were backed up by police.

Oh come on, so armed police accompany ticket checkers on the Continent - righty.

LXFlyer

n97 mini wrote: »

It appears to me that IE has taken a confrontational approach, and seem to prefer issuing fines to issuing tickets, in the event that a customer has no ticket, regardless of the reason.

I'm not aware of any other company that takes such a confrontational approach.

I travel on trains in Britain and NI quite a bit. I regularly meet ticket inspectors/sellers but I have yet to meet a Revenue Protection Officer.

IE offer everyone the ability to buy a ticket. If they decide not to buy one from a TVM or ticket office, then that frankly is their own fault, and no one else's. No one is forcing anyone to choose to use the train - there are alternatives. But if they do use the train, then they have to abide by the company's conditions of carriage.

The rule is so simple - if the facility is there to buy a ticket before you board a train, then you must do so, otherwise you will pay a standard fare. Where the facility is not available, then you can pay on board to a ticket checker or at the destination.

There is quite obviously a serious problem with fare evasion - that much is clear from reading the reports of the amount of standard fares issued from the recent ticket checking blitzes in the Dublin area. IE, as with any company, is entitled to take whatever measures it deems fit to protect its revenue, and frankly if that means issuing standard fares then so be it.

As for the UK, they have a completely different operating procedure, in that most trains require two person operation with a driver and a conductor/train manager who is responsible for operating the doors and revenue protection.

However, it is most certainly the case that on all UK Intercity trains, train managers employ a zero tolerance approach. If you board a train with either an advance ticket for a different specified train, or no ticket at all, you will be charged the full "anytime" fare for your trip which is usually a substantial amount of money - considerably more than IE's standard fare. If you cannot pay that, they will issue an Unpaid Fare Notice, which is an invoice equivalent to the full anytime fare for the train that you are on.

On certain routes in the UK, penalty fares apply, and where you are not able to produce a valid ticket for inspection you are liable to pay either twice the full Single fare to the next station at which the train is due to stop, or £20, whichever is the greater. Any travel beyond that next station will be charged at the full Single fare.

Many UK local services will have conductors selling tickets on board, for exactly the same reason as on certain routes in Ireland, that there are stations without ticket selling facilities on those lines.

At the end of the day, it is up to every individual company (and this is not just transport) to protect its revenue stream and take whatever measures it deems fit to do so. I'm sure that your employer would not take revenue evasion particularly lightly, so why should IE?

In the same vein would you expect a Dublin Bus inspector to issue you a ticket or a standard fare notice?

LXFlyer

Judgement Day wrote: »

Oh come on, so armed police accompany ticket checkers on the Continent - righty.

I saw precisely this in Barcelona earlier this year.

Revenue protection staff were carrying out a blitz in one metro station, and behind them there were two members of the Guardia Civil who were indeed armed.

AlekSmart

Judgement Day wrote: »

Oh come on, so armed police accompany ticket checkers on the Continent - righty.

Oddly enough JD,I was in Paris last year and witnessed a similar operation (VERY Large Scale and Highly Visible) at the same Station.

The scale of it was very impressive to somebody from this juristiction....mind you they were dealing with an equally large grouping of Roma Gypsy types and much arm waving,excited shouting and stoney-face looks were in evidence on each side...oh and Dogs...big wild looking Alsatians,slobbering all over the place !

Probably all a bit to Authoritarian for our sensibilities though ?

GreeBo

n97 mini wrote: »

It appears to me that IE has taken a confrontational approach, and seem to prefer issuing fines to issuing tickets, in the event that a customer has no ticket, regardless of the reason.

I'm not aware of any other company that takes such a confrontational approach.

I travel on trains in Britain and NI quite a bit. I regularly meet ticket inspectors/sellers but I have yet to meet a Revenue Protection Officer.

If they always issued tickets instead of fines, then why would anyone bother to every buy a ticket?
You would be encouraging fare evasion.

partyatmygaff

josip wrote: »

OP, I'm not entirely with the majority on this one. I don't think you have a legal case, however you do have options other than just coughing up the fine immediately.

I suggest that you write to Iarnroid Eireann via registered post.
Photocopy all of the tickets that your "lassie" has and include them.

Don't be in any way demanding with the letter, but offer that "given your partners previous history of being a fare-paying customer AND the exceptional circumstances on the train that day" you are very willing to pay a fine equalling the cost of a ticket for that day.

Perhaps you were a bit annoyed at the time of your post but, if that's your normal style of communication, it might be better if your partner writes the letter

Make a copy of the letter you sent and keep the receipt for the registered letter.

If IE refuse your offer, print out the receipt acknowledgement for the registered letter from the web.

Send IE another registered letter saying that you regret they have refused your offer and that when the the case is heard in court you will present as evidence their refusal of your offer. State very clearly that you think this is a waste of court time, but that IE have effectively chosen to go down this route not you.

You then have 2 letters that MAY stand to your case if you choose to go down the legal route, which will end up costing you a lot of money whichever way the decision goes.

Most companies that are run on a normal for-profit basis, will value their existing customers and would respond positively to this approach. I'm not sure if IE will however.

They won't. Concepts like customer relations and customer loyalty are a bit alien to them. All they understand is sometime in the past they were able to write themselves a little law to allow then to force people to give them 100 euro and that's all they're interested in.

AlekSmart

Peppa Pig wrote: »

To which the judge will say that if you are so concerned about wasting court time then you should have paid the fine for boarding a train without a valid ticket and convict you and add a €1000 fine.

Bit risky ....

I'd be with ye on this Peppa Pig....

The first line of the OP's contribution kinds sets the stage....

CIE busses parked and lots of people milling around (National Ploughing Championships). By the time my lassie got out and into the station the train to Carlow was there so she ran to catch it...otherwise she would have missed it and next one is 11am but she starts work @ 9am.

Is it the case that if the Buses were'nt "CIE" owned it would have been Ok ?

LXFlyer

partyatmygaff wrote: »

They won't. Concepts like customer relations and customer loyalty are a bit alien to them. All they understand is sometime in the past they were able to write themselves a little law to allow then to force people to give them 100 euro and that's all they're interested in.

You seem to be ignoring the fact that they only issue it where people evaded paying the fare - it will only be issued in circumstances where the person concerned did not avail of the facilities provided to buy a ticket.

That is fare evasion - it's as simple as that.

Judgement Day

Judgement Day wrote: »

Oh come on, so armed police accompany ticket checkers on the Continent - righty.

Well the regular police are usually armed and the inspectors were the equivalent of the RPU guys rather than the usual inspectors.

I was just making the contrast between what was a very confrontational couple of inspections I went through and what someone above described as confrontational.

I encountered the more regular two or three man inspections occasionally too - and I saw some people essentially ignoring them.

AlekSmart

partyatmygaff wrote: »

They won't. Concepts like customer relations and customer loyalty are a bit alien to them. All they understand is sometime in the past they were able to write themselves a little law to allow then to force people to give them 100 euro and that's all they're interested in.

Kinda..but all we are now seeing with Irish Rail is their belated adoption of Revenue Protection and Collection principles historically practiced all over the Public Transport World.

I'd venture to suggest that there's not a developed Rail System anywhere which does'nt have accounts of people getting penalized for non-possession of tickets or other breaches of THEIR Conditions of Travel and associated Laws relating to the services.

There's more to Customer Relations and Loyalty than simply nodding through hard-luck cases as they rock-up on the day.

The offended party has a full menu of alternatives open to pursue this case,any or all of which could see them succeed in their arguement...however in order to proceed with this,they must also recognize the possibility that they could also LOSE the arguement,with all of the attendant risks that carries....It all hangs on just how correct they consider they are ?

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

foggy_lad

Armed police with alsation dogs checking tickets.....Wow, Is there any possibility that these "operations" were like the few Gardai operations each year where they crack down on drink driving or speeding with a few highly visible checkpoints where they will be seen by most people and also where news media can film the operation. Is it not possible that the Armed element of the police were there as a publicity stunt? or to back up other officers with dogs who were searching for drugs amongst train passengers?

This is Ireland not mainland Europe or even the UK, Thank god we don't have armed Gardai escorting ticket checkers, the whole idea for this country is absurd.

foggy_lad

lxflyer wrote: »

You seem to be ignoring the fact that they only issue it where people evaded paying the fare - it will only be issued in circumstances where the person concerned did not avail of the facilities provided to buy a ticket.

That is fare evasion - it's as simple as that.

Not having time to buy a ticket before boarding the train is not the same as evading the fare! Is there any evidence that the passenger had intention to evade the fare?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evade

Also, in the last number of months in Athy Carlow and other stations along this line there has been notices posted that the booking offices will close 2 minutes prior to the arrival of all trains. in this instance the booking office may have been closed and Irish Rail will have given notice of this then the OP's Daughter would be entitled to buy their ticket on board or at their destination.

LXFlyer

foggy_lad wrote: »

Armed police with alsation dogs checking tickets.....Wow, Is there any possibility that these "operations" were like the few Gardai operations each year where they crack down on drink driving or speeding with a few highly visible checkpoints where they will be seen by most people and also where news media can film the operation. Is it not possible that the Armed element of the police were there as a publicity stunt? or to back up other officers with dogs who were searching for drugs amongst train passengers?

This is Ireland not mainland Europe or even the UK, Thank god we don't have armed Gardai escorting ticket checkers, the whole idea for this country is absurd.

Did anyone suggest such an approach was appropriate in Ireland?

Banjoxed

n97 mini wrote: »

It appears to me that IE has taken a confrontational approach, and seem to prefer issuing fines to issuing tickets, in the event that a customer has no ticket, regardless of the reason.

I'm not aware of any other company that takes such a confrontational approach.

I travel on trains in Britain and NI quite a bit. I regularly meet ticket inspectors/sellers but I have yet to meet a Revenue Protection Officer.

London Underground has an even more assertive approach to evasion and are happy to see evaders in court.

Morgana1988

Oh my gosh how lousy, the inspectors have big bags with bundles of tickets to sell on board the train, I have purchased mine once or twice while on board. I think it all depends on which inspector you meet, some are more willing to co-operate than others.